JAMMU, India: Kashmir’s youngest-ever chief minister was sworn in yesterday, promising to heal the wounds of a region hit by two decades of separatist rebellion against Indian rule which has killed thousands.
The 38-year-old Omar Abdullah is heir to a political dynasty that has dominated Kashmir since India’s independence and the third member of his family to be elected to the troubled state’s top post.
Abdullah’s National Conference party, which backs greater Kashmiri autonomy but rejects separatists’ calls for independence, emerged as the single biggest party in state elections that ended in late December.
Despite a boycott call by separatists, the election had a turnout of more than 60 percent, a boost for New Delhi though many saw it as a vote for better governance rather than acceptance of Indian rule.
Omar heads a coalition government with India’s ruling Congress party after a year that saw massive anti-India protests in the state, the collapse of the state government and six months of direct rule from New Delhi.
Omar was sworn to head an initial ten member council of ministry. The council of ministers which is equally split between the coalition partners of NC and Congress includes Tara Chand of the Congress party who took oath as the deputy chief minister.
As he took oath, the entire Zorawar Singh Auditorium reverberated with thunderous applause from the jam-packed audience. Besides Omar, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Abdul Rahim Rather, Surjit Singh Salathia and Ali Mohammad Sagar of the NC and Taj Mohiuddin, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Sham Lal Sharma and Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed of the Congress were also sworn in as Cabinet ministers.
State governor, N.N. Vohra administered the oath of office at the auditorium inside the Jammu University in Jammu.
On Sunday, Omar said he was prepared to facilitate talks between New Delhi and separatists, but tempered expectations of a quick fix. “There is a rider to the talks and that is that the government of India is facing elections and there can be no big ticket decision,” the Indian Express newspaper quoted him as saying.
Omar, who won acclaim with a blistering speech to Parliament last year, may come as a breath of fresh air, especially to the region’s disaffected youth who have grown up with an insurgency that has killed more than 47,000 people.
“I think the young generation of Kashmir is identifying itself with Omar (Abdullah), and if he also makes an effort to reach out to and identify with a violence-weary generation, he can deliver,” said Bashir Manzer, a Kashmiri political analyst.
But others say he will likely fail to heal deep wounds until he deals with separatist demands. “(Omar) cannot ignore the recent massive freedom demonstrations. If he is sincere he should help address the aspirations of Kashmiris,” said Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, chief of the region’s main separatist alliance, All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference.
Omar may have an advantage as his appointment comes as separatist violence is at a 20-year low, Manzer added. That may allow him to focus on what many see as the real priority for those who voted in 2008 - development.
Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul attended the swearing-in ceremony in the state’s winter capital Jammu, two heirs of another political dynasty with whom the Abdullah family has a checkered history since 1947.
— With input from agencies
