ESSAYS
n POETRY n FICTION n PLAYS n FILMSCRIPTS n ART n BOOK
REVIEWS
WHAT? n a social science journal n a platform for debate on social concerns n a literary magazine n a fiercely independent bimonthly publication WITH? n in-depth essays on social, political, economic, cultural and developmental concerns n short stories, novellas, poetry, drama, art and filmscripts on socio-political issues n original work by Noam Chomsky, Amartya Sen, Gulzar, Pete Seeger, Joseph Stiglitz, Günter Grass, Harold Pinter, Mrinal Sen, Ashis Nandy, Amitav Ghosh, Kamala Das, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Vijay Tendulkar, Shyam Benegal, Keki Daruwalla, Jatin Das, Jayanta Mahapatra, Martha Nussbaum, M.S. Swaminathan, Sunil Gangopadhyay, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, George Fernandes, Sitakanta Mahapatra, Varavara Rao, Gaddar, Sunil Khilnani, Mrinal Pande etc.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES INDIA
PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH, NEPAL, BHUTAN, SRILANKA*
RS 400 RS 900
US $ 20, RS 1000 US $ 50, RS 2500
REST OF THE WORLD
INCLUDING REGISTERED AIRMAIL CHARGES
INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL
*
SAARC
countries : please pay in rupees or by credit
Do add Rs 50 for each outstation cheque. Please mail your cheque/draft to:
THE LITTLE MAGAZINE, A 708 ANAND LOK, MAYUR VIHAR I , DELHI 110 091, INDIA Credit cards: Please visit www.littlemag.com/subscribe.html
US $75, 60, £40 US $120, E95, £65
DEMOCRACY TRIUMPHS We salute the people of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh for their courage & unflinching faith in democracy Turnout Votes polled in 2008-39.60 lac %age - 61.49
(%age)
Phase 1
69.02
Phase 2
68.29
Phase 3
68.22
Phase 4
59.24
Phase 5
58.50
Phase 6
65.93
Phase 7
55.60
Total %
61.49
Votes polled in 2002-26.56 lac %age - 43.69
District-Wise Turnout Bandipora Leh Kargil Poonch Ganderbal Rajouri Kupwara Baramulla Budgam Reasi Udhampur
59.66 65.87 73.56 75.33 55.10 73.39 68.22 47.88 62.41 75.33 63.96
Kulgam Anantnag Kishtwar Doda Ramban Srinagar Samba Jammu Pulwama Shopian Kathua
64.45 63.20 73.57 68.77 66.27 21.67 77.90 72.75 46.09 50.65 70.47
Your massive vote will give more strength to newly elected Government and usher J&K in new era of all round development No. : DIP/J-5811 Dt. : 25/12/08
J&K Government
Epilogue because there is more to know
Content
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
www.epilogue.in
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Editor Zafar Iqbal Choudhary Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
e u s s Election Special I Consulting Editor Annual Review Anniversary Special y D. Suba Chandran r Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special a Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special s r Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special Associate Editor e Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special Irm Amin Baig niv Special Annual Review n Anniversary Election Special A Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Research Officer Raman Sharma
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Designs & Layout Keshav Sharma
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2009
Mailing Address PO Box 50, HO Gandhi Nagar, Jammu Phones & email Office : +91 191 2493136 Editorial: +91 94191 80762 Administration: +91 94190 00123 +91 920 50 46146 editor@epilogue.in editor.epilogue@gmail.com subscription@epilogue.in Edited, Printed, Published and Owned by Zafar Iqbal Choudhary. Published from : Ibadat House, Madrasa Lane, Near Graveyard, Bathindi Top, Jammu, J&K 180012 and Printed at : DEE DEE Reprographix, 3 Aikta Ashram, New Rehari Jammu (J&K) Disputes, if any, subject to jurisdiction of courts and competitive tribunals in Jammu only. RNI : JKENJ/2007/26070 ISN : 00974-5653 Price : Rs 40
Anniversary Section
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
IN FOCUS Election Special 2008
18 19 21 22 22 24 25 27 29 31 33 34 35 34
Mandate 2008 The Change of Regime
Letters
5
The real journey has just begun...
10
Zafar Choudhary
...And Miles to go Before We Sleep
16
D Suba chandran
Kashmir crisis come full circle Change, not by Mandate
Epilogue @2 : A quick look
12
Our Authors
143
Vote for change of faces NC : Same number, some new faces PDP : Gaining grounds, substantially Congress : Worst sufferer of 2008 BJP : Performance beyond land row Coalition’s Ministers face crushing defeat Bad performance of ‘good governance’ 34 parties, 1100 candidates bowled for duck Srinagar Factor NC pockets seats, PDP eats vote share Unemployed Chief Ministers Generational Change Headed For Hung Assembly
For more News, Views & Analysis Log on to www.epilogue.in Epilogue Ø 3× January 2009
Epilogue because there is more to know
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Reviews
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
e u s s Election History I Annual Review Anniversary Special Special y r Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special Rajput Rulers and Sufis a Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special s r of Jammu Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special e Special v i Annual Review Anniversary Election Special n Annual Review n Anniversary Special Election Special The Great Leap Forward : A Indo-Us relations Mughal Road Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special The Dream Turns into Reality 113
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
116
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
on the Upswing
118
Bangladesh : The Great Experiment Fails
121
Election Special 2008
Indo-Pak Relations Back to Square One
123
Winner’s Profile, constituency-wise poll analysis past background
Inside Pakistan :: Changing Realities
127
Recounciling with the Taliban
131
Mumbai Attacks : Those who do not learn from the past...
133
India Most Wanted
134
Perform JKPDC ‘Fortify JKPDC Instead of NHPC’
138
Movies : Movies that made difference
140
Annual Review Anniversary Special Election Special
Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2009
IN FOCUS
38-112
For more News, Views & Analysis Log on to www.epilogue.in Epilogue Ø 4× January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe Mail your letters to editor@epilogue.in BRIG VK SHARMA VSM
Bold, forthright
M
y heartiest felicitations to you and your team on the second anniversary of the illustrious Epilogue. You have indeed rendered a Yeoman's service to the general public by your bold and forthright approach to report latest issues/ happenings concerning J&K. All the articles published are well researched and apt to the prevailing situations. May Allah be with you in all your earnest endeavours.
SHABIR AHMAD GILKAR BG VERGHESE
C
ongratulations on attaining the ripe old age of two. If you have survived for two years you have struck roots. I have found the journal interesting. Maybe you need to broaden your canvas to look at what has been happening in PAK and the Northern Areas and at the solutions on offer or desired Also the surrounding scene - Tibet, Xinjiang, Afghainstan - the last being closely linked to developments in J&K. And, of course Pakistan. PV MAHESH, Mangalore
RK SHARMA, Delhi University, New Delhi.
OCTOBER-2007
Good Show
*****
Make it more inclusive
WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH
reat initiative for the first time I saw this magazine last month and also for the first time a magazine on J&K published from the state. Great initiative and I commend the effort. There could be more reports and views from different regions of J&K including that are under the occupation of Pakistan. Ladakh, for example, people outside J&K hardly get to know anything.
Excellent Job! Congratulations! You are doing an excellent job. All the best.
Improve e-magazine
At two years you have struck roots
G
A
magazine from Jammu and Kashmir! This should not only be a readers paradise but an important asset to all researchers who are working on Jammu and Kashmir or want to know about this region. But you may also like to provide more news report in a nutshell on what is happening inside the region. How about chronology events in J&K?
SYED MUBASHIR RUFI
Veteran writers making Epilogue more interesting
I
have gone through many issues of Epilogue and found that the magazine is altogether different from all those magazines which r published in our state. Epilogue keeps its readers well informed about political & social issues. Moreover the veteran writers of our state have contributed to the magazine in the best possible way, thereby rendering excellent services to the readers of the magazine. I congratulation to you and your team for completing two successful years in brilliantly bringing out the magazine .I hope that the tempo will be kept on. I have all my good wishes for ultimate success of epilogue. Epilogue Ø 5× January 2009
Your e magazine looks good and need more improvement in design, so that the look and feel should be at par and expresses the best technological workout. ***** SANDEEP KELKAR, MUkherjee Nagar, New Delhi. July 2007
True, violence is not the only story Dear editor, The catch-line of the EPILOGUE magazine says “now telling the untold stories of Jammu and Kashmir”. We here in Delhi and other parts of the country know only one story about Kashmir-that there is terrorism, there is violence, there is poverty and there is political conflict. Your efforts are appreciable on looking beyond the conventional stories but still to live up to your slogans, the magazine needs to dig little deeper. There have been quite a few interesting stories on business and economy which were even quoted by the prestigious journals like 'Economic and Political Weekly', but your main focus still remains on politics. It has been enough reading about politics of Kashmir but there are still many issues which people are not aware of. Your reporting on environment is quite dismal. We are keen to know more about economy and environment of Kashmir. Please do consider some stories on these issues in your forthcoming editions.
cial Second Anniversary Spe Mail your letters to editor@epilogue.in
SHEIKH FARAZ IQBAL JUNE 2007
May be a political stunt, but every one wants demilitarisation Dear editor his pertains to your article's “cautious approach to demilitarization” (Priyadarshnee Andley, P35, May edition). The statement that issue has been raised by the coalition partner PDP with political interest may be nothing short of truth. But analyzing the J & K scenario does this not appear to you that though the demand my be political in nature but demilitarization is required. I mean it is we the people of J & K who have suffered at the hands of these terrorists (militants and army). I though agree when you say that the local police are inefficient when it comes to handling militancy but if you consider the amount that the center has been spending on this ruthless and must I say communal army, is utilized for upgrading the local police both in standards and weaponry. I presume that this problem can be dealt with, though I do realize that this might take some time. The situation in valley is so, that any citizen of the sate is required to show and prove his identity to these army men, this to me is utter non-sense, I don't understand why we should be subjected touch harassment when this land and state belong to us. Speaking constitutionally army is suppose to guard the boundaries of nation and not settle into establish their despotism, what they are doing in our state is just acquiring land and setting up cantonments. Obviously it remains a fact that the enchanting beauty of our state is hard to resist and nowhere else to be found in this world that is why they aren't ready to vacate our lands. I would request you to support this demilitarization ideology in any way you can let his land go back to its rightful owners and army be withdrawn, let each and every child of this soil breath in air without the fear of being watched by a fauji.
T
VINEET NARAYAN, Bangalore SEPTEMBER 2007
Bring Voices from PoK also Dear editor our attempt of highlighting important events past sixty years( EPILOGUE, AUG 2007, Edition) which shaped up Jammu and Kashmir deserves appreciation but this work was little hasty. Since this magazine appears to me as only serious journalism reaching out to different parts of country with exclusive coverage of Jammu and Kashmir, therefore focus should be on in depth coverage instead of just giving the key dates, being a journalist
Y
with a keen eye on the developments in Jammu and Kashmir, your August edition has come to me as a rare book of reference but I suggest that in subsequent editions efforts are made ot discuss the events of post in contextual details. You had a regular column from Muzzafarabad but that has not appeared in the present edition. Please see that some voices from the other side of the line of control are given space every month .
MARJAN LUCAS, The Netherlands.
Improve web edition Dear editor, Congratulations for the serious effort which goes in making of ' epilogue '. I have been reading epilogue on web with a keen interest bun of late there is some problem with the web edition. I tried to subscribe the web edition but so far didn't succeed because either the page is not available on the screen or PDF format says on e most send a cheque, which is rather difficult for interested person like me living outside Kashmir. Can you tell me how to act so that I read indeed the contents of Epilogue in full ? I must say that this is a wonderful publication particularly for the person living outside but interested in Kashmir. Regards. Epilogue Ø 6× January 2009
VISHAL SINGH, Bangalore DECEMBER 2007
Epilogue in Bangalore unbelievably true
A
mazing 1 I belong to Jammu and have been working in Bangalore for past eight months in a software company. Recently I happened to be at an outlet of Oxford Book Store here where I saw a copy of Epilogue. The quick thought in my mind was that a magazine with the same name is being published from Jammu also. When I picked up a copy I realized that it was the same magazine. My heartiest congratulations for two things: one that its image makeover puts Epilogue not only in league but also in competition with leading national magazines and second that you have reached out to the places like Bangalore. Very true-your catchwordTelling the Jammu and Kashmir stories, really it was a heartwarming experience. MY good wishes.
cial Second Anniversary Spe Mail your letters to editor@epilogue.in SANJAYA BARU
I Look Forward To Reading It Regularly
E
pilogue is quite interesting and objective source of information on Jammu and Kashmir. I look forward to reading it regularly.
C PHUNSOG JANUARY 2008
Make Book Reviews A Regular Feature
I
congratulate you on bringing out a quality monthly magazine within one year of its launching. I don't have any major comments on its improvement except that there is a need to label pictures in the magazine. One book review in each issue may also help in promoting reading habit among the readers.
JANDYAL New Delhi.
Dr. MIRZA ASHRAF BEG.
Enlist first major event Dear Editor Just happened to glance at the cover and noticed that you did not list the 1st important event that took place in July 1947. After receipt of a letter from the British Residents that due to the end of paramountcy they were returning the control of Gilgit Maharaj issued a proclamation accepting control. Only reason I know is because my father drafted the proclamation and gave it to PM Kak to get Mahahraja's signature. My father also drafted the constitution that went into effect in January 1957.
Some events skipped your attention
I
have just seen epilogue on line and was surprised to notice that some important events that should have been on front page have escaped your keen observation. Land reforms in Jammy and Kashmir. Creation of department of custodian to safeguard the properties of those who have left the state in 1947 ( the same law could have been applied to safeguard the properties of migrants of unfortunate events of the present turmoil) had the governments in power wished to do so ? Arrest of Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah in 1953- Reasos and consequences. Kashmir accord between Mrs. Idira and Shiekh Sahib. Vote of non confidence against the sheikh government, Reasos and effects. Elections of 1977. Reasons of the present turmoil that has lead to the loss of more than hundred thousands lives, custodial Killings,rapes,forced disappearances, migration of the minority community and suicides of the armed forces atc. There are are many more suggestions. Let us stay in touch. We are all well wishers of humanity.
****** BRIG ABHIJIT GUHA VIKAS KHAJURIA Progressive Farmer, Kalakote, Rajouri, J&K MAY 2008
From Lab to Field
******
BRIG SK CHATTERJI Deputy Director General, Public Information, DGoMI FEBURARY 2008
Army Chief appreciates Epilogue The Chief of the Army Staff has gone through the Epilogue magazine and has conveyed his appreciations to you for bringing out such quality magazine.
M.S Swamitnathan has definitely put in right perspective (Towards A Food Secure J&K, Ladakh : Epilogue April 208) the agriculture and horticulture potential of J&K State. But the concern still remain that with two apparently vibrant agricultural universities in the state, with tall claims of great strides made in research, the effective transfer of technology to the field is still lacking. The extension education needs to be strengthened at Panchayat level apart from mobilizing Krishi Vigyan Kendra's and Research & Development activities.
Expand area of coverage to entire J&K
W
e are greatly appreciative of your magazine which has provided an alternative to mainstream coverage of events in Jammu and Kashmir. We, however, feel that to garner greater readership, your articles should cover all regions of Jammu and Kashmir including the Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Gilgit and Balochistan and also the adjoining Pakistan. This would meet aspirations of region specific readers and also provide an over-arching compendium to interested analysts. ******
******* Epilogue Ă˜ 7Ă— January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe Mail your letters to editor@epilogue.in MIR HILAL AHMED University of Kashmir
Epilogue Has Filled Up The Vacuum
P
rint media has registered a huge growth in Jammu and Kashmir over last one and half decade. It is still growing. While there is a wide array of newspapers to choose from every morning, there was always a need of a serious journal which looks beyond the run of the mill and bring about some indepth stories. We are happy that Epilogue is playing that role quite professionally.
RAVINDAR SINGH SASAN SOMI
SAIMA LATIF, Kishtwar
Bollywood must look into other roles of Muslims
T
he movie review written by Aprajita Mazumdar is a good piece, she has done her work very well. And the question she raises is really very fair one that why terrorism is only associated with Islam? There are still several issues related to Muslims which never come to light, Muslims are poor, they are illiterate, they are jobless but it seems that every Bollywood director has only one thing in mind for Muslims –terrorism, terrorism and terrorism. In a routine Bollywood story a Muslim is always a bad man whether he is Amrish Puri in Gadar or Naseeruddin Shah in Fanna. Can we please have something better to watch?
I
RANADHIR GHOSH Cooch Behar, West Bengal
Not available in Cooch Behar
n Kashmir, the sizable population to the tune of few lakhs is of Brahmin Sikhs, scattered in Jammu, Poonch, Baramula and earlier in Muzaffrabad and Mirpur areas. I wonder if EPILOGUE could throw some light on these original natives of the statemay of their history, race and culture. Or some of your research staff could take up this task in hand for the benefit of posterity.
I had the pleasure of going through Epilogue magazine after I got a copy from the Secretary General of the Press Club of India. The construction of stories and page layout has impressed me. The range of issues discussed by the magazine is quite relevant and need wider dissemination. It is, however, sad to note that the magazine is not available in areas of Cooch Behar. Please make arrangements of distribution in North Bengal.
MOHIT SHARMA Agr. Student Solan, HP
RAVINDAR SINGH SASAN SOMI Council For Social Development, New Delhi
About Livestock Scenario
Conduct Some Research on Brahmin Sikhs
E
pilogue (April 2008) has given a unique analysis of Agriculture in field. It would have been more comprehensive with a detailed presentation of livestock scenario, potential and challenges. J&K has a great potential of livestock development but still majority of the demands from livestock sector are met from the imports from other states. Livestock still remain a neglected lot in Agriculture.
Sincere effort I have been reading Epilogue magazine regularly. I appreciate the sincerity of efforts that go into making of this magazine.
AHSAN AHMED RATHER, Advocate, Anantnag
Council For Social Dev. New Delhi
Conduct Some Research on Brahmin Sikhs
SACHIN PILOT, MP, Lok Sabha
I
n Kashmir, the sizable population to the tune of few lakhs is of Brahmin Sikhs, scattered in Jammu, Poonch, Baramula and earlier in Muzaffrabad and Mirpur areas. I wonder if EPILOGUE could throw some light on these original natives of the state- may of their history, race and culture. Or some of your research staff could take up this task in hand for the benefit of posterity.
Epilogue Ø 8× January 2009
SEPTEMBER 2008
Thanks ! Wajahat Habibullah
T
he views expressed by Jenab Wajahat Habibullah over recent happenings in the state (in his interview, Epilogue, August 2008) clearly signify that no secular and informed person like him can remain mute at this juncture, perhaps he knows more about the state and is worried about the present scenario. Wajahat Sahab truly deserves a warm appreciation for always showing courtesy for the cause of Kashmir, surely time has compelled him to speak up. People like him, across the society need to come for the sake of nationality. *******
cial Second Anniversary Spe Mail your letters to editor@epilogue.in Under this Chinar TARIQ GILKAR Nowhatta, Srinagar.
A New Year for Her Did Sinha know Kashmiriyat?
I
nstead of just carrying an interview with former Governor Sinha (Epilogue, July 2008) you should have done a story on what he did to Jammu and Kashmir before demitting office. He talks loud about Kashmiriyat. What does he know about Kashmiriyat except for organizing a Sufi festival every year and visiting Charar-eSharief. He made the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to dance to his tunes and lead to not only fall of his government but also got him isolated in the Congress party. Azad will have to pay a price for being a party to the Hindutva campaign unleashed by Sinha. In his interviews, after leaving J&K, he has been criticizing Congress and praising Azad. You carried just Sinha's interview when his views were well known. Why your comment was missing?
Win
Basant Rath
the young man in uniform in a walnut photo frame still smiling outside the burial site with his full military honors a gallantry medal pinned on his bride's chest writes widowhood, tells her too of the bloodshed that led to his death in the snow as she stands alone before our drawing-room-eyes leisurely just enough to paint her tomorrow in in in in
two two two two
Write to the editor for your six-month free subscription of Epilogue magazine. We are giving away prizes for the best letters we receive. The writer of the best letter of the month gets six-month free subscription of Epilogue Magazine. Reward does not end here. Writer can also recommend names of ten friends, relatives or institutions to get one complimentary copy each of the next issue. Letters should preferably be related to the stories covered in the magazine. They may be edited for clarity and space. Mail your letters to letters@epilogue.in or editor.epilogue@gmail.com
Epilogue Ă˜ 9Ă— January 2009
minutes' silence drops of tears apple-scented candles broken bangles
cial Second Anniversary Spe
The real journey has just begun...
E
pilogue, the name of this magazine, is not just a beautiful word picked up to promote a brand. It has a lot to do with idea and policy of your magazine which is now two years old. By definition, Epilogue means: “a speech or piece of text which is added to the end of a (play or) book, often giving a short statement about what happens to the characters after the play or book finishes”. Journalism, it is said, is history written in haste. Our idea was to give a calm deal to the history and come up with a comprehensive account every month. Therefore, the name Epilogue. In our first issue, that hit the stalls in January 2007, I had written in detail in the mission statement that why this magazine is being launched. Since then thousands of readers from across the country and many parts of world have joined us. On second anniversary of magazine I would like to reiterate that our mission is to bridge the gaps, through information, Jammu and Kashmir has within or outside. As many times we recall the August 13, 2003 statement of then US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage our resolve gets stronger in telling the world untold stories of Jammu and Kashmir. Delivering a lecture in Sydney, Armitage had said: Kashmir along with Palestine and Israel is the most dangerous place on earth…there are a lot of other dangerous parts in world but India and Pakistan over Kashmir come to mind”. True, Jammu and Kashmir continues to be at the center of conflict between nuclear armed two hostile South Asian neighbours but the point is that conflict and violence is not the only feature Jammu and Kashmir should be known for. If one looks at richness of our state from historical, social, political, economic and even spiritual angles the area of conflict will appear dwarfed. In this direction we have been writing on the areas beyond conflict while keeping a track of the conflict we well. This effort has been appreciated by hundreds and thousands of such readers who had always wanted to know the stories beyond violence. Our endeavour has consistently remained and will continue to remain on bridging gaps, exploring the constituencies of peace, cooperation and development and then strengthening them. We have always tried to report on areas, events and people which largely go missing in the mainstream areas for want of space and time. As you look at the following pages in our anniversary section, you will get a fair idea on the range of issues we dealt with over past two years.
Zafar Choudhary Editor zafarchoudhary@epilogue.in
Initially, Epilogue had a little drab outlook and we lacked in many areas which should have been an essential part of any magazine like this. A meeting with one of leading policy analysts and a keen researcher on Jammu and Kashmir, D Suba Chandran, a Deputy Director at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi, changed the whole future course. Once we knew each other well (just in one meeting) we agreed to work together while keeping our primary engagements and commitments
Epilogue Ø 10 × January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
intact. The first thing Suba did was to change the design and layout. He is not a designer but he put in a vision which we later worked at. He introduced magazine to some leading columnists, analysts and policy experts in country and made many to write for Epilogue. The constituency has only grown ever after. There have been other people responsible for shaping the structure of Epilogue. A leading columnist, whose political satire has rare parallels, Dr Ajaz Ahmed Baba is one among them. Wajahat Habibullah, MS Swaminathan, Abdul Rahim Rather, Dr Haseeb Drabu, Dr SS Bloeria, Masud Chaudhary, Gautam Navlakha, Prof Nisar Ali, Prof Rekha Choudhary, Prof Noor Ahmed Baba, Prof Jigar Mohammad, Syeda Afshana, Pawan Bali, Tsewang Rigzin are among the people who have remained continuous source of strength and inspiration for Epilogue in their own ways. Inspired by the magazines delivering global stories to even small townships, the idea of this magazine was conceived in reverse manner four years back. 'Reverse manner' means we wanted to take the small stories to big places. Precisely we had in our mind an influential and serious reader sitting elsewhere in the country or world looking for some alternate source of information on Jammu and Kashmir. This idea really worked. Today there is hardly any influential thinktank, policy institution or the official policy desks in India which is not on the subscription base of Epilogue. Our readers come from the genre of their own. They are those who make policies, influence policies or implement them. When we see Epilogue quoted by leading newspapers or magazines that really comes as strength for us to carry the mission on. It is this acknowledgement of work which has contributed in real manner to uninterrupted journey of Epilogue otherwise at many occasions in past two years I thought “this is going to be the last issue”. This magazine had come as a reporter's initiative with no financial backing of any kind. When first issue was put in the press, there was absolutely no idea about the second issue. After every issue his stalls we got feedbacks
from unexpected people and unexpected areas despite the fact that we had no advertisement budget at all. It was the word of mouth which spread fast and is still spreading. There are many examples which came as moral booster but here is one which changed out mindset. Without applying for we got a bulk subscription order from the Ministry of External Affairs in March last year. We had a fair idea that our work is being taken note of at the places where it should really have been. Over the months our subscription base enlarged significantly but stability in economy remained a far cry. Magazine or newspapers can not survive for long without advertisement revenue backup. Many would have wanted to advertise in Epilogue but we did not have the money to hire a marketing team for the purpose. For me getting into advertisement business personally would have been a process of belittling the journalist inside. Killing the journalist and nourishing the businessman or manager was not the aim of my joining journalism or launching this magazine. Therefore, I picked up a unique way of backing magazine's finances. I took part-time assignments at a couple of media outlets and some media research projects to mobilize income drawn from there on the magazine. Such an arrangement too has its own limitations. My wife Irm, a backbone of the magazine as its associate editor, allowed me to put on magazine whatever I earned from my other assignments. Towards the end of our two-year journey some advertisements too have started pouring in which certainly will see expansion of magazine turning it into a fortnightly very soon. If Epilogue has been able to complete two years of uninterrupted publication, I owe a lot of it to Irm, son Hamaad and my parents who allowed me to remain completely disconnected from the family except for a total of six hours a day when I would return for eating and sleeping. Not even a single holiday in two years. With two years and 25th issue out, we have just learnt how to run the magazine and I believe the real journey starts now as Epilogue has raised huge expectations of the readers.
Epilogue Ø 11 × December 2008
Inspired by the magazines delivering global stories to even small townships, the idea of this magazine was conceived in reverse manner four years back. 'Reverse manner' means we wanted to take the small stories to big places. Precisely we had in our mind an influential and serious reader sitting elsewhere in the country or world looking for some alternate source of information on Jammu and Kashmir. This idea really worked. Today there is hardly any influential think-tank, policy institution or the official policy desks in India which is not on the subscription base of Epilogue. Our readers come from the genre of their own. They are those who make policies, influence policies or implement them. When we see Epilogue quoted by leading newspapers or magazines that really comes as strength for us to carry the mission on.
cial Second Anniversary Spe
The Annual Review Book
B
ringing out the inaugural issue was a challenge. The idea was to offer something to readers which clicks immediately and had a longer shelf life. Since the first issue was to hit the stalls on first day of New Year, therefore, we came up with an annual review issue. It was then not surprising that the first issue went out of stalls within 10 days. That was the time we started getting calls for distributors and vendors asking for more. January 2007
The Promises Ahead
Y
ear 2007 began in Jammu and Kashmir really on a promising note. There was a huge push to the peace process and the talk of Cross-LoC trade gained currency. We interviewed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq a day before left for Pakistan and the Pak administered Kashmir tour. He talked of 'imaginative solution' to Kashmir issue. Almost same sentiment was echoed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani in another exclusive interview. State budget advanced by two months promised a massive employment program to take the youth out of quagmire. February 2007
Baglihar and other Chestnuts
I
n the backdrop of World Bank appointed neutral expert Prof Raymond Lifette's award on Baglihar hydro-electric project on Chenab, our March issue focused on management and resolution of conflicts between India and Pakistan. Indus Water Treaty one such agreement between both countries which withstood all harshest tests of the times since 1960 and this was first time ever that both countries first agreed to appointment of a third party arbitration and then both accepted the award describing it s victory in their own way. March 2007
The Vote Bank Standoff
D
April 2007
escribing themselves as natural allies at the time of formation of coalition government in October-November 2002, uncalled for conflict between PDP and Congress started showing towards the end of 2006. It reached almost a point of no return on March 2007 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened to save the coalition form a disastrous fall. Our April 2007 issue, thus, came out with a fearless commentary on the politics of vested interests. This issue also carried an interview with Zulfikar Abbasi, president of PaK CCI who later led a trade delegation to J&K in October 2008.
Billion Dollar Question for Peace
F
May 2007
ormer Finance Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Javed Burki had written a paper for United States Institute of Peace. The study suggested an investment of US Dollar 20 billion for infrastructure development on both sides of J&K and argued that subsequent stakes in economy will overrun politics to pave way for Kashmir becoming conduit of peace between India and Pakistan. Our analysis of this research endorsed the argument but with an addendum: emphasis on economic development is good but political aspiration can't be overlooked. This issue also carried an interview with J&K Finance Minister and President of PaK Bar Association.
Looking Beyond 'K' Issue
W
hat we tried to underline in our June 2007 issue became dominant nationwide cry exactly a year later. In June 2008 thousands of people in Jammu were on streets and the state was engulfed in a fire of regional and communal hatred. This issue was a forewarning on the fallout of a skewed political approach. Our main argument was based on the premise that external dimensions of Kashmir issue can be resolved by force or by diplomacy but no resolution can be lasting without addressing the internal dimensions. June 2007 Epilogue Ă˜ 12 Ă— January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
Power: Policy Failures
J
ammu and Kashmir is a classic case of summering from what the state has in plenty. For long, during peak winters and harsh summers, the people have been told that Indus Water Treaty's discriminatory clauses against J&K have left the state devoid of its electricity generating potential –waters of Chenab and Jhelum flowing to Pakistan. The fact of the matter, however, remains that J&K never had a visionary policy on harnessing its hydro-electric potential. Our July 2007 was a piece of comprehensive research on water potential and politics. July 2007
JK & 60
T
August 2007
he problem with our younger generation in understanding Jammu and Kashmir is that they know very little about past. They key events most of the people in our age remember are the partition and wars. Our August 2007 issue was essentially a commemorative volume chronicling metamorphosis of change Jammu and Kashmir underwent from 1947 to 2007. Every key development arranged in a sequential order made this issue an essential reference on J&K. Which is why August 2008 issue is still in demand not only from across the country but also from abroad.
J&K: The Land of Contact
T
his was second of our four issues exclusively devoted to the people-to-people contacts between two parts of Jammu and Kashmir and beyond. A team of experts traveled different parts of state including Ladakh and spoke to key stakeholders before concluding that Jammu and Kashmir can essentially be a land of contact not only between India and Pakistan but also in the South and Central Asian region. Backed with extensive research, this issue analyzed importance of throwing other routes to open to trade and tourism. September 2007
60 Years of Conflict
I
t was the month of October 1947 that the events, one after the other, pushed Jammu and Kashmir into a most enduring of the conflicts world saw in recent history. That no two people have been seen or heard sharing same opinion on Kashmir issue, we requested many to send in their view points. Few of them responded with their understanding. Notable among them were Wajahat Habibullah, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Aziz Zargar, Masud Chaudhary, MY Tarigami, Iftikhar Geelani and KN Pandita. In their own perspective, the authors trace genesis of conflict O c t o b e r and its journey over 60 years. 2007
Ladakh: The Land of Moon
T
he present day Jammu and Kashmir is comprised of three distinct units and Ladakh, the least visited is perhaps the least understood. Our November 2007 issue was therefore a tribute to the land of the moon and its innocent people. It explored the politics, art, culture, life and style. With this exclusive issue on Ladakh we initiated our editorial commitment with this last place of the country. Since November 2007, Epilogue carried a regular section on Ladakh bringing reports from grassroots and connecting with the people. November 2007
Forests & Foresters
J
ammu and Kashmir should have been known better in country for its supposedly thick forest cover. The fact of the matter, however, is that now it is known more its depleting greenery. At a time when protection of forests appeared a non-priority and their exploitation had become a rank priority in the government we dared to bring out this special issue which was taken by a pinch of contempt by department's top brass. Nevertheless, government institutions, forest agencies and non-governmental organization dealing with subject are still writing us for copies December of this issue. 2007 Epilogue Ø 13 × January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
Economy & Other Ideas
F
or past some time the state government has been seen laying a huge stress on economic revival of Jammu and Kashmir. Our January 2008 issue came up with an analysis of the performance on economy where the former Finance Minister and the incumbent Finance Minister shared their ideas and approaches to the subject. Issue assumed significance as the budget session of legislature had been advanced by a month. Then Governor SK Sinha spelt out his stand on a variety of issues in a detailed interview. January 2008
Money Movement
T
his issue came after presentation of J&K's annual budget and therefore carried a comprehensive analysis of the proposals made therein. As members of ruling coalition and opposition locked horns leaving almost no scope of debate inside assembly, we carried it here in the magazine. Finance Minister wrote for Epilogue what he could not say in assembly. There are articles from Abdul Rahim Rather, the leader of opposition who was also the former Finance Minister and interview with Mohammad Shafi another Finance Minister February 2008
Pakistan Elections
W
e can say with authority and confidence that no other magazine in India could cover the general elections in Pakistan as we did in March 2008 issue. There were indepth reports, regional trends and analysis. We transcended borders to cover Pakistan elections as restoration of democracy in our neighbourhood assumed a huge importance for India in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular. March 2008
Food security
I
n the thick of politics the crucial issues of food and shelter are often lost. Our April 2008 issue dealt with the question of food security in Jammu and Kashmir and that perhaps the most comprehensive coverage of the subject. A lead essay by father of green revolution MS Swaminathan left hardly any thing to add. State Agriculture Minister gave the policy vision and Vice Chancellors of two Agriculture Universities in J&K made an elaborate account of research and technology in making Jammu and Kashmir food secure. April 2008
Identity and Politics
W
e believe that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir can not be dealt with properly without obtaining an understanding of identities –regional and ethnic. Our May 2008 issue was about the tribal identities which have not been touched upon in researches and also in the larger political discourse. Gujjars, spread across the state, and Dards of Ladakh were the two tribes we covered in this issue with a promise to cover all identities in subsequent issues. May 2008
Cross-LoC trade
T
rade across the Line of Control has arguably been the mother of all confidence building measures between India and Pakistan involving Jammu and Kashmir. Epilogue was arguably the first news and current affairs publication to come up with a comprehensive issue on broad contours of Cross-LoC trade. The bottlenecks we had talked about were later evident when trade was actually initiated in October. June 2008 Epilogue Ø 14 × January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
Amaranth Land Row
I
July 2008
n June-July-August 2008 Jammu and Kashmir was at face to face with a worst crisis of the history. Earlier the troubles have been involving regions this time religion was at the center of controversy. Truth was the obvious casualty when all parties involved fought pitched battles with state on streets and in the media. We carried a complete backgrounder in July issue and wrote an elaborate account of politics mixing up with religion. Then Governor Gen SK Sinha was in the line of fire. He gave a detailed interview to Epilogue –the only occasion he spoke to any media outlet before demitting Raj Bhawan office.
Fall of Coalition
T
he coalition government peoples PDP and the Congress had come up with a Common Minimum Program at the time of its formation in 2002. When the government fell down in July 2008 after a bitter acrimony between coalition partners, they went out without leaving a report card on their performance. Epilogue brought out a point-wise examination of all 30 points contained in the CMP of governance and concluded that the pledges were forgotten. August 2008
J&k's Summer Agitation
S
ummer of 2008 will always be remembered as a dark chapter in the secular and tolerance history of Jammu and Kashmir. On Amarnath land row, the lunatic and hawkish voices had completely taken over the sensible voices. We launched a search for the voices of peace and reason and came up with as many ideas as possible. We are happy that no chance was given to the narrow regional or religious views to creep in our pages. September 2008
Intra-Kashmir Contacts and Trade
S
hortly before the historic cross-LoC trade was launched between two parts of Jammu and Kashmir, the United States Institute of Peace had come up with a most comprehensive study on making borders irrelevant. Under a special endowment from USIP, Epilogue carried reproduced the study in fall. It was a painstaking research taken by Hassan Askari and PR Chari, two leading policy experts of Pakistan and India, respectively. October 2008
Elections: Challenge 2008
W
e have brought out three issues on assembly elections 2008 and the November issue was first in the series. Elections were being held in the backdrop of a worst separatist and communal agitation in state. With a commentary on the prevailing political and security atmosphere, the November issue carried a complete backgrounder on the past elections.
November 2008
Hung Assembly
I
n the middle of elections our small team of staffers along with some 30 volunteers traveled across the length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir to gauge the public mood. The conclusion was that there will be a hung assembly with NC as largest party, PDP second and Congress third. Looking at the pages of our December issue one can see all parties have come up with same number of seats as we had predicted except the BJP. December 2008 Epilogue Ø 15 × January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
...And Miles to go Before We Sleep
I
t's been two years since the first edition of Epilogue hit the stands. Publishing a monthly magazine. From J&K. Based in Jammu – may appear an easy task to most of you who have been reading magazines like India Today and Outlook. In principle, yes. After all, what's the big deal? All you need is to put together a few articles from different contributors, an editorial, and a cover story – and you've got yourself a brand new issue! I wish running a magazine was that effortless though! Two years of Epilogue, is no mean achievement; all of the credit for which should go to Zafar Choudhary, the Editor. I met him first in 2007, in Jammu University, even though we had been interacting through email and over the phone much before that. Remarkably enthusiastic and deeply committed, I've seen him go through his share of immense suffering and struggle to keep this magazine going. We have had numerous meetings on how to make Epilogue better – questions about what its focus should be, how it could be revamped, and how its circulation might be increased – have all been discussed and debated, at length. To be honest, most of the times, we have been unable to meet our own deadlines and follow through with what we had planned.
D Suba Chandran Consulting Editor
At the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, where I have been working for over a decade now, we have a website (www.ipcs.org) dedicated to addressing topical South Asian political and strategic issues. Despite being based in New Delhi, which has no dearth of strategic experts and scholars from the three foremost Indian Universities – JNU, DU and Jamia Millia; we have frequently faced problems in receiving articles worth publishing. The Institute has brought out numerous publications, some of which however, had to be abandoned since it had become difficult to carry on publishing them. This, despite having a small, but dedicated team!
Epilogue Ø 16 × January 2009
cial Second Anniversary Spe
At Epilogue, we do not have adequate staff support, like many other magazines and news papers. Neither do we have funding like other publishing houses. We do not have big circulation numbers like the national magazines either. What we have instead, is a dream and the determination to pursue it. Our dream is to see Epilogue become the bridge between J&K and the rest of the world. In these times of unprecedented commotion and phenomenal acceleration of globalization processes, it is hard to remain isolated. It is our endeavour therefore, to make Epilogue the window through which the world can get a peek into the rich and complex life of this enigmatic state and its people, and a forum through which the outside world can be brought into your lives. To this end, we have been regularly trying to publish essays on the goings-on in our neighbourhood and other parts of the world. While the progress we have made in this regard is heartening, we are yet to systematize this process. One of our biggest challenges and resolutions for 2009 therefore, is to ensure we bring the world to J&K in a much more systematic way. Our readers should be able to know what is happening in the rest of the world simply by flipping through the pages of Epilogue. While most of our coverage so far, has primarily revolved around the political aspects of J&K, there is a lot more that demands our attention and which needs to be told to the world – the economic, social, cultural, and historical facets of the state. While we have made important advances in this direction, there remains a lot more to be accomplished. Once again, we hope to ensure, that in 2009 Epilogue becomes the vehicle for J&K in its entirety and does not remain limited to its political and security dimensions alone. J&K is not just one monolithic region, but a world composed of several diverse regions –
J a m m u , K a s h m i r, L a k a d h , M i r p u r & Muzaffarabad and Gilgit and Baltistan. We recognize the importance of giving adequate focus to all the regions and the different issues that confront them. Despite our efforts however, we have not been able to do much in this regard, these first two years. We promise ourselves and our readers, that in 2009, Epilogue will become a holistic magazine, representative of all regions and peoples of the state. It is our endeavour to make Epilogue the new voice of J&K – the voice of the youth, of budding dreams and hopes, and a platform for those voices which have long been submerged in the violent political cacophony. We sincerely hope to become such a voice that will rise above the din, to act as a constructive critic, and express the dreams of the people fearlessly of building a safer and more peaceful future. To this end, we also hope to be able to organize a leadership summit for the youth, particularly students. In terms of periodicity, we have been thinking for a while to convert the magazine into a fortnightly. A month is too long a period; for at times the world can change dramatically in incredibly short durations. Although we would love to have Epilogue as a weekly, that might take a while to materialize, given the considerable challenges involved. We sincerely hope convert it into a fortnightly by the end of 2009. Finally, in terms of presentation, we also look forward to making this a fully colored magazine. It's a gigantic dream, given the costs involved, but a dream worth pursuing. This is where we stand today, two years after embarking on this exciting journey. 'Every beginning hath an end, and every end marks a new beginning'. Armed with this as our guiding spirit, Epilogue sets out on another year's journey, to become the new voice and vehicle of J&K and the bridge that connects us with the rest.
Epilogue Ø 17 × January 2009
Our dream is to see Epilogue become the bridge between J&K and the rest of the world. In these times of unprecedented commotion and phenomenal acceleration of globalization processes, it is hard to remain isolated. It is our endeavour therefore, to make Epilogue the window through which the world can get a peek into the rich and complex life of this enigmatic state and its people, and a forum through which the outside world can be brought into your lives.
Election Special
MANDATE 2008
The Change of Regime
Zafar Choudhary History's most credible elections yet in Jammu and Kashmir have again changed the regime but this change was not exactly by the public mandate which did not favour any party. Viewed from a national or international perspective and even from academic point of view, the composition of assembly after elections is often immaterial factor. What is seen with importance from a wide angle is the voter turnout. Our previous two issues exclusively devoted to assembly elections have dealt with the voters' response and election campaign patterns elaborately. By the time this issue reaches the readers the nationwide celebrations on huge voter turnout will be over and focus will be on the shape and structure of new government and challenges before it. We are, however, taking a quick look at the most interesting elections of our times. When around two lakh people defied the strongest possible security restrictions to take a symbolic 'march to Muzaffarabad' earlier in August, holding elections anytime later in the year appeared a completely impossible proposition. Later same month when over five lakh Kashmiris gathered at Srinagar's Idgah with rant slogans for Azadi, a democratic exercise called elections, for which people have to swear by Indian
constitution, again appeared out of question. Three months later, the temperatures were falling to sub zero, snow was carpeting the Valley and several thousands of the same peoples were seen queuing up in front of polling stations. Then some observers felt that the people queuing up to vote were actually a silent majority who were not the part of summer agitation. The strong nationalist argument said that the separatists have been bowled over as an overwhelming majority defied their boycott call to cast votes. Arriving at such conclusions will be like undermining the public faith in democracy. Voter response in Jammu and Ladakh has though been entirely different but the elections in Kashmir Valley are always projected as a referendum –both by establishment and the separatists. To say the least, this is a dangerous approach to understanding Kashmir. Dividing people into two groups –those who took the Muzaffarabad march and those who voted –will further confuse an approach to conflict resolution. They are the same people, they have reiterated their faith in Indian democracy and they want the Indian democracy to address their issues. Therefore, a process to consolidate the gains of elections must immediately follow at the level of State government and Central government.
Epilogue Ø 18 × January 2009
Election Special Backed by the 'credibility' commitment of then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, 2002 elections were the watershed in electoral history of Jammu and Kashmir. First time ever an incumbent government was changed by way of elections. This time again the incumbent government has been changed but not necessarily by the public mandate. The public mandate has clearly not favoured any party to form the government. It is in fact the flexibility and whim of the Congress as a national party to join hands with any of the two regional parties to form government. National Conference had won 58 seats in 1996 and when its tally dropped down to 28 in 2002, the party immediately declared, “we have been voted to sit in the opposition”. That was the clear rise of Peoples Democratic Party and fall of National Conference in electoral landscape of the state. Six years later National Conference has though improved its vote percentage considerably but has been returned with exactly the same number of seats -28. But this time the party leadership was quick to announce that people have returned them to power. With same floor arithmetic in both elections the only visible difference this time remains the return of the Abdullahs to the House and brightly looking up relations with Congress –the party which holds key to government formation. NC's performance therefore has remained quite static while the gainers of 2008 elections are Bhartiya Janta Party and the Peoples Democratic Party. PDP has been able to add five seats more than what it got in 2002 and improve vote percentage significantly while rise for BJP has been meteoric –straight jump from one seat in 2002 to 11 seats in 2008. The Congress, which emerged as key player in government formation in 2002 has returned in the same role though with huge losses. The net result puts NC as static, BJP as foremost gainer, PDP a significant gainer and the Congress a worst loser among the key players.
Kashmir crisis comes full circle Andrew Whitehead
A
s the Kashmir valley prepares for a new state government and a new year, it must seem to some as if the Kashmir crisis has come full circle over the past 20 years. Indian-administered Kashmir enters 2009 with a member of the Abdullah family poised to be the state chief minister - at the head of a coalition that brings together the Abdullahs' regional party, the National Conference, with India's governing Congress party. That's just as it was when the bitter separatist insurgency erupted in Kashmir in 1989. Some commentators, particularly in India, have been encouraged by recent events to suggest that a corner has been turned in the long-running Kashmir crisis. They point to the good turnout in the recent state elections and the success of parties regarded as "pro-India" - along with a decline in the level of armed militancy.
A reader of
Epilogue Magazine in London, ANDREW WHITEHEAD is associated with the BBC. He is also author of a recent book “A Mission in Kashmir” which has been described by many as most authentic account of the making of Kashmir conflict.
Epilogue Ø 19 × January 2009
It's not that simple. Kashmir continues to face profound challenges in the coming year. And there is still no sign of a lasting solution to one of the world's longest-running conflicts. Certainly the hardline separatists' call for a poll boycott received limited support. And in a part of India where over the decades there have been many complaints of rigged elections, this time - as last - polling and counting seems to have been relatively untarnished. Yet a close look at the recent elections - in the Kashmir valley at least - suggests little change in the relative strengths of the two main Kashmiri parties, the National C o n f e r e n c e a n d t h e r i v a l Pe o p l e ' s Democratic Party who are sometimes described as "soft separatists".
Election Special Accomplished politician
security forces opened fire.
Omar Abdullah, 38 years old, is about to follow his father and grandfather in becoming the chief minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The coming year will indicate whether these protests portend a new style of Kashmiri nationalism - or whether this was a remarkable but passing episode in the region's unhappy recent history.
He is an accomplished politician and has served as India's junior foreign minister - but he still has to demonstrate that he can run an administration and win and keep the trust of a bruised and suspicious citizenry. Although Omar Abdullah's party is often seen as pro-India, both main Kashmiri parties have been sharply critical of India's policy towards Kashmir and the actions of Indian security forces. They are prepared to tolerate Indian rule, and are opposed to armed action by separatist militants, but want much more far-reaching autonomy for Kashmir than Delhi is prepared to countenance and the involvement of separatists in resolving the Kashmir issue. "The separatists should not feel alienated and should be brought into the mainstream to talk," former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah declared as his party's election victory became apparent.
Kashmiri nationalism The outcome of the recent state elections does not mean that Kashmiris are fully reconciled to Indian rule or that their sense of grievance has abated. Indeed the past year saw the biggest mass protests against Indian rule in Kashmir for more than a decade. Tens of thousands of young Kashmiris took to the streets for the first time. The demonstrations were non-violent though dozens died when Indian
The protests of 2008 were neither called for nor co-opted by the armed separatist groups. The level of militant violence in Kashmir fell in the past year. The hardline separatist groups appear to be a diminishing force. But Indian security officials have been reported as saying that there are still several hundred armed separatists active in Indianruled Kashmir - so the threat may be less acute, but it's still there. Armed groups are now increasingly choosing targets elsewhere. The Indian authorities hold Lashkar-eTaiba to blame for November's brutal attacks on Mumbai. Lashkar-e-Taiba's main field of operations has been Kashmir, though it's believed that only a modest proportion of its members are Kashmiri. The Mumbai attacks h o l d g r a v e repercussions for Kashmir. They have again plunged relations between India and Pakistan
Epilogue Ă˜ 20 Ă— January 2009
into deep crisis. And as Kashmir has been the main contested issue - and principal battleground - between these now nuclear-armed neighbours ever since independence in 1947, that's not good news for Kashmiris. Unless relations with Pakistan are repaired, it's difficult to see how progress can be made towards a lasting settlement of the Kashmir dispute. And until that is achieved, then it may remain difficult for Kashmir's parties to demonstrate that conventional politics is the best way of resolving grievances.
Election Special Change, not by Mandate RESULT
2008
National Conference
28
PDP
21
Congress
17
BJP
11
Panthers Party
03
Others
07
L
ooking at the election results, it is clear that the decision of changing 28 government this time has not 16 exactly come from the public 20 mandate. It has actually come from the Congress. 01 After 2002 elections, the 04 alliance between Peoples 18 Democratic Party and the Congress went quite well before it ended in June 2008 bitterly. Earlier it was seen as clash between individuals and not a cross of policies between parties but after the election results were announced it was clearly evident that Congress had already made up its mind to dump the Peoples Democratic Party and chose National Conference for forming government in the state. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has minced no words in admitting this: “political morality warrant consultation…as a partner in United Progressive Alliance we should have been consulted by Congress on this (government formation) issue…but they did not speak to us”. What exactly the Congress had wanted probably no body had an idea. A day after election results were announced, the Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari pointed out to political philosophy as a more important factor over the political arithmetic. He was responding to a question on whether National Conference being largest party in assembly was a national choice for the C o n g r e s s . Ti w a r i ' s s t a t e m e n t reflected that numbers did not matter in the Kashmir politics. However, a day after the Congress Okayed its alliance with National Conference, its senior leader and another national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi 2002
Epilogue Ø 21 × January 2009
came up with another 'startling revelation'. He said, “the PDP had offered us unconditional support to run the government for full six years but instead of settling down for power we went for the numbers –NC was largest party in assembly”. Tiwari's and Singhvi's statements apart, the developments after the election results were announced clearly indicated that the Congress was unambiguous about supporting National Conference as not a major surprise was expected in the results. This is third time since 1975 that the Congress and the National Conference have come along. It was after the historic Indira-Sheikh accord that Congress supported a National Conference government headed by the Sheikh in 1975. A year and half later Sheikh dissolved the assembly one fine evening after getting inputs that the Congress had decided to pull the rug the next day. He saved grace and announced elections with him as caretaker Chief Minister. A grand Congress-NC alliance popularly called as RajivFarooq accord came into being in 1986 as a reward for New Delhi engineered fall of Farooq government in 1984. The RajivFarooq accord went together for elections in 1987 marking the beginning of an era of insurgency and unrest which has only grown year after year. Politics in Kashmir makes a full circle as the alliance between state's grand old party with country's grand old party returns after 21 years. The hope for this alliance being different from previous two clearly rests on the generational change in both parties.
Election Special Vote for change of faces
W
hile people did not offer any party full mandate to form a government, they have otherwise clearly preferred a change –a change of the faces. Of 86 members (NC leader Farooq Abdullah has won from two places) elected to the Assembly 44 are new faces. While many of them have been Members of the Legislative Assembly once or twice earlier but as many as 29 are coming to the House first time ever. This change is significant if one looks at the list of those who were the legislators in previous House and were dealt with crushing defeat in this election.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE NAME
CONSTITUENCY
VOTES
%AGE
RUNNER-UP
Mir Saifullah
Kupwara
16696
30.06
Fayaz Ahmed Mir (PDP)
5182
Ch. Mohammad Ramzan
Handwara
27907
48.38
Ghuam Mohi-ud-Din (Ind.)
11590
Javid Ahmed Dar
Rafidabad
13918
35.88
Mohammad Dilawar Mir (PDP)
216
Mohammd Ashraf Gani
Sopore
4368
46.44
Abdul Rashid Dar (Cong.)
Aga Sayed Ruhullah
Badgam
19652
40.15
Mohammad Kamal Malik (PDP)
9960
Abdul Rahim Rather
Char-e-Sharief
24579
48.30
Ghulam Nabi Lone (PDP)
6375
Abdul Gani Malik
Gulab Garh
14268
31.28
Mumtaz Ahmed (Ind.)
3248
Skina Itoo
Noorabad
16240
35.23
Abdul Aziz Zargar (PDP)
4518
Sajad Ahmed Kichloo
Kishtwar
19248
37.47
Sunil Kumar (BJP)
2465
Nazir Ahmed Khan
Gurez
5817
51.06
Faqir Mohammad (Cong.)
732
Mohammad Akbar Lone
Sonawari
20108
39.74
Abid Hussain (Ind.)
12157
Firoz Ahmed Khan
Zanaskar
6552
44.71
Ghulam Raza (Cong.)
918
Ajaz Ahmed Jan
Poonch-Haveli
28297
39.62
Ch. Bashir Ahmed Naz (Cong.)
9933
Altaf Ahmed
Kangan
19210
54.98
Bashir Ahmed Peer (PDP)
7715
Umar Abdullah
Ganderbal
16519
41.48
Qazi Mohammad Afzal (PDP)
8215
Radhey Ram Sharma
Nowshera
16511
26.47
Romesh Chander Sharma (Cong.)
3820
Rachpaul Singh
Kalakote
25314
45.61
Ashok Sharma (Ind.)
11420
Kafil-ul-Rehman
Karnah
4110
31.26
Abdul Rehman Badhana (JKANC)
1148
Farooq Abdullah
Hazaratbal
11041
Asiea (PDP)
4272
Peer Afaq Ahmed
Zadibal
4335
34.88
Shahjahan Dar (PDP)
1241
Mubarak Ahmed Gul
Iddgah
4457
35.97
Asifa Tariq Qarra (PDP)
1679
Ali Mohammad Sagar
Khanyar
6313
74.16
Showkat Ahmed Hafiz (PDP)
1679
Shamima Firdous
Habakadal
2374
41.15
Hiralal Chatha (BJP)
1703
Nasir Aslam Wani
Amirakadal
3922
34.78
Parvez Ahmed Bhat (PDP)
819
Farooq Abdullah
Sonawar
7018
Sheikh Ghulam Qadir (PDP)
94
Mohammad Irfan Shah
Batmaloo
9444
44.85
Tariq Hameed Qarra (PDP)
2706
S.S. Slathia
Vijaypur
21090
27.20
Chander Parkash (BJP)
1212
Qamar Ali Akhoon
Kargil
22935
53.64
Haji Nissar Ali (Ind.)
5300
Epilogue Ø 22 × January 2009
MARGIN
Election Special NC: Same number, some new faces
T
he biggest change has been in the National Conference camp. Though it continued its previous House tally of 28 but only 11 of those who were members of the previous assembly have been able to get elected second time. Of the 17 new members elected on National Conference ticket eight, including Omar Abdullah, are making it first time to the Legislative Assembly while nine others have been members of the previous assemblies but they were not elected in 2002 elections. While National Conference has maintained its reputation of being the only party with significant presence in all regions of the state, its graph is on constant decline in Jammu region where other parties have significantly eaten into its base. NC won 15 of 37 seats in Jammu province in 2002 and the number fell down to nine in 2002. This time NC could get only six seats in Jammu region. Of its six winners in Jammu, three are new faces which means NC's six winners of 2002 elections in Jammu region lost this time.
%age of vote polled NATIONAL CONFERENCE Districts Srinagar Kupwara Baramulla Poonch Budgam Doda Rajouri Pulwama Anantnag Kargil Udhampur Jammu Kathua Leh
% votes 2002
% votes 2008
51.08 39.95 39.70 48.39 33.60 28.15 35.84 24.28 23.12 44.55 18.44 21.62 10.84 U/C
South & Central Kashmir Budgam, Pulwama, Sophian & Anantnag (21 Seats@59%)
Epilogue Ă˜ 23 Ă— January 2009
43.75 32.86 28.00 42.18 33.03 21.24 24.58 18.76 21.67 51.36 14.90 16.68 13.54 Nil
Election Special Ladakh Leh and Kargil (04 Seats@70%) 2008
2002
NC
02
01
PDP
Nil
Nil
Cong
01
Nil
BJP
Nil
Nil
Others
01
03
PDP: Gaining grounds, substantially
P
to National Conference candidates. Though the margin was quite, except in case of Qazi Mohammad Afzal who was defeated by Omar Abdullah, but their loss has come as a major demoralizing factor for the PDP which otherwise made significant %age of vote polled gains both in Kashmir and Peoples Democratic Party Jammu regions. PDP had 18 Districts % votes 2002 % votes 2008 members in the previous assembly -16 they had won Srinagar 25.99 27.33 in 2002 and two more Kupwara 3.60 20.54 joined the tally later on in Baramulla 19.78 23.82 by-elections. One of those Poonch 0.87 24.28 who had won last time had Badgam 37.85 29.06 left the party, one died and Doda 3.95 5.76 three were not given party Rajouri 4.70 14.92 ticket. 13 of the winners of Pulwama 39.09 30.26 last time in the fray and four of them lost Anantnag 33.22 39.08 –incidentally all losers were Kargil Nil 0.49 t h e s e n i o r Cabinet Udhampur 3.11 0.21 Ministers. Enhancing its Jammu 1.48 3.51 seat share to 21, the PDP Kathua 0.54 0.81 has therefore come up with Leh U/C 0.60 12 new faces including
eoples Democratic Party too has come with new faces as it suffered defeat of its old guard. Four of the senior-most leaders of PDP –all Cabinet Ministers in the coalition –lost election
Epilogue Ø 24 × January 2009
Mehbooba Mufti –a winner of 2002; she had resigned in 2004 upon her election to Lok Sabha. A significant development for the PDP was its victory on two seats in Jammu region. Mostly dubbed as Kashmir centric party, its victory on one seat each on Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region enhances PDP's profile and acceptability in the state. The gains for the Peoples Democratic Party both in Kashmir and Jammu regions have been quite substantial and pointing to its wide acceptability as a regional party. It has polled a total of 236345 votes and won 16 seats in 2002. This time the PDP vote bank has grown to a whooping 632265 votes. Its growing vote share in Jammu region is quite astounding. Against 30747 votes of 2002, this time the PDP has secured 140410 votes in Jammu region where party won two seats, stood runner by around 400 votes at one seat and secured more than 10,000 votes each at two more seats.
Election Special PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY Winner
Constituency
Vote Polled
%age
Runner-up
Margin
Nizam-ud-Din Bhat
Bandipora
13051
26.10
Usman Abdul Majid(IND.)
820
S.Rafiq Hussain Khan
Mendhar
29036
47.63
Javid Ahmed Rana(NC)
742
Ch. ZulfiqarAli
Darhal
19395
28.66
Mohd. Iqbal (Ind.)
4558
Abdul Haq Khan
Lolab
2337
40.66
Qasir Jamsed Lone (NC)
5347
Syed Basharat Ahmed
Sangrama
7812
28.09
Shoaib Nabi Lone (Ind.)
1330
Muzaffar Hussain Baig
Baramulla
13019
53.45
Nazir Hussain Khan (NC)
5398
Iftikhar Hussain Ansari
Pattan
20703
51.13
Abdul Rashid Saheen (NC)
11271
Javed Mustaffa Mir
Chadoora
16278
41.36
Ali Mohammad Dar (NC)
2490
Shafi Ahmed Wani
Beerwah
11720
24.42
Abdul Majid Matoo (NC)
164
Mustaq Ahmed Shah
Tral
10393
28.46
Mohammad Ashraf Bhat (NC)
3807
Zahoor Ahmed
Pampore
11117
36.83
Mohammad Anwar Bhat (Cong.)
5148
Mohd. Khaleel Band
Pulwama
10639
36.44
Haji Sona Ullah Dar (Ind.)
6636
Syed Bashir Ahmed Shah
Rajpora
10177
25.12
Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir (Ind.)
9230
Mehbooba Mufti
Wachi
12810
38.64
Showkat Hussain Ganie (NC)
8336
Abdul Razzaq Waghay
Shopian
8006
21.23
Mohammad Shafi (Cong.)
2798
Abdul Gaffar Sofi
Home Shalibag
12249
33.37
Anayat Ullah Rather (Cong.)
7026
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Anantnag
12439
39.49
Mirza Mehboob Baig (NC)
4891
Mohd. Sartaj Madini
Devsar
14175
26.78
Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed (NC)
4001
Peerzada Mansoor Hussain
Shangus
13853
Gulzar Ahmed Wani (Cong.)
12610
Abdul Rehman Veeri
Bijbehra
23320
49.88
Bashir Ahmed Shah (NC)
10274
Rafi Ahmed Mir
Pahalgam
24316
49.46
Altaf Ahmed Wani (NC)
10922
Congress: worst sufferer of 2008
A
gainst its 20 seats in 2002, the Congress has this time got only 17 but the loss is not really of three seats. Six independent winners of 2002 elections had later joined Congress as associate members, enhancing its number in assembly to 26 and most of them were also given positions in the organization. Four of them were given party tickets in recent elections and three of them have won. Therefore, the Congress lost nine seats out of its 26. Party blames Amarnath land row as a
cause for its loss but this alone was not a factor. At many places where Amarnath land agitation was at its high the National Conference candidate have faired better than Congress. If Amarnath land row changed equations in the region, the National Conference should have been completely wiped out as its President and now the Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah's speech in Parliament on July 22 was the turning point in the agitation. A Jammu youth Kuldeep Verma committed suicide at
Epilogue Ø 25 × January 2009
the sit-in venue Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti –an alliance of around 70 groups spearheading the agitation. Verma allegedly said before falling down that he was deeply enraged by the statement of Omar Abdullah and therefore is offering sacrifice for the cause of Hindus and the Jammu region. NC candidate Taranjit Singh Tony polled over 10,000 votes in Suchetgarsh where winner –BJP candidate –got over 17,000 votes. The Congress candidate –sitting MLA and former Minister –Chowdhary
Election Special Gharu Ram forfeited his election security deposit by polling a meager 6500 votes. In Jammu City, Congress veteran and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma too lost humiliatingly by finishing third by around 13,000 votes. And independent candidate Surinder Shingari got 21,000 votes and Chaman Lal Gupta of Congress won by polling over 33,000 votes. Darhal constituency in Rajouri district was completely untouched by the land row agitation. The Congress nominee Puran Singh was declared at fourth position while PDP candidate Choudhary Zulfikar Ali won by defeating an independent. The NC candidate was at number three. Bani constituency in Kathua district is also one such place where Amarnath land row hardly had any impact. This seat has been won by BJP candidate and the runner up was the NC candidate. Congress nominee left way behind in the contest as a sitting legislator and a Minister in the coalition government. Congress has been claiming that it carried out massive development in two and half years regime of Ghulam Nabi Azad which no government could do in past 60 years. While impact of Amarnath land row can not be completely ruled out, but it was clearly a vote against individual performance of the Congress winners of 2002 elections which did the party in.
%age of vote polled CONGRESS Districts
% votes 2002
Srinagar Kupwara Baramulla Poonch Badgam Doda Rajouri Pulwama Anantnag Kargil Udhampur Jammu Kathua Leh
5.25 10.24 21.98 31.92 5.29 31.73 30.52 17.79 18.51 5.63 24.94 31.25 31.56 U/C
% votes 2008 3.53 5.54 14.11 24.51 2.43 36.74 13.96 9.75 14.91 9.81 15.61 24.40 41.71 51.00
CONGRESS Winner
Constituency
Vote Polled
%age
Runner-up
Margin
Mohammad Aslam
Surankote
28102
44.21
Mustaq Bukhari (NC)
2051
Shabir Ahmed Khan
Rajouri
10013
13.56
Tassadiq Hussain (PDP)
333
Taj Mohi-ud-Din
Uri
24036
44.54
Mohammad Shafi (NC)
1879
Ch. Ajaz Ahmed Khan
Gool-Arnas
15594
37.05
Ghulam Qadir Mugal (NC)
3452
Krishan Chander
Chenani
16276
Dina Nath (BJP)
6438
Manohar Lal Sharma
Billawar
22262
35.94
Satish Sharma (BJP)
8383
Ghulam Ahmed Mir
Dooru
15870
36.18
S. Farooq Ahmed (PDP)
5918
Peerzada Mohd. Sayeed
Kokhernag
13384
27.43
Ghulam Nabi Bhat (NC)
1270
Ghulam Mohammad Saroori
Inderwal
22684
42.67
Shakti Raj (BJP)
10415
Abdul Majid Wani
Doda
23254
44.55
Khalid Najib (NC)
7152
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Bhaderwah
38238
62.85
Daya Krishen (BJP)
29436
Ashok Kumar
Ramban
21779
43.47
Bali Bhagat (BJP)
10319
Vikar Rasool Wani
Banihal
8287
17.37
Showkat Javid Daing (Ind.)
3033
Raman Bhalla
Gandhi Nagar
33486
36.34
Nirmal Singh (BJP)
2236
Sham Lal Sharma
Akhnoor
31600
47.97
Govind Sharma (BJP)
13884
Tara Chand
Chhamb
25335
48.59
Chaman Lal (BJP)
2395
Nawang Rigzin
Leh
19008
50.49
Thupsten Chewang (Ind.)
4523
Epilogue Ă˜ 26 Ă— January 2009
Election Special BJP: Performance beyond land row BHARTIYA JANTA PARTY Winner
Constituency
Vote Polled
%age
Runner-up
Margin
Bharat Bhushan
Raipur-Domana
28685
52.18
Mula Ram (Cong.)
12269
Sukhnandan Kumar
Marh
18368
35.04
Ajay Sadhotra (NC)
6581
Sham Lal Choudhary
Suchetgarh
17995
39.39
Taranjit Singh (NC)
6936
Prof. Garu Ram Bhagat
R.S.Pura
15902
28.94
Suman Lata Bhagat (Cong.)
1630
Chaman Lal Gupta
Jammu West
34288
40.38
S.S. Shingari (Ind.)
13037
Ashok Khajuria
Jammu East
15907
50.70
Narinder Singh (Cong.)
Jugal Kishor
Nagrota
11141
22.75
M.K.Ajatshatru Singh (NC)
1620
Durga Dass
Hiranagar
19730
30.50
Prem Lal (Ind.)
2737
Jagdish Raj Sapolia
Basholi
16651
35.25
Davinder Singh (NC)
2881
Lal Chand
Bani
11041
39.56
Ghulam Haider Malik (NC)
2249
Baldev Raj Sharma
Reasi
26031
37.00
Jugal Kishore (Cong.)
6662
B
JP's resurgence in Jammu region is quite resounding but Amarnath land row alone can not be described as a reason. From its single seat in 2002 the BJP has been the single largest gainer of 2002 elections by winning over 11 seats. If the communal agitation of summer 2007 was the only reason for BJP's victory, the party would not have lost at seats which were epicenters of protests. Samba, Vijaypur and Bishnah were three constituencies where the agitation was its highest. While in Vijaypur and Samba the BJP was declared as runner up, it was nowhere closer in the contest in Bishnah constituency. In Bishnah, the party had fielded wife of one Kuldeep Verma who allegedly committed suicide on the land row agitation. There are many other examples which show that people voted for change and not necessarily on the resurgent Hindutva sentiment, even though BJP made most of the Amarnath agitation. Take the case of Suchetgarh constituency: BJP's Shal Lal Choudhary won with over 17000 votes but the Congress leader, who too had jumped into the agitation along with Sangharsh
Samiti, lost his security deposit. If land row alone was the reason, the National Conference and PDP would not have polled over 10,000 and 6200 votes, respectively. In remote Bani constituency of Kathua district the land row had no visibly major impact but BJP candidate lost here. Interestingly, NC candidate –incidentally a Muslim –was the runner up and the Congress candidate –sitting MLA and a Minister in coalition government –finished third. Kathua is another constituency where the land row agitation was its highest and 20,000 to
30,000 people could have been seen on streets almost every day during the months of July and August protesting against the alleged hurt to Hindu sentiments. Here, the contest was between an independent candidate and a BSP candidate. The independent, who had absolutely nothing to do with the agitation won with impressive votes. BJP man finished third and the Congress candidate –a sitting MP and more active in land agitation than most of BJP leaders –lost his security deposits.
Jammu Udhampur, Reasi, Jammu, Kathua & Samba (24 Seats@74%) 2008
2002
NC
02
02
PDP
Nil
Nil
Cong
06
12
BJP
11
01
NPP
03
04
Others
02
05
Epilogue Ø 27 × January 2009
Election Special Who & Where
Highlights ? A Good Overall Turnout:
NC
Valley 46 20 19
K-L 04 02 01
D-R-K 06 01 03
Jammu R-P 24 07 02 02 03 05
PDP
19
16
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
02
Nil
Cong
04
04
01
Nil
05
01
06
12
02
01
BJP
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
11
01
Nil
Nil
NPP
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
03
04
Nil
Nil
CPM
01
02
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
01
03
Nil
02
02
05
Nil
Nil
61 % (From 44 % in 2002); ? No Violence ? No Pressure – either to
vote or not to vote ? Separatists call for
boycott ineffective. ? Signs of clear regional
and communal divide ? And the growing
Communal divide in the interior districts, ex Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch ? NC retains its 2002
performance (28 seats) ? PDP improves its
performance in the Valley (From 16 to 19) plus two in Rajouri and Poonch ? BJP gains in Jammu
Others
2008
2002
region (From 1 to 11) ? Congress performance
was dismal
North Kashmir Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipore & Ganderbal (17 Seats@58 %)
Conclusions ? Performance does
matter (Stories from South Kashmir and Doda-Bahderwah) ? Jammu Region
(Minus the Twin Districts): Echoes of SASB Crisis or expansion of national politics ? Twin Districts: PDP
finds a place and may become the main base for the Muslim votes ? Azadi and Voting:
Don’t mix the two
Epilogue Ø 28 × January 2009
Election Special Coalition's Ministers face crushing defeat
Bad performance of 'good governance'
D
uring election campaign and even after party ways when results were declared, the partners of erstwhile ruling coalition, Peoples Democratic Party and the Congress, described their ruling arrangement as a regime of good governance, efficient administration, transparency and accountability. A look at who lost and who won among those who had a key role in the coalition government tells the whole story of change. People have neither reposed their full faith in any single party nor have they rejected any entity completely but they have certainly sought change by preferring new faces over the over those who were Ministers in the coalition. Going by the performance chart, which coalition leaders, particularly from Congress read
out at hundreds of elections meetings, the members of their erstwhile council of ministers should have returned to the assembly by getting rewards from the public. As the public holds key at end of the day, majority of the men who held important positions in the coalition government have been sent back packing. Most of the former Ministers who lost elections were not actually in the fray as they finished at poor third or fourth place. The Congress has been blaming the Amarnath land row for its trouncing in Jammu region but this does not seem to be a cogent reason. At many places the National Conference candidates have faired better than Congress. If Amarnath land row and strengthening of the Hindutva sentiment was a major reason, the National Conference should have been completely wiped out in
Jammu region. Though NC candidate did not win many seats but they did better than Congress at many places and even PDP secured impressive votes in atleast three constituencies that were the center of land row agitation. 43 legislators belonging to Congress, Peoples Democratic Pa r t y, Pa n t h e r s Pa r t y o r independents were Ministers in the coalition government at varying points of time between 2002 and 2008. While three of them were either not given party tickets or they did not contest, 20 of the 40 who sought re-election have been defeated, and most of them have suffered quite humiliating defeat. In addition to these 43 candidates, there were two former Chief Ministers and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly who have won the present election with impressive margins.
South Kashmir (Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban (06 Seats@70%)) 2008
2002
NC
01
03
PDP
Nil
Nil
Cong
05
01
BJP
Nil
Nil
Others
01
02
Epilogue Ă˜ 29 Ă— January 2009
Election Special Except three, all former Ministers belonging to the Congress in Jammu region have been defeated. Interestingly, two of the three who have been honoured by the public by victory had won the 2002 elections as independents and later joined Congress as associate members and contested recent elections on Congress ticket. Ajaz Ahmed Khan from Gool-Arnas, Abdul Majid Wani from Doda and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori from Inderwal are the only exceptions to the Congress' 'hall of shame' in Jammu region. The most stunning of the defeats of former Ministers were that of Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma in Jammu West, PDP leader and former Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra from Batmalloo, two other PDP leaders and formers Ministers Abdul Aziz Zargar and Qazi Mohammad Afzal from Noorabad and Gnaderbal constituencies, respectively. All three former Ministers of PDP lost to the National Conference candidates. Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma, the grand old man of the Congress, was in fact completely pushed out of the contest in Jammu West. The winner here Chaman Lal Gupta polled 34288 votes and the runner up was a little known political face Surinder Singh Shingari who got an impressive 21251 votes. Mangat was pushed at third place getting meager 13853 votes.
The self proclaimed savour of the culture and heritage of the Duggar, Gulchain Singh Charak had a rather larger humiliation in Bishnah constituency –a constituency of his own choice. Making an entry into Azad government through backdoor –he was an MLC –Charak rose to the ranks in a matter of just two and half years and made a choice for his constituency himself. He finished third in Bishnah by getting a poor 8155 votes while the winner Ashwani Sharma –an independent candidate –got 14006 votes. The runner up, Kamal Arora, polled 13560 votes. Prem Sagar Aziz was a Minister of State for Revenue, Planning and Finance in Ghulam Nabi Azad Government. In Bani constituency he too finished poor third with just 4550 votes while the winner, Lal Chand of BJP, got 11041 votes. Amarnath land row can not be blamed here as Ghulam Hyder Malik of National Conference faired better than Congress candidate. Malik polled an impressive 8792 votes. Jugal Kishore was another stalwart in the coalition cabinet. He finished second at Reasi constituency by polling 19369 votes against 26031 votes of the BJP candidate Baldev Raj. Chowdhary Gharu Ram of Congress remained a Minister in both Mufti and Azad governments. In his Suchetgarh constituency he finished third while National Conference
candidate stood better. Quite interestingly the PDP candidate Tarlok Singh Bajwa trailed Gharu Ram by just 200 votes. Sham Choudhary of BJP won by 17995 votes, Taranjit Singh Tony of National Conference got an impressive 10403 votes and Gharu Ram polled only 6545 votes. Surprising enough, Tarlok Singh Bajwa of PDP got little over 6300 votes. In Vijaypur constituency, the National Conference candidate Surjit Singh Slathia polled 21090 votes and the BJP candidate Chander Parkash Ganga trailed by getting 19000 votes. Manjit Singh of PDP got 1236 votes. Manjit was a Minister in coalition government. Worst humiliation for the Congress was perhaps in Kathua constituency where its official nominee stood at fourth place and the rebel stood at third place. The winner –an independent candidate –Charanjit Singh polled 19123 votes, runner up Som Raj got 16761 votes. Congress rebel Babu Singh –who was Minister for Power and earlier for Rural Development –got 10887 votes. The Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh was a Minister in Mufti Cabinet till 2004 w h e n h e w a s e l e c te d to Parliament. He is a sitting MP and could poll on 6053 votes. His wife a Congress nominee in Basohli constituency–she had replaced husband in 2004 by-elections –too lost to the BJP candidate.
Epilogue Ø 30 × January 2009
Election Special 34 parties, 1100 candidates bowled for duck
T
he high voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir is though being celebrated across the country but there is no face saving for at least 36 small and big political parties which could not get any seat and more than 1100 candidates who even lost their security deposits. There were 44 political parties and 1354 candidates –including independents –in the fray for 87 seats. All seats went to the candidates of eight political parties and four independents while no candidate from 34 parties could even save the security deposits. Among the eight parties that scored in the staggered seven-phased polls conducted by the election commission of India, there were three parties who could only manage a single victory. The parties that have failed to score include two national parties, BSP and SP. BSP could not manage a single seat despite being only next to National Conference when it comes to participation in the number of constituencies in the 87-seat assembly house. While, NC fielded 85 candidates, BSP contested from 83 segments of the state. The second largest party when it comes to participation and could not manage a single seat was Awami National Conference led by 'stalwart' of Kashmir politics, Ghulam Muhammad Shah who dethroned Farooq Abdullah from power in 1984. ANC participated in 56 seats including all 46-assemly segments in Kashmir Valley but were bowled for duck. It was after a gap of 20-years that party made the comeback on the political horizon of
Kashmir but turf turned out to be under prepared for them and more so the party players could not handle the situation and did not bother the scorer, being bundled out for duck. Interestingly, the State exchequer turned richer by more than Rs 54 lakhs, as nearly 1100 defeated candidates lost security deposits in the just-concluded elections in the state, three times higher than the previous 2002 polls. According to the official data, out of 1,354 contesting candidates, nearly 1,100 lost their security deposits of Rs 5,000 each paid towards the state exchequer at the time of filing nominations. "Any candidate securing less than onesixth of the valid votes polled in a particular constituency will lose his security deposit and this money goes to the state exchequer," Chief Electoral officer of the state B R Sharma said. While 653 of the 757 candidates from Kashmir division, including the Ladakh region, lost their security deposits, over 430 candidates from the Jammu region also had to face his ignominy. Only 373 candidates lost their security deposits in the 2002 elections from the 87 constituencies of the state. Interestingly, in seven of the 46 constituencies in Kashmir, none of the losing candidates were able to save their deposits. These constituencies are K a r n a h , S o n a w a r i , K h a n y a r, Habbakadal, Pulwama, Wacchi and Shopian. First four of these constituencies were bagged by National Conference while the remaining three went to the PDP.
Epilogue Ø 31 × January 2009
There were 12 constituencies where two losing candidates polled enough votes to save their deposits while in the remaining 31 seats of Kashmir division, only one candidate managed to achieve this face-saving target. In seven constituencies, 20 or more candidates lost their deposits. In Amirakadal seat, the highest 27 candidates saw their purses getting lighter while in Sonawar (23), Sopore (22), Sonawari, Anantnag (21 each), Habba Kadal and Shopian (20 each) could not save their deposits. The other parties that have failed to win any seat include the NCP (contested 19 seats), the RJD (contested 14) the CPI (contested seven), the All India Forward Bloc (contested 21), the Janata Dal (U) (contested six), the Janata Dal (Secular) (contested four), the RLD (contested three ), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (contested two), the Lok Janshakti Party (contested 45), the Samata Party (contested 14), the Jammu State Morcha (Progressive) (contested 14), the Socialistic Democratic Party (contested 12), the Bharatiya Bahujan Party (contested 10), the Backward Classes Democratic Party, J&K (contested seven), the Rashtriya Krantikari Samajwadi Party (contested seven), the Bhartiya Chaitanya Party (contested six), the Jammu & Kashmir National United Front (contested six), the Republican Party of India (A) (contested five), the All J&K Kisan Majdoor Party (contested four), the Janata Party (contested three), the Republican Party of India (contested three), the National Lokhind Party (contested three), the Bharatiya Sampuran Krantikari Party (contested two), the United Citizen Party
Election Special (contested two), the All India Forward Bloc (Subhasist) (contested one), the Rajya Nojawan Shakti Party (contested one), the Kranti Dal (contested one), the National Democratic Party (contested one), the Forward Bloc (Socialist) (contested one), the Jammu And Kashmir Awami League (contested one), the Ambedkar National Congress (contested one) and the Adarsh Political Party (contested one). Apart from zero scorers, there were three parties who together contested from 60 assembly segments but managed only three seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary whose party contested from eight segments, Muhammad Yousuf Targami won one seat while People's Democratic Front, contested on 27, but only party president Hakeem Yaseen managed to emerge victorious while Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party (Nationalist) won a single seat from twenty five and that too went into the lap of party president Ghulam Hassan Mir.
Loser Ministers Abdul Aziz Zargar Tariq Hameed Karra Qazi Mohammad Afzal Mohammad Dillawar Mir Mohammad Aslam Khan Puran Singh Romesh Sharma Mula Ram Mangat Ram
Jugal Kishore Kanta Andotra Babu Singh Prem Sagar Aziz Girdhari Lal Suman Bhagat Gharu Ram Moulvi Rashid
The Twin Districts Rajouri & Poonch (07 Seats @ 74%)
Awami National Conference of Former Chief Minister GM Shah had fielded 56 candidates. No seat won; one candidates was runner up, forfeited deposits at all other seats
Bahujan Samaj Party was seen as threat to Congress and BJP in Jammu region. BSP fielded ... candidates across the state. There was a close contest at three seats, all other candidates were nowhere closer in the fray. Mayawati had addressed two election rallies.
Panthers Party had fielded candidates across the state. party won three seats against four it had won in 2002. Panthers Chief Bhim Singh lost deposits as he polled only......votes in Jammu East constituency.
Epilogue Ă˜ 32 Ă— January 2009
Election Special SRINAGAR FACTOR
NC pockets seat, PDP eats vote share
I
n the keenly watched elections of 2008, the Summer Capital City of Srinagar was focus of all attention in Kashmir Valley. Srinagar district, entirely an urban area, has eight of 46 assembly constituencies of Kashmir Valley but the significance of winning assembly elections here equally important for three key players of Kashmir –National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and the separatists. When it was the case of war between separatists and the mainstream parties, the honours were shared on the day of polling. 20 per cent polling here against 40 to 60 per cent in other districts, it was a victory for separatists who had called for a complete election boycott. Viewed from other side the 20 per cent polling was a clear victory for the mainstream parties also as it was the highest in last 20 years. After first win equally shared by all, it was the case of competition of survival between National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party. Besides once lost turf of its Ganderbal backyard, Srinagar City is as important to National Conference as Jamia Masjid may be to Mirwaiz Farooq. In 2002, when National Conference President and its Chief Ministerial candidate Omar Abdullah lost to a little known fellow called as Qazi Mohammad Afzal of PDP, the result
KASHMIR VALLEY PDP
was not even in wildest of the imaginations of poll watchers. Separatist leader and head Party priest of Kashmir's Jamia Masjid, PDP Mirwaiz Omar Farooq had then NC aptly described, “Omar's defeat at Ganderbal is like me being thrown out of Jamia Masjid”. This was the only statement any separatist leader had made on 2002 elections.
SRINAGAR 2002 (in %age)
2008 (in %age)
10.55%
27.33
51.06%
43.75
50.98%. The PDP was able to get only 10 % votes as it polled only 3230 votes. The overall polling percentage in 2002 in Srinagar district was 4.3% and total registered voters were 711352.
Srinagar (8 Seats @ 22%)
A nearly guaranteed ruler of Srinagar City, National Conference lost three seats to rebels in 2002 elections. It was taken easily as they were “own men gone angry” as later the party leaders described. However, two years later when PDP made inroads in the City with significant number of seats in the Municipal Corporation and victory of Tariq Hameed Karra from Batmallo constituency in by-elections, it set the alarm bells ringing –a formidable and first ever challenge to its urban base. In 2008, the National Conference has been able to save its urban pride by Others picketing all seats but the PDP can not be easily wished away. 3
Year
NC
Congress
1977
38
0
NP
1983
38
02
NP
2
1987
32
05
NP
5
1996
38
02
NP
4
2002
18
05
16
5
2008
20
03
19
2
In 2002 the National Conference had pocketed 15624 votes of 30647 total votes polled and its percentage share stood at
Epilogue Ø 33 × January 2009
In recent elections, the National Conference vote share has gone 10 per cent down and PDP has improved by 18 per cent. In an average polling of 21.67%, the National Conference has got 48904 votes out of 120762 votes polled. It vote share stands at 40.49 %. The PDP was able to poll 34384 votes and its vote share of total votes polled stands at 28.47 per cent. PDP lost one of eight seats by mere 94 votes. NC's party symbol is plough to reflect its rural and peasant background which is actually not. Contemporaries and the students of politics say that deciding plough as symbol was a tactical move to entice the rural mindset as the party is fundamentally urban in origin. It is the urban origin of National Conference which always fetched it more seats in Srinagar City and most of other townships across the Valley. Peoples Democratic Party is still regarded as a party with rural influence where it has been able to carve out a niche. One can see in the present elections also that PDP could get only three seats from the constituencies which are also the district headquarters of different districts in Valley –Anantnag, Shopian and Baramulla.
Election Special Unemployed Chief Ministers
R
unning for Chief Ministerial post, they usually lose interest in assembly when target is missed. But if at all they attend the House, there will be three former Chief Ministers sitting in the upcoming Legislative Assembly. Interestingly, all three were running for the post of Chief Minister. It is a return of the top class of politicians as added to three former Chief Ministers, there are former Members of Parliament, presidents of regional parties and a state president of national political party. National Conference Patron Dr Farooq Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad are all former Chief Ministers elected to the new assembly. Three were also running for the post of Chief Minister. While Mufti and Azad could not make it, Farooq had campaigned for his own candidature but crowned son when results were declared. Among other top leaders adding grace to the house are: PDP President Mehbooba Mufti. She is also a Member of Lok Sabha. Mehbooba has won election from Wachi constituency in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
Former CM and PDP Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed win from Anantnag constituency defeating National Conference rival Dr Mehboob Baig by margin of 4891 votes. Mufti polled 12439 votes which was 39.49% of total votes polled. Mehboob had won 2002 election from this constituency while Mufti had won 2004 by-elections from Pahalgam constituency.
Former CM and NC Patron Dr Farooq Abdullah had won from two places. At Hazartbal he defeated PDP candidate Asiea by margin of 4272 votes. Farooq polled 11040 votes which was ……..% of total votes polled. At sonawar he defeated another PDP candidate Ghulam Qaider Pardesi by margin of 94 votes. Farooq polled 7018 votes which was ….% of total votes polled. Both these constituencies were won by NC in previous assembly which Farooq had not contested from anywhere last time.
Senior-most member in the House, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta of BJP is a former Member of Parliament and has remained a Minister of State for Defence in Atal Behari Vajpayee Government. Ashok Khajuria of BJP who has been elected from Jammu East constituency is state president of his party. Choudhary Mohammad Aslam of Congress is an old warhorse. Till recently he was a Member of the Rajya Sabha. He won assembly elections four times earlier, remained Minister and Speaker of Legislative Assembly. He was also President of the State Congress unit in mid 1990s.
Former CM and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad won in Bhaderwah by defeating BJP's Daya Kishan Kotwal by margin of … votes. Azad polled …. Votes which were 64% of total votes polled. Azad's victory margin is highest scroed by any candidates in 2008 elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Epilogue Ø 34 × January 2009
Election Special Generational Change Irm Amin Baig From election of 48 years old Barack Obama as next President of the United States of America, anointment of Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi at top position in India's grand old party the Congress to rise of Omar Abdullah in Kashmir and of many others in rugged terrains of Jammu, 2008 has clearly brought young blood to the politics as a global trend. Not only is the entry of young men into legislature significant they also have important roles ahead in the political system.
I
n Jammu and Kashmir the only real change which 2002 elections brought about is arguably is the passion on of baton to the younger generation. Taking over as Chief Minister at the age of 38, Omar Abdullah may not be the youngest ever Chief Minister in India but he has certainly made a different to Jammu and Kashmir. Elsewhere in country, AK Antony was the youngest ever Chief Minister of any state in India when he took over in Kerala in 1977 at the age of 37. Late in the 1980s, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta became Assam Chief Minister at 31 and Madhu Koda was the Jharkhand Chief Minister at the age of 33. 26 years back, Omar's father Dr Farooq Abdullah was the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir when he was sworn in at the age of 45 upon demise of his Chief Minister father Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
remaining out of power for six years, his personal loss in one assembly election brings an accommodative and experienced Omar to the office of Chief Minister.
? Omar Abdullah, 38, NC ? Ajaz Ahmed Khan, 39, Congress* ? Sakina Ittoo, 38, NC* ? Choudhary Zulfikar Ali, 38, PDP
Omar Abdullah is taking over as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister after graduating in politics at various levels. After winning Lok Sabha election, he was the youngest Union Minister at 29 when he joined Atal Behari Vajpayee government as Minister of State for Commerce and was later brought to the External Affairs Ministry. Then in his 10 years career, he lost one assembly election and won another Lok Sabha election in the process of learning lessons in the politics. His party
The elections of 2008 have brought a younger generation to the Legislative Assembly. There are 14 MLAs in the age bracket of 30 to 40 years and 24 are in the group of 40 to 50 years. A majority among the youngest lot are thoroughly career politicians and the second generation into politics. As the parties also appeared to have preferred young generation over the old guard in distribution of tickets, there is clearly a wider role cut out for them in their respective organizations and overall political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.
? Javed Mustafa Mir, 39, PDP* ? Vikar Rasool, 33, Congress ? Ajaz Ahmed Jan, 31, NC ? Javed Ahmed Dar, 31, NC ? Agha Roohullah, 32, NC* ? Zahoor Mir, 36, PDP* ? Nazir Gurezi, 36, NC* ? Yash Pal Kundal, 38, PP* ? Balwant Singh Mankotia, 39, PP* ? Shameema Firdous, 37, NC *Have won assembly election second time
Epilogue Ă˜ 35 Ă— January 2009
With a young leader at the top, Omar Abdullah's party has come with a large number of young MLAs. Coming from an influential Shia family, Syed Agha Roohullah Mehdi is coming to the legislative assembly second time at the age of 32. Ajaz Ahmed Jan is one of the youngest members in House at the age of 31. He has won from Poonch-Haveli constituency which his father Ghulam Mohammad Jan represented earlier twice. Javed Ahmed Dar is another NC MLA at the age of 31. He has defeated Mohammad Dillawar Mir of PDP who was a Cabinet Minister in the coalition
Election Special government. Mir had earlier won five times from this Rafiabad constituency. Another candidate from NC, Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi was elected in 2002 at the age of 29 and he is back to House with a victory in Gurez constituency at the age of 35. Victory of such a large number of candidates at young age is an inspiration for youth to join and do well in politics. This may be a roadmap for the National Conference to its revival. It is widely believed that Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi played a key role in his party's alliance with the National Conference instead of Peoples Democratic Party –a partner in the previous alliance. Though who followed the 2008 election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir know well that National Conference had projected Dr Farooq Abdullah as the Chief Ministerial candidate. However, when the election results were out, the NC leadership did a flip flop on December 28 and 29 between the older and younger generation and finally Omar was projected as Chief Ministerial candidate.
Ajaz Ahmad Khan can be a young ray of hope for sagging Congress in J&K.
Sources say that the Congress MP and son-in-Law of the Abdullahs, Sachin Pilot came with a lightening suggestion that Omar's name should proposed for the Chief Ministership to win Rahul's support for an alliance with National Conference. The formula worked. Preference was clear for the younger generation. If Rahul has any serious plans for seeing Congress rejuvenated in Jammu and Kashmir and the passage of baton to the young generation remains his strategy to resurgence, another young MLA of 2002, Ajaz Ahmed Khan may be the youth icon of his party in the state. Coming from a rich political background, Ajaz is a case of jump from lab to the field. In early 1990s left the University campus to join work at the grassroots. His constituency is certainly not an easy walk for the youngsters. But he proved his mantle. Loosing 1996 elections actually strengthened his roots in the area. He reached assembly in 2002 at the age of 33 and became a Minister. The PDPCongress coalition continued to have uncomfortable relations but Ajaz won trust of both Chief Ministers that at one point of time he had charge of 13 departments. His working schedule involves five days in secretariat and two days in the field. Interestingly, these two days are not for his own Gool-Arnas constituency alone sparsely distributed areas across the districts of Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu province and Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Bandipore districts in Kashmir province. Congress has been putting him into key assignments including an assembly by-election in Poonch district in 2007. In these areas whenever the top Congress leaders from Center or the state have to address public meetings, Ajaz is sent a week or ten days in advance to pull
Epilogue Ø 36 × January 2009
It is widely believed that Rahul Gandhi preferred young Omar over Farooq for Congress alliance with National Conference
Election Special the crowds. In 2008 elections when polling was over in his constituency, Ajaz was put to job in the several constituencies of Ramban and Doda districts where Congress has been able to do well. His father Haji Buland Khan, a legislator for three times, was also a man of masses. In a faction riddled Congress in Jammu and Kashmir facing reverses, young people like Ajaz can be key players for the future. Among other young faces of the Congress are Vikar Rasool Banihali who has won the recent election from Banihal constituency at quite young age of 33. Dr Manohar Lal Sharma is also in the league as he returns to the House second time at the age of 42. In Peoples Democratic Party people like Syed Basharat Bukhari and Peerzada Mansoor Hussain in Kashmir and Choudhary Zulfikar Ali in Jammu can play an instrumental role for further growth of party which has made significant inroads in north Kashmir and Jammu province. Till recently PDP was regarded as a political formation with its concentration in south Kashmir alone. Trends in the latest elections have shown PDP's enormous growth in north Kashmir and quite significant popularity in Jammu region as well. Among the youth icons of PDP are Bukhari, Mansoor and Choudhary –all three are coming to the legislative assembly for first time but they have significant influence in their areas.
Zulfikar wanted to go for higher education first. He joined PDP in 2002 and was made district president a couple of years later. Winning election at the age of 38, Zulfikar carried along a mix of youth energy and rich experience. He can be an asset for the PDP to expand further in the region.
Zulfikar, 38, is one of the only two winners of PDP in Jammu region. He can be a key force multiplier for party in the region where a lot needs to be done NC’s Sakina is back to House at 39. She can inspire women to get back into party fold
Basharat was a career journalist when influenced by policies of PDP he joined the party in 2003. Little later he was made president of the youth wing of the party and also nominated to the Legislative Council. Now he has won election from Sangrama constituency in north Kashmir at the age of 46 and has before him a massive task of rejuvenating youth wing of the party which has not seen much activity since. Zahoor Ahmed Mir is another young legislator in the PDP who has won election second time at the age of 36.
In Jammu City Get your copy of Epilogue delivered at your doorstep Call : 9419180762 01912493136 9205046146
Zulfikar, a second generation career politician, contested 2002 elections shortly after he was out of the Campus bagging a Postgraduate Degree in Law and Management. His father Choudhary Mohammad Hussain, who won election from Darhal constituency in Rajouri district five times, could have initiated him into politics at young age but
Epilogue Ø 37 × January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U P W A R A
KARNAH Kafil-ul-Rehman (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Abdul Rehman Bhadana (JKANC)
High Ranking, Low Profile
W
Total Votes : 26897 Vote Polled : 13145 Winner : 4110 Winning Margin : 1148 % Share Of Winner : 31.26 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Kafil-ul-Rehman
NC
1996 Kafil-ul-Rehman
NC
1987 Shariq-ud-Din Shariq
NC
1983 Abdul Gani Lone
PC
1977 Ghulam Qadir
NC
1972 Yaseen Shah
Ind.
1967 Mohd Yunis Khan
Cong.
1962 Mohd Yunis Khan
NC
1957 Mohd Yunis Khan
NC
ith third time straight victory of Kafil-ul-Rehman, Karnah becomes a bastion of National Conference. NC had snatched this seat from the Peoples Conference in 1983 when its candidate Sharif-ud-Din Shariq won. 53 years old Kafil, a Pahari leader, first entered the legislative assembly in 1996 and has been winning since. Interestingly, Karnah is the only constituency in Kashmir Valley where Awami National Conference stood runner up. Kafil defeated Abdul Rehman Badhana of ANC by 1148 votes.
2002 elections
T
his Assembly constituency was won by Kafil-ul-Rehman of National Conference in 2002 election, who polled 8,707 votes defeating his nearest rival Sikandar Khan of the Congress by 1,988 votes. Sikandar Khan had polled 6,719 votes. The poll percentage in 2002 was 65.36.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
K
arnah in north Kashmir has traditionally been a bastion of National Conference. It was only in 1983 when National Conference was not in the electoral fray that Peoples Conference won this seat. The Karnah Assembly constituency was represented by Mohammad Yunis Khan of National Conference in the years 1957 and 1962. Interestingly he had won the constituency uncontested in both these elections. Khan again won the seat in 1967 on a Congress ticket. However, the Epilogue Ă˜ 38 Ă— January 2009
constituency was won in 1972 by Yaseen Shah as an independent candidate. In 1977, NC candidate Ghulam Qadir was elected from the constituency. In 1983, Karnah Assembly constituency was represented by Abdul Gani Lone of People's Conference (who later became a prominent separatist leader) while as in 1987, Sharif-ud-Din Shariq of NC won from this constituency. In the 1996 elections again NC candidate Kafil-ul-Rehman was elected from Karnah constituency.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
KUPWARA Mir Saifullah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Fayaz Ahmed Mir (PDP)
P
Total Votes : 90805 Vote Polled : 55525 Winner : 16696 Winning Margin : 5182 % Share Of Winner : 30.06 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mir Saifullah
NC
1996 Mir Shafiullah
NC
1987 Mushtaq Ahmed Lone
Cong.
1983 Abdul Gani Lone
Cong.
K U P W A R A
Saifullah proves third time, Kupwara is not PC turf
eoples Conference claims that Kupwara is its turf but Mir Saifullah its proved it otherwise –three times in a row. Saifullah was one of the youngest legislators in 1996 when he won on the National Conference ticket. He has been able to retain seat three times straight. This times the Peoples Conference leader late Abdul Gani Lone's daughter had posed a challenge but she finished third. 48 years Law Graduate Saifullah defeated Peoples Democratic Party candidate Fayaz Ahmed Mir by significant margin of 5182 votes.
2002 elections
M
ir Saifullah of National Conference has won this seat in 2002 elections securing 19,233 votes out of 41,836 votes polled. Mir Saifullah defeated his nearest rival Mr. Ghulam Qadir Mir, an independent candidate, by a narrow margin of 132 votes. While Qadir Mir polled 19,101 votes the overall poll percentage in 2002 was 51.94. This was second time straight victory for Mir in Kupwara constituency which is also the district headquarter.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977 Peer Abdul Gani
NC
1972 Gh. Mohd. Shah
NC
1967 Mohd Sultan Tantray
Cong.
1962 Mohd Sultan Tantray
NC
1957 Mohd Sultan Tantray
NC
T
he Kupwara constituency was first represented by Mohammad Sultan Tantray of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Tantray again won the seat in 1967 as a Congress candidate. At all three occasions Tantray was declared elected without any contest. In 1972, Ghulam Mohammad Shah of National Conference won the seat while as the Congress candidate Assadullah Shah won the elections from this Epilogue Ø 39 × January 2009
constituency in 1977. This constituency was represented again by by NC candidates Peer Abdul Gani in 1983 and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone in 1987 respectively. In 1996, Mir Saifullah won the Assembly constituency as NC candidate. The electoral history of Kupwara reveals that this constituency has mainly remained a bastion of National Conference with the Peoples Conference as its main competitor.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A N D I P O R A
D I S T R I C T
Gurez
K U P W A R A
Langate
Nazir Ahmed (NC) n 5817 votes defeats Faqir Ahmed Khan (Congress) n 5085 votes Total Votes : 15411 | Vote Polled : 11392 WINNING MARGIN 732 % SHARE OF WINNER 51.06
Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Independent) n 7964 votes defeats Mohammad Sultan Pandithpori (PDP) n 7754 votes Total Votes : 60238 | Vote Polled : 36429 WINNING MARGIN 210 % SHARE OF WINNER 21.86
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Nazir Ahmad 1996 Faqir Mohammad
NC
NC
1987
1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
Second inning at 35
A
t young age of 35, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi is returning to House second time by defeating Faquir Mohammad Khan of Congress. Nazir had won 2002 election, as he polled 5,782 votes defeating his nearest rival Faqir Mohammad, an independent candidate, by 1,250 votes. Faqir Mohammad polled 4,532 votes. While as the total votes polled were 10,817, the poll percentage recorded in 2002 elections stood at 76.48.
1957
2002 Sharief-ud-Din Shariq
NC
1996 Abdul Ahmed Wani
NC
1987 Abdul Ahmed Wani
NC
1983 Abdul Ahmed Wani
NC
1977 Mohd. Sultan Gani
NC
1972 Abdul Gani Mir
Cong.
1967 Abdul Gani Mir
Cong.
1962 Gh. Mohd. Wani
NC
1957 Gh. Mohd. Wani
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
G
L
urez is a relatively new constituency and was carved out in April, 1995 in pursuance of J&K Representation of People's Act, 1957. Faqir Mohammad, an independent candidate, first represented the constituency in 1996 elections. Gurez constituency mostly remains disconnected from rest of Kashmir Valley for four to five months a year due to heavy snowfall and poor communication links. This segment has a tradition of massive voter turnout as could be seen during 1996 and 2002 elections.
Giant Killer
A
young independent candidate has made a difference by defeating veterans, even as the sitting MLA was pushed out of contest. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, 43, has defeated Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri of PDP while Sharief-ud-Din Shariq, the 2002 winner, stood third. Shariq of the NC won this Assembly constituency in 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest rival Panditpuri of PDP by a margin of 2,400 votes. Shariq polled 8,058 votes out of the total 26,717 votes polled. Panditpuri polled 5,658 votes. The total poll percentage was recorded at 53.97.
angate constituency was created in 1997 and first time went to elections that year. It has all along remained a stronghold of National Conference. Abdul Gani Mir of National Conference won the Assembly constituency while as in 1977 Mohammad Sultan Ganai also of National Conference represented the constituency. NC candidate Abdul Ahad Wani represented in the constituency in 1983, 1987 and 1996 elections. Langate was one among the two assembly constituencies in Kashmir Valley where Peoples Democratic Party won first time ever. It was after the assassination of sitting MLA Abdul Ahad Wani, who had won in 1996 that this constituency went to by-polls and Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri of Peoples Democratic Party won.
Epilogue Ă˜ 40 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U P W A R A
Lolab
PDP’s lone solace in Kupwara
Abdul Haq Khan (PDP)
defeats
Qaiser Jamsheed Lone (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
A
Total Votes : 85855 Vote Polled : 57382 Winner : 23337 Winning Margin : 5347 % Share Of Winner : 40.66 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Qaiser Jamshed Lone
NC
1996 Mushtaq Ahmed Lone
NC
bdul Haq Khan of the Peoples Democratic Party is a lone solace for the party in this district but his victory is quite significant in this constituency which has remained a strong turf of the National Conference and the Peoples Conference. Khan has defeated the sitting MLA Qaiser Jamshed Lone who made a comfortable win in 2002 elections riding on sympathy wave over assassination of his uncle Mushtaq Ahmed Lone. Mushtaq was a Minister for Home in Farooq government and was assassinated in September 2002 during election campaign. Haq was in fray in 2002 also but lost to Lone. 55 years old Haq has won by a margin over 5000 votes.
2002 elections
1987
Q
aiser Jamshed Lone of National Conference was elected from this constituency in 2002 securing 14,408 votes out of 34,093 votes polled. The poll percentage was 46.88. Qaiser defeated his nearest rival Abdul Haq Khan, an independent candidate, by a margin of 1,996 votes. Khan polled 12,412 votes.
1983
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
L
1977
1972 Saifullah Bhat
Cong.
1967 Ghulam Nabi Wani
Cong.
1962 Ghulam Nabi Wani
NC
1957 Ghulam Nabi Wani
NC
ike most of the assembly constituencies in Kashmir Valley, Lolab too witnessed two elections uncontested. Lolab constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Ghulam Nabi Wani in 1957 and 1962. Wani again won the constituency in 1967 as a Congress candidate. In 1972, Saifullah Bhat of Congress was declared winner from the Assembly constituency. The Lolab constituency was then merged and reconstituted in Epilogue Ø 41 × January 2009
1995. Mushtaq Ahmed Lone of NC was declared elected from this constituency in 1996. Barring the uncontested elections, this constituency has been witnessing an impressive voter turnout in every election.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U P W A R A
Handwara Ch. Mohd. Ramzan (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Gh. Mohi-ud-Din Sofi (INDEPENDENT)
The return of the Choudhary
ne north Kashmir strongman of National Conference, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan has bounced back but not without a band. It certainly was an awkward situation for Choudhary in 12002 when a cloth merchant Sofi Ghulam Mohiuddin defeated this top ranking Cabinet Minister of Farooq Abdullah government who had won the constituency thrice till then. Ramzan has restored grace to himself and the party when he won over Sofi by a margin of over 11000 votes. Sofi was seen in 2002 elections as a proxy of the Peoples Conference and later he remained a Minister in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed cabinet.
O
Total Votes : 78151 Vote Polled : 57678 Winner : 27907 Winning Margin : 11590 % Share Of Winner : 48.38 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Sofi Gh. Mohi-ud-din
Ind.
1996 Ch. Mohd. Ramzan
NC
1987 Ch. Mohd. Ramzan
NC
1983 Ch. Mohd. Ramzan
NC
1977 Abdul Gani Lone
BJP
1972 Abdul Gani Lone
Cong.
1967 Abdul Gani Lone
Cong.
1962 Abdul Gani Mir
Ind.
1957 Ghulam Qadir
NC
2002 elections
I
ndependent candidate Sofi Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din was elected from this constituency in 2002 securing 15,389 votes out of a total of 32,976 votes polled. The poll percentage was recorded at 51.47. Sofi won by a margin of 2,997 votes defeating National Conference heavyweight and sitting legislator Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, who polled 12,392 votes. Ramzan was then a Minister and had been representing the constituency since 1983 in row. Sofi owes his allegiance to the Peoples Conference and was seen as separatist proxy in the mainstream elections.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
A
competitive turf between National Conference and the Peoples Conference, Handwara had two uncontested elections in 1957 and 1967. The Handwara constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Ghulam Qadir Masala in 1957. Abdul Gani Mir won from Handwara in 1962 as an independent candidate. While Abdul Gani Epilogue Ă˜ 42 Ă— January 2009
Lone won in 1967 and 1972 from Handwara constituency as a Congress candidate, he again won the seat in 1977 as a Janta Party candidate. Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan had won the constituency in 1983, 1987 and 1996 elections as a NC candidate.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Uri
Roots in south, niche in north
Taj Mohi-ud-Din (CONGRESS)
defeats
Mohammad Shafi (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
H
Total Votes : 65996 Vote Polled : 53964 Winner : 24036 Winning Margin : 1879 % Share Of Winner : 44.54
e is a unique player. Taj Mohiuddin comes from southern most part of J&K –Kathua –and tries luck from this one of this northern most constituency. He lost several elections but stood firm before winning for first time in 2002. It was not an easy win then and not so easy now. Both times Taj defeated top National Conference leader Mohammad Shafi who had retained seat from 1972 to 1996 continuously. Shafi is among the old guard of NC and is regarded as party's policy brain.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Taj Mohi-ud-Din
Cong.
1996 Mir Mohd. Shafi
NC
1987 Mir Mohd. Shafi
NC
1983 Mir Mohd. Shafi
NC
2002 elections
T
aj Mohiuddin of Congress sprung a surprise in 2002 when he defeated National Conference heavyweight Mohammad Shafi though with a wafer thin margin. Taj polled 20,460 votes defeating Mohammad Shafi by 184 votes. Mohammad Shafi polled 20,276 votes. The poll percentage in 2002 was 66.49.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977 Mir Mohd. Shafi
NC
1972 Mir Mohd. Shafi
Ind.
1967 Mohd. Muzaffar Khan
Cong.
1962 Raja Mohd. Afzal Khan
NC
1957 Raja Mohd. Afzal Khan
NC
U
ri constituency in Baramulla has though mostly returned the National Conference candidates to assembly, except at two occasions, but there has always been a strong contest with the Congress. This constituency has also seen two elections without any contest. Uri was, therefore, represented by National Conference candidate Raja Mohammad Afzal Khan in Epilogue Ø 43 × January 2009
1957 and 1962. In 1967 election, Uri constituency was won by Mohammad Muzaffar Khan of the Congress party. In 1972, Mr. Mohammad Shafi won the Assembly constituency as an independent candidate but later he joined the National Conference. Since then he has winning in Uri in the elections 1977, 1983, 1987 and 1996, as National Conference candidate.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Rafiabad
Sopore
Javid Ahmed Dar (NC) n 13918 votes defeats Mohammad Dilawar Mir (PDP) n 13702 votes Total Votes : 70336 | Vote Polled : 36778 WINNING MARGIN 216 % SHARE OF WINNER 35.88
Mohammad Ashraf Ganie (NC) n 8368 votes defeats Abdul Rashid Dar (Congress) n 4368 votes Total Votes : 89868 | Vote Polled : 18017 WINNING MARGIN 1064 % SHARE OF WINNER 46.44
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Mohd. Dilawar Mir
NC
1996 Dilawar MirJanta Dal 1987 Gh. Mohd. Khan
NC
1983 Dilawar MirNC 1977 Dilawar MirNC 1972 Mohd. Yousaf Dar
Cong.
1967 Gh. Rasook Kar
NC
1962 Gh. Rasook Kar
NC
1957 Gh. Rasook Kar
NC
Young take at old guard
3
1 years old Javed Ahmed Dar of NC has defeated a veteran of all elections, Dillawar Mir of PDP by a very narrow margin. The Rafiabad Assembly constituency was won by Mohammad Dilawar Mir as NC (later he joined PDP and sought re-election in 2006) candidate in 2002 securing 11,576 votes out of 33,072 votes polled. Dilawar Mir defeated his nearest rival Abdul Gani Vakil of the Congress by a margin of 632 votes. While Vakil polled 10,944 votes, the overall poll percentage in 2002 was 52.54.
2002 Abdul Rashi
Cong.
1996 Syed Ali Shah Geelani
JI
1987 Hakim Habibullah
NC
1983 Hakim Habibullah
NC
1977 Syed Ali Shah Geelani
JI
1972 Syed Ali Shah Geelani
JI
1967 Ghulam Nabi Malik
Cong.
1962 Abdul Gani Malik
NC
1957 Abdul Gani Malik
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
G
T
hulam Rasool Kar represented Rafiabad as NC candidate in 1957 and 1962 elections while in 1967 he won elections here as Congress nominee. In 1972, the Rafiabad Assembly seat was won by Congress candidate Mohammad Yousuf Dar. In 1977 and 1983, this constituency was won by Dilawar Mir as NC candidate. In 1987, Ghulam Mohammad Khan won from Rafiabad on National Conference ticket. Dilawar again won from Rafiabad in 1996 as Janta Dal candidate. Though Dillwar against won in 2002 as NC nominee but in the mid term he resigned his seat to joined PDP and sought re-election in April 2006. The by-election had a stunning poll percentage of 75.52 per cent and Dillawar won as PDP nominee defeating NC candidate Mohammad Maqbool Mir.
Winner of separatist hotbed
I
n this separatist hotbed, Mohammad Ashraf Ganie of NC has defeated sitting Congress MLA Abdul Rashid. Rashid was elected from this constituency in 2002 securing 2,062 votes out of 6,213 votes polled. The poll percentage was 8.09. Rashid defeated his nearest rival. Abdul Ahad Vakil, of National Conference by a margin of 547 votes. Vakil polled 1,515 votes. Vakil loss for a humiliation for National Conference. He was the Speaker of Legislative Assembly then.
his militancy infested constituency is known for strong presence of Jamat-e-Islami and is the home place of senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Sopore constituency was represented by NC candidate Abdul Gani Malik in 1957 and 1962. He had won both elections uncontested. Ghulam Nabi Malik won the constituency in 1967 as a Congress candidate. In 1972 and 1977, Syed Ali Shah Geelani won Sopore as Jamat-e-Islami candidate. In the 1983 elections, Hakim Habibullah of NCwas declared winner while as in 1987 Syed Ali Shah Geelani again won from the Assembly constituency. Abdul Ahad Vakil of National Conference was declared elected from this constituency in 1996.
Epilogue Ă˜ 44 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Sangrama
Radio voice pockets popularity
Syed Basharat Ahmed (PDP)
defeats
Shoaib Nabi Lone (INDEPENDENT)
H
e may have won election from a particular constituency in Kashmir but his voice is popular across the Valley. Coming from family of acclaimed journalists and academicians, Syed Basharat Bukhari was ran a popular program at Radio Kashmir before he joined PDP in 2003. This 46 years old outspoken politician was first elected to the House of Elders before he sought election from Sangrama
Total Votes : 58505 Vote Polled : 27809 Winner : 7812 Winning Margin : 1330 % Share Of Winner : 28.09 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ghulam Nabi Lone
PDP
1996 Mohd. Maqbool Lone
NC
1987 Mohi-ud-Din Bhat
NC
1983 Ghulam Rasool
NC
1977 Ghulam Rasool 1972
1967
1962
1957
2002 elections
P
eoples Democratic Party candidate Ghulam Nabi Lone was elected from the constituency in 2002 securing 3,697 votes out of a total of 10,294 votes polled. The poll percentage was recorded at 22.10. Mr. Lone won by a margin of 1,059 votes defeating National Conference candidate Mohammad Yousuf, who polled 2,638 votes.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND NC
S
angrama constituency was created in 1977 by way of delimitation and went to polls first time that year. National Conference candidate Ghulam Rasool in 1977 and 1983 won Assembly elections from Sangrama. In 1987, Mohi-udDin Bhat won as National Conference candidate while as in 1996, Mohammad Maqbool Lone also of National Conference was Epilogue Ă˜ 45 Ă— January 2009
elected from the constituency. PDP candidate Ghulam Nabi Lone was assassination in 2005 and subsequently constituency went to by-elections in April 2006. His son Shoaib Nabi Lone contested as byelections as an independent candidate and defeated Javed Hussain Baig of Peoples Democratic Party. The poll percentage in the bye-election was 63.30.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Baramulla Muzaffar Hussain Baig (PDP)
defeats
Nazir Hussain Khan (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Second verdict for brainy stalwart
T
Total Votes : 73644 Vote Polled : 24355 Winner : 13019 Winning Margin : 5398 % Share Of Winner : 53.45
emperamentally sensitive, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, probably the highest asset of PDP, is an orator, intellectual and legal luminary par excellence. One of highest paid lawyers of Supreme Court, before actively entering PDP with formation of party in 1999, Baig is a practitioner of clean politics. There was hardly any campaign in his constituency due to his unwilling health but still his victory with an impressive margin reveals his roots in the area.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Abdul Rashi
PDP
1996 Mujahid Mohd. Abdullah NC 1987 Sheikh Mohd. Maqbool NC 1983 Sheikh Mohd. Maqbool
NC
1977 Ghulam-ud-Din Shah
NC
1972 Shams-ud-Din
NC
1967 Shams-ud-Din
NC
1962 Harbans Singh Azad
NC
1957 Harbans Singh Azad
NC
2002 elections
M
uzaffar Hussain Baig of the Peoples Democratic Party won the Assembly constituency in 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest rival Ghulam Nabi Kachru of National Conference by a margin of 2,849 votes. Baig had polled 6,833 votes out of the total 17,693 votes polled. Mr. Kachru polled 3,984 votes. The total poll percentage was recorded at 24.14.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
E
xcept 1972 elections, Baramulla constituency, also the district headquarter of this historic north Kashmir district, remained a bastion of National Conference till Muzaffar Baig clinched 2002 polls. In 1957 and 1962, Baramulla constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Harbans Singh Azad. In 1967, Shams-ud-Din of National Epilogue Ă˜ 46 Ă— January 2009
Conference was elected from Baramulla Assembly segment while as in 1972, Ghulam-udDin Shah won the Assembly seat. In 1983 and 1987, Sheikh Mohammad Maqbool of National Conference represented the constituency. Another National Conference candidate Mujahid Mohammad Abdullah represented the constituency in 1996 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Gulmarg Ghulam Hassan Mir (JKDPN)
defeats
Sheikh Mustafa Kamal (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Rebel by nature, has his people loyal
G
Total Votes : 81699 Vote Polled : 49592 Winner : 18253 Winning Margin : 6441 % Share Of Winner : 36.80 (Out of Total Votes)
hulam Hassan Mir leads a career in politics at his own terms. He was a top ranking leader in National Conference but fell out. He was almost second in command in PDP but here too he fell out. Stability appears to have come to this veteran only when he has founded his own party –Democratic Party (Nationalist). This is second time that he has defeated scion of Abdullah dynasty –Sheikh Mustafa Kamal. Mir got 18253 votes against 11812 of Kamal. None else from Mir's party has won from anywhere.
HISTORY 2002 Ghulam Hassan Mir
PDP
1996 Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal NC 1987 Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal NC 1983 Ghulam Hassan Mir
2002 elections
G
hulam Hassan Mir of Peoples Democratic Party was elected from this constituency in 2002 securing 27,737 votes out of 35,486 votes polled. The poll percentage was 50.42. Mr. Mir defeated his nearest rival Mr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal of NC by a margin of 19,988 votes. Kamal polled 7,749 votes. Mir had later fallen out with the PDP leadership.
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Mohd. Akbar Lone
NC
1972 S. Surinder Singh
NC
1967 S. Surinder Singh
NC
1962 Mohammad Akbar
NC
1957 Mohammad Akbar
NC
G
ulmarg also remained a bastion of National Conference except for 1972 elections. This picturesque constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Mohammad Akbar both in 1957 and 1962 while as Sardar Surinder Singh won the 1967 Assembly elections on National Conference ticket. In 1972, Surinder Singh again won, however Epilogue Ø 47 × January 2009
this time as Congress candidate. In 1977, Mohammad Akbar Lone of National Conference was declared elected while as in 1983, this constituency was won by National Conference candidate Ghulam Hassan Mir. In 1987 and 1996, the constituency was represented by Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, the younger brother of Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A R A M U L L A
Pattan Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (PDP)
defeats
Abdul Rashid Shaheen (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
6
Total Votes : 78915 Vote Polled : 40486 Winner : 20703 Winning Margin : 11271 % Share Of Winner : 51.13 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 M.I.H. Ansari
Powerful man, has always been with power
NC
7 years old leading business tycoon of Jammu and Kashmir is also a well learned leader. His grip at the political philosophy and spiritual Islam is impressive. On orator par excellence, Ansari has arguably been a man of party in power. He won 1996 elections on Congress ticket but joined first Farooq Abdullah cabinet and then his NC party. When Abdullahs lost power in 2002 but Ansari, who had won on NC ticket, resigned as MLA to join PDP. This time has won on PDP ticket with a whooping margin. He polled 20703 votes against 9432 of Abdul Rashid Shaheen of NC. Shaheen is a sitting MP. 2002 elections
N
1996 M.I.H. Ansari
Cong.
1987 Aga Syed Mehmoodl
NC
1983 M.I.H. Ansari
Cong.
1977 Ab,Rashid Shaheen
NC
1972 Gh. Qadir Bedar
Cong.
1967 Gh. Rasool Dar
NC
1962 Gh. Mohd. Jalib
NC
1957 Gh. Mohd. Jalib
NC
ational Conference candidate Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari was elected from the constituency in 2002 securing 15,268 votes out of a total of 29,008 votes polled. The poll percentage was recorded at 41.55. Ansari won by a margin of 2,184 votes defeating Congress candidate Dr. Abdul Ahad Yatoo, who polled 13,084 votes. However, Ansari had later resigned from the seat in 2005 to join Peoples Democratic Party.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
F
irst two elections in Pattan constituency were uncontested as was the trend across Valley. Interestingly, since 1962, the seat has been mostly alternating between National Conference and the Congress. The Pattan constituency was won by National Conference candidate Ghulam Mohamad Jalib in 1957 and 1962 while as in 1967 Assembly elections National Conference candidate Ghulam Rasool Dar was declared elected. In 1972, Ghulam Qadir Bedar won as Congress candidate while as in 1977, Abdul Rashid Shaheen of National Conference was elected Epilogue Ă˜ 48 Ă— January 2009
from the constituency. In 1983, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari was declared elected as Congress candidate while as in 1987 National Conference candidate Aga Syed Mehmood wrested the seat. Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari again won the seat in 1996 as Congress candidate. Ansari again won this constituency in 2002 as National Conference nominee but subsequently resigned seat in 2005 to join PDP on whose ticket he contested by-election in April 2006 but lost to Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal of National Conference.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A N D I P O R A
Bandipora Nizzam-ud-Din Bhat (PDP)
defeats
Usman Abdul Majid (INDEPENDENT)
Journalist’s fence crossing endorsed
N
izamuddin Bhat is a former journalist. He was active in journalism when he joined PDP in 2003. Next year he was made to contest Lok Sabha election from North Kashmir and was poised to loose as coalition partners were engaged in a 'friendly contest' to advantage of NC. Nizam was later nominated to Legislative Council and has now won seat for party which was earlier held by Awami League.
Total Votes : 86306 Vote Polled : 4995 Winner : 13051 Winning Margin : 820 % Share Of Winner : 26.10 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Usham Abdul Majid
JKAL
1996 Ghulam Rasool Mir
NC
1987 Ghulam Rasool Mir
NC
2002 elections
T
1983 Mohd. Khalil
NC
he Bandipora Assembly segment was won by Usman Abdul Majid of Jammu and Kashmir Awami League –a political outfit formed after dissolving militant link. Usman had secured 5,722 votes out of 22,179 votes polled and defeated his nearest rival Habibullah Bhat of the Congress by a margin of 253 votes. While Bhat polled 5,469 votes, the overall poll percentage in 2002 was 31.25.
1977 Mohd. Khalil
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1972 Mohd. Anwar Khan
Cong.
B
1967 Mohd. Anwar Khan
Cong.
1962 Abdul Kabir Khan
NC
1957 Abdul Kabir Khan
NC
andipore was also known as Gurez constituency for sometime and has remained a traditional bastion of the National Conference. The constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Abdul Kabir Khan both in 1957 and 1962 while as Mohammad Anwar Khan of the Congress won the 1967 Epilogue Ø 49 × January 2009
and 1972 Assembly elections. In 1977 and 1983, National Conference candidate Mohammad Khalil was declared elected from this constituency. In 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections, Bandipora constituency was represented by Ghulam Rasool Mir of the National Conference.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B A N D I P O R A
Sonawari Mohd. Akbar Lone (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Abid Hussain Ansari (INDEPENDENT)
Way ahead of others in race
M
ohammad Akbar Lone's second time victory reveals that he has roots firm in the ground. He had won 2002 elections at an atmosphere when his party National Conference suffered massive reverses across the Valley. In 2008 none of his opponents could poll even half of what Lone has got -20108 votes. Lone was Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly till 2008.
Total Votes : 84772 Vote Polled : 50595 Winner : 20108 Winning Margin : 12157 % Share Of Winner : 39.74 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Akbar Lone
NC
1996 Mohd. Yousaf Parrey
NC
1987 Mohi-ud-Din Kuchay
NC
1983 Gh. Rasool Bhar
NC
2002 elections
M
ohammad Akbar Lone of National Conference had won the Assembly constituency in 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest rival Mohammad Yousuf Parray of Jammu and Kashmir Awami League by a margin of 12,758 votes. Mr. Lone polled 25,687 votes out of the total 44,246 votes polled while as Mr. Parray polled 12,929 votes. The total poll percentage was recorded at 56.50.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977 Ab. Aziz Parrey
NC
1972 Ab. Aziz Parrey
Cong.
1967 Ab. Aziz Parrey
Cong.
1962 Abdul Kabir Bhat
NC
1957 Abdul Khaliq Bhat
NC
S
onawari has seen mixed presence of various parties and close contests most of the times but National Conference maintained a sway. In 1957, Sonawari constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Abdul Khaliq Bhat. In 1962, Abdul Kabir Bhat won the Assembly elections as National Conference candidate. While Abdul Aziz Parrey won the 1967 and 1972 elections from Sonawari on a Congress Epilogue Ă˜ 50 Ă— January 2009
ticket, in 1977 he was elected from Sonawari as National Conference candidate. In 1983 polls, this Assembly segment was represented by Ghulam Rasool Bahar while as Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Kuchay was elected from here in 1987. Mohammad Yousuf Parrey, an independent candidate, won from here in 1996. Parray also known as Kukka Parray, had formed his party Awami League.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
G A N D E R B A L
Kangan Altaf Ahmed (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Bashir Ahmed Mir (PDP)
In assembly, third generation since 1952
C
Total Votes : 59333 Vote Polled : 34939 Winner : 19210 Winning Margin : 7715 % Share Of Winner : 54.98 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Main Altaf Ahmad
NC
1996 Mian Altaf Ahmad
NC
1987 Mian Altaf Ahmad
NC
1983 Sheikh Ab. Jabbar
NC
oming to Legislative Assembly for fourth time straight, 48 years old Mian Altaf of National Conference has created a rare history. The third generation Mian scion has maintained membership of the family in legislative assembly since 1952. Belonging to spiritually and politically influential family of Mians of Lar, Altaf's grandfather, the revered Mian Nizammudin Aulia was a Member of the Constituent Assembly and maintained his membership in the subsequent elections of 1957 to 1972. Then Altaf's father represented constituency in 1977. In 1983 too Mian Bashir was MLA but he sought election for Darhal constituency in Rajouri district. He had won the 1987 election at age of 27 and has been winning straight ever since. 2002 elections
1977 Mian Bashir Anwar Khan NC 1972 Mian Bashir Anwar Khan Cong. 1967 Mian Bashir Anwar Khan Cong. 1962 Mian Nizam-ud-Din
NC
1957 Mian Nizam-ud-Din
NC
T
his constituency was represented by Mian Altaf Ahmad of National Conference in 2002. He got elected from this constituency by defeating Ghulam Mohammad Dar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a margin of 11,039 votes. While Altaf secured 16,987 votes, Dar had got 5,948 votes out of 26,249 votes polled overall. The poll percentage was recorded at 52.03.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
his constituency is unique in Jammu and Kashmir for electing members of a single family ever since its inception. Three generations of Mian family have been elected from Ganderbal, no matter whichever party they came from. The constituency was represented by Mian Nizam-ud-Din as National Conference candidate in 1957 and 1962 and then by his son Mian Bashir Ahmad as Congress candidate in 1967 and 1972 Epilogue Ă˜ 51 Ă— January 2009
elections. Mian Bashir Ahmad again won from here as a National Conference candidate in 1977. 1983 was only exception to Mian family when Sheikh Abdul Jabbar of National Conference was elected from this constituency. Mian Nizamud-Din's grandson and Mian Bashir's son, Mian Altaf Ahmad was elected from this constituency in 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections on NC ticket.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
G A N D E R B A L
Ganderbal Omar Abdullah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Qazi Mohammad Afzal (PDP)
Grace returns to first family, first party
F
Total Votes : 77627 Vote Polled : 39818 Winner : 16519 Winning Margin : 8215 % Share Of Winner : 41.48 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Qazi Mohammad Afzal
PDP
1996 Farooq Abdullah
NC
1987 Farooq Abdullah
NC
1983 Farooq Abdullah
NC
1977 Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah
NC
1972 Mohd. Maqbool Bhat
NC
1967 Mohd. Maqbool Bhat
Cong.
1962 Abdul Salam Aitu
NC
1957 GhulamAhmad Sofi
NC
inally, Omar Abdullah has been able to restore grace to the party and the family. For anyone who watched the 2002 elections it was a shock when a little known Qazi Mohammad Afzal of Peoples Democratic Party defeated Chief Ministerial candidate of National Conference at a constituency which remained Abdullah family turf since 1977. This victory was symbolic for PDP and Qazi was rewarded by a top ministerial berth. For next five and half years he remained in the thick of controversies and the lowest point in his recent career was the Amarnath land deal. He was signatory to the order which set Kashmir on fire. It is interesting to note that in 2002 NC had emerged single largest party with 28 seats but it did not stake claim for Government formation. Omar's loss was probably seen as verdict against the NC. This time again NC won same number of seats but the moment Ganderbal result was out the party was sure of forming government and Omar as next Chief Minister. 2002 elections
G
anderbal was the most talked about assembly constituency in 2002 as NC's Chief Ministerial candidate lost here. This constituency was represented by Qazi Mohammad Afzal of PDP in 2002 elections. He won the seat defeating his National Conference president Omar Abdullah by a significant margin of 2,870 votes. Qazi secured 11,622 votes as compared to 8,752 polled by Mr. Abdullah. The total number of votes polled was 24,081. The poll percentage was 35.20.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
his constituency is considered as family bastion of the Abdullahs. It alternated between NC and the Congress till 1972 and in 1975 the sitting Congress MLA was made to resign to pay way for election of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah when he assumed power after the famous BaigParthasarthy accord. Ganderbal constituency was represented by Ghulam Ahmad Sofi of NC in Epilogue Ă˜ 52 Ă— January 2009
won from Ganderbal in 1972 on NC ticket. In the middle of term, Bhat was asked to resign and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah won the by-elections. Afterwards, Sheikh was elected from this constituency in 1977. In 1983, 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections, this constituency was represented by Dr. Farooq Abdullah and such remained bastion of Abdullah family till Omar lost in 2002.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Hazratbal
Return, better late than never
Farooq Abdullah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Asiea (PDP)
Vote Polled : 000000 Winner : 11041 Winning Margin : 4272 % Share Of Winner : 0000 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohammad Syed Akhoon NC 1996 Mohd. Syed Akhoon
nly if Dr Farooq Abdullah had taken a decision in 2002 which he took six years later, things for National Conference would have been different. He skipped not only campaign midway but also did not seek election from anywhere. Contesting election in 2008 underlined Abdullah senior's seriousness to steer party to power. Hazratbal was therefore safe choice. Farooq secure 11041 votes in a contest which can not be described as a cake walk even though winning margin was significant. His runner up, the PDP candidate Asea, polled 6769 votes. There were 16 other candidates and all of them lost their deposits. In fact, except Congress candidate Agha Syed Mohasin, none else could poll more than 1000 votes. Agha polled 2913 which is significant for Congress in Srinagar City.
O
Total Votes : 82677
NC
2002 elections 1987 Mohd. Yaseen Shah
NC
1983 Hissam-ud-Din Banday
NC
1977 Hissam-ud-Din Banday
NC
T
his Assembly constituency was won by Mohammad Syed Akhoon of National Conference in 2002 defeating his nearest rival Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din of the Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of 1,403 votes. While Akhoon polled 3,042 votes, Mohi-ud-Din received 1,639 votes. The total votes polled were 6,110 and poll percentage was recorded at 7.11. Akhoon had won second time in row.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1972 Sofi Ghulam Ahmed
NC
1967 Peer Yehya Shah Sadiqi NC 1962 Peer Yehya Shah Sadiqi NC 1957 Peer Yehya Shah Sadiqi NC
T
here could not have been any other secure seat for National Conference than Hazratbal which remained with the party always. The Hazratbal constituency has been represented all along by NC since 1952 till 2002. First two elections were uncontested. While Peer Yehya Shah Sadiqi won in Epilogue Ă˜ 53 Ă— January 2009
1957, 1962, and 1967 elections, Sofi Ghulam Ahmed won in 1972. Mr. Hissam-ud-Din Banday was elected in 1977 and 1983 elections from this constituency. This constituency was represented by Mohammad Yaseen Shah in 1987 and Mohammad Syed Akhoon in 1996 respectively.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Iddgah Mubarak Ahmad Gul (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Asifa Tariq Qarra (PDP)
Idgah’s defenders is lieutenant of Abdullahs
I
dgah constituency is a hub of separatist politics in Srinagar City. But Mubarak Gul has his indomitable influence. A trusted lieutenant of the Abdullahs, Gul was the Chief Whip of National Conference in both ninth and tenth assemblies. He is winning third time straight at the constituency which he first won in 1983. Gul, 58, secured 4457 votes against 2778 of Asifa Tariq Karra of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Total Votes : 58245 Vote Polled : 12390 Winner : 4457 Winning Margin : 1679 % Share Of Winner : 35.97 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mubarak Ahmed Gul
NC
1996 Mubarak Ahmed Gul
NC
1987 Mohammad Shafi Khan
NC
1983 Mubarak Ahmed Gul
NC
1977 Abdul Rashid Kabli
BJP
1972 Abdul Rashid Kabli
Ind.
1967 Bakshi Gh. Mohammad
NC
1962 Bakshi Gh. Mohammad
NC
1957 Bakshi Gh. Mohammad
NC
2002 elections
M
ubark Ahmed Gul of National Conference won election from this constituency in 2002 securing 2,026 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Mohammad Ashraf Bakshi, an independent candidate, by a margin of 1,279 votes. Mr. Bakshi polled 747 votes. The total votes polled were 3,342 and percentage of polling was 4.74. Gul won in 2002 for second time straight.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
E
idgah constituency was known as Safakadal till 1972 when it was renamed. This is a historic segment in Srinagar City which has been represented by the Prime Minister (head of Government in Jammu and Kashmir was called as Prime Minister till 1965) of the state. Therefore, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad of National Conference won from here in 1957, 1962 and 1967 Assembly elections. Abdul Rashid Kabli first won from Epilogue Ø 54 × January 2009
here as an independent candidate in 1972 elections and again in 1977 elections as Janta Party candidate. Mubark Ahmed Gul of National Conference wrested this constituency in 1983 and won again in 1996 while as Mohammad Shafi Khan also of NC was elected from Iddgah in 1987. Gul recaptured constituency again in 1996 and held in 2002 also. National Conference has maintained a clear dominance since 1983.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Khanyar Ali Mohammad Sagar (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Showqat Hafiz (PDP)
His popularity yet to get challenger
4 years old Ali Mohammad Sagar is perhaps the most uncompromising leader of National Conference. As a Minister of State for Home in Farooq Abdullah government he would make the Director General of Police to under writ of political establishment and later as Works Minister he tightened the engineering departments with absolute grip. When NC was in opposition after 2002, Sagar's healthy criticism would always sent the treasury benches in tizzy. In his Khanyar home turf, Sagar has proved third time that his popularity has no challenge. In a not-so-poor voter turnout, Sagar polled 6313 votes while none of nine other contestants could get more than 900 votes –highest were 806 of PDP candidate Showkat Ahmad Hafiz. Sagar had won 1987 elections from Batmalloo.
5
Total Votes : 53842 Vote Polled : 8512 Winner : 6313 Winning Margin : 5507 % Share Of Winner : 74.16 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ali Mohd. Sagar
NC
1996 Ali Mohd. Sagar
NC
2002 elections 1987 Peer Mohd. Shafi
NC
1983 Abdul Samad Teli
NC
1977 Abdul Samad Teli
A
li Mohammad Sagar of NC won the seat in 2002 elections defeating his nearest Congress rival Mushtaq Ahmed by a margin of 2,741 votes. Sagar polled 2,868 votes and Mushtaq Ahmed 127, out of the 3,056 votes polled. The poll percentage was recorded at 4.21.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND NC
1972
1967
1962 Gazi Abdul Rehman
NC
1957 Ab. Rehman Bhat
NC
K
hanyar constituency was dissolved in 1977 and was recreated by way of delimitation in 1995 and again went to polls in 1996. However, right from the beginning this constituency maintained a hold of National Conference even though Congress and the Jamat-eIslami showed its significant presence in the electoral process. Except 1967 and 1972 Assembly elections Epilogue Ø 55 × January 2009
when Ghulam Ahmad of Congress and Saif-ud-Din Qari of Jamat-e-Islami won the Assembly seat NC has won the seat in all other Assembly elections. National Conference candidates Abdul Rehman Bhat (1957), Gazi Abdul Rehman (1962), Abul Samad Teli (1977, 1983 & 1987) and Ali Mohammad Sagar (1996) have represented the constituency.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Habakadal
Kashmiri Pandits ensured this woman wins
Shameema Firdous (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Hira Lal Chatha (BJP)
S
Total Votes : 51394 Vote Polled : 5769 Winner : 2374 Winning Margin : 1703 % Share Of Winner : 41.15 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Raman Mattoo
Ind.
1996 P.L. Handoo
NC
1987 P.L. Handoo
NC
1983 Gh. Mohd. Bhat
NC
1977 Gh. Mohd. Bhat
NC
1972 Gh. Mohd. Bhat
Ind.
1967 Kant Koul
Cong.
1962 D.P. Dhar
NC
1957 D.P. Dhar
NC
hameema Firdous is a young legislator at 37. While National Conference restored absolute grip over Srinagar district, the credit largely goes to Kashmiri Pandits for smooth victory of Shameema. This constituency has a large number of Kashmiri Pandit voters and in view of local boycott the migrant community would return their member easily. Ten of the 21 total candidates here were Kashmiri Pandits and none of them could poll over 500 votes. In fact no other candidate except the winner got more than 1000 votes. Shameema got 2374 votes and her runner up, Hira Lal Chatta of BJP, polled a meager 691 votes. Raman Mattoo, who had won election in 2002, was this time finished at 280 votes.
2002 elections
R
aman Mattoo, independent candidate, was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest BJP rival Mr. Hira Lal Gupta by a margin of 171 votes. Mr. Mattoo polled 587 and Mr. Gupta 416 votes of the total 2,062 votes polled. The percentage of polling was recorded at 3.08.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
H
abbakadal in Srinagar City is a constituency with largest number of Kashmiri Pandit votes. Even after their migration, it is the Kashmir Pandit vote which has remained a decisive factor. The legendary D.P. Dhar of National Conference represented this constituency in 1957and 1962 Assembly polls while as Shri Kant Koul of Congress got Epilogue Ă˜ 56 Ă— January 2009
elected from here in 1967 elections. Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, independent candidate, won from this constituency in 1972 elections. He was returned as National Conference candidate in 1977 and 1983. Political veteran and legal luminary Piare Lal Handoo of National Conference represented this constituency in 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Amirakadal
Face of YNC gets seat in house
Naser Aslam Wani (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Parvez Ahmed Bhat (PDP)
Vote Polled : 11274 Winner : 3922 Winning Margin : 819 % Share Of Winner : 34.78 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Shafi Bhat
Cong.
1996 Mohd. Shafi Bhat
NC
1987 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
NC
1983 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
NC
1977 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
0 years old Nasir Aslam Wani was second in command when Omar Abdullah rose to the top ranks of Youth National Conference before taking over as president of the grand old party in 2001. YNC was than just Omar and Nasir and it was never revived. This descendant of an influential political family earlier concentrated on Lolab Valley but things did not work. At Amirakadal, Nasir polled 3922 votes against 3103 of his rival Pervez Ahmed Bhat of PDP. None of 27 other candidates could get more than 1000 votes in the constituency where a high profile Amreen Badar of Congress polled only 407 votes.
5
Total Votes : 75490
2002 elections
M
ohammad Shafi Bhat of INC was elected from this constituency in 2002 polls defeating his NC rival Mr. Ghulam Nabi Mir by a margin of 491 votes. Mr. Bhat polled 1,163 votes and Mr. Mir 672 of the 2,280 votes polled in all. The poll percentage was recorded at 3.06. The total electorate in the constituency in 2002 elections was 74, 442.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND NC
1972 G.M. Sadiq Congress 1967 G.M. Sadiq Congress 1962 Sham Lal Saraf
NC
1957 Sham Lal Saraf
NC
T
his constituency in Srinagar City also has the credit of returning a Prime Ministerial (as Chief Minister was known then) candidate to the assembly. After Congress control in first few elections, National Conference has been dominating this constituency since 1983. Amirakadal constituency was represented by Sham Lal Saraf of NC in 1957 and 1962 Epilogue Ă˜ 57 Ă— January 2009
Assembly elections. G.M. Sadiq of the Congress and Zainab Begum represented Amirakadal constituency in 1967 and 1972 Assembly elections respectively. Mr. Ghulam Mohi-ud-Shah of NC was consecutively elected from this constituency in 1977, 1983, 1987 Assembly elections. Mr. Mohammad Shafi Bhat of NC won from Amirakadal constituency in 1996.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Zadibal
Batamaloo
Peer Aafaq Ahmed (NC) n 4335 votes defeats Shahjahan Dar (PDP) n votes Total Votes : 66804 | Vote Polled : 12427 WINNING MARGIN 1241 % SHARE OF WINNER 34.88
Mohammad Irfan Shah (NC) n 9444 votes defeats Tafiq Hammed Qarra (Independent) n votes Total Votes : 102762 | Vote Polled : 21054 WINNING MARGIN 2706 % SHARE OF WINNER 44.85
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Shahjahan Dar 1996 Sadiq Ali
Ind.
NC
1987 Peer Mohd. Shafi
NC
1983 Sheikh Ab. Rashi
NC
1977 Gh. Ahmed Shuntu
NC
1972 Saleem Anwar
Ind.
1967 Syed Abdullah
NC
1962 Shabir Mohd. Abdullah
NC
1957 Mirwaiz Gh. Nabi
NC
Third change since 1996
P
eer Aafaq Ahmed of NC has brought third new face in Zadibal since 1996. He defeated Shahjan Dar of PDP who had won in 2002 as independent. This Shia dominated constituency City was represented by Shahjahan Dar, a NC rebel, in 2002 Assembly elections. He won the seat by defeating his nearest rival Sadiq Ali of NC by a margin of 294 votes. While Dar polled 1,514 votes, Sadiq Ali polled 1,220. The total votes polled were 3,244 and the poll percentage recorded was 4.78. Ali was holding this constituency since 1977 when he lost to Dar.
2002 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din Shah
NC
1996 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din Shah
NC
1987 Mohammad Sagar
NC
1983 Ali Mohammad
NC
1977 M.M.Y. Hamdani
NC
1972 Gh. Nabi Nowsheri
JMI
1967 Noor Mohammed
NC
1962 G.M. SadiqNC 1957 G.M. Sadiq
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
A
B
s is the case with almost all urban segments across the Valley, this constituency too has remained a strong bastion of the National Conference. Zadibal constituency was represented by National Conference candidates Mirwaiz Ghulam Nabi, Shabir Mohammad Abdullah and Syed Abdullah in 1957, 1962 and 1967 Assembly polls respectively. In 1972, an independent candidate Saleem Anwar wrested the seat. This seat was continuously won by NC candidates Ghulam Ahmed Shunthu, Sheikh Abdual Rashid, Peer Mohammad Shafi and Sadiq Ali in 1977, 1983,1987 and 1996 Assembly elections. Sadiq Ali's hold on the constituency had been total and complete till he lost to a party rebel in 2002.
Control over father's legacy
A
t times rising as number two in PDP, the ex-Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra has lost to young Irfan Shah, political heir to influential NC leader late Ghulam Mohi-udDin Shah who had won in 2002 defeating Karra by a margin of 842 votes. Shah had then polled 2,065 votes and Qarra 1,223. The total votes polled were 4,171 and poll percentage was recorded at 4 per cent. Due to the demise of Shah, Batmaloo constituency went for a bye-election and Tariq Hamid Qarra of PDP was elected from this constituency defeating Irfan Ahmad Shah of NC.
atamalloo, is one of most prestigious constituencies in Srinagar City. This constituency was earlier known as Tankipora and was represented by G.M. Sadiq of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 Assembly polls. Noor Mohammad of Congress was elected from here in 1967 while as Ghulam Nabi Nowsheri of JMI won in 1972. Molvi Mohammad Yaseen Hamdani of National Conference represented Batmaloo in 1977. In 1983, Ali Mohammad (Zainakadal) of NC represented the constituency while as in 1987 elections this seat was won by Ali Mohammad Sagar of National Conference. Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Shah of NC won from here 1996 and again in 2002.
Epilogue Ă˜ 58 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S R I N A G A R
Sonawar
A ‘risk cover’ but on razor’s edge
Farooq Abdullah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Abdul Haq Khan (INDEPENDENT)
A
Total Votes : 66065 Vote Polled : 26620 Winner : 7018 Winning Margin : 94 % Share Of Winner : 26.36 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Yaseen Shah
NC
1996 Gh. Mohd. Bhawan
NC
1987
1983
bdullah senior was probably not sure of his victory at Hazratbal that he sought to contest from Sonawar as well. The choice was strategic. There was fear of a complete voter boycott in Hazratbal and therefore he chose Sonawar as well as this constituency has a large chunk of rural voters. A large of rural voters is from Gujjar tribe who form the traditional voter bank of National Conference. Still contest was not quite easy for Farooq as his victory was by a wafer thin margin over Ghulam Qadir Pardesi of Peoples Democratic Party. The winning margin was as low as 94. There were 24 other candidates in the fray.
2002 elections
S
onawar constituency, in Srinagar City, was represented by Mohammad Yaseen Shah of National Conference in 2002. He defeated his nearest PDP rival Ghulam Hussain Wani by a margin of 1,705 votes. Shah polled 3,445 and Wani 1,740 votes. The total votes polled were 6,303 and the poll percentage was recorded at 9.96.
1977
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1972
S
1967
1962
1957
onawar was is new constituency in the Srinagar City which has gone to only three elections including the present one. The constituency was carved out on 27th April 1995 and Ghulam Mohammad Bhawan of National Conference was elected from this constituency in 1996. Sonawar is one such constituency in Srinagar City Epilogue Ø 59 × January 2009
which has a huge chunk of rural votes and most of them live towards left of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. In view of poor turnout in urban areas it is the rural vote which has been deciding fortunes of candidates in past two elections. Gujjars have traditionally remained National Conference supporters.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B U D G A M
Chadoora Javaid Mustafa Mir (PDP)
defeats
Ali Mohammad Dar (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
He may be aggressive but people trust him
H
Total Votes : 73028 Vote Polled : 39354 Winner : 16278 Winning Margin : 2940 % Share Of Winner : 41.36 (Out of Total Votes)
e is a maverick, the one of kind and discreet. He prefers isolation and is seen talking rarely. He is often in news for accidental fire from his licensed weapon or bumping his jeep into an Army convoy. Javed Mustafa Mir is aggressive but his people have faith in him. Securing 16278 votes, Javed has won seat second time for the Peoples Democratic Party. He was a Minister of State, almost for full term, in the coalition government.
HISTORY 2002 Javid Mustafa Mir
PDP
1996 Ali Mohammad Dar
NC
1987 Mir Mustafa
Ind.
1983 Ab. Samad Mir
NC
1977 Ab. Samad Mir
NC
1972 Gh. Mustafa Mir
Cong.
1967 Ghulam Mohd.Mir
Cong.
1962 Gh. Mohammad Mir
NC
1957 Gh. Mohammad Mir
NC
2002 elections
J
avid Mustafa Mir of Peoples Democratic Party had won from this constituency in 2002 election, defeating his nearest National Conference rival Ali Mohammad Dar by a margin of 8,047 votes. While Mir polled 15,923 votes, Dar had received 7,876. The total number of votes polled was 27,439 and the poll percentage was recorded at 52.44.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
C
hadoora Assembly seat was represented by Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Mir of National Conference in 1957 while as in 1962, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Wani, an independent candidate, was declared elected. Ghulam Mohammad Mir of Congress won from here in 1967 while as Ghulam Mustafa Mir of Congress was elected in the year Epilogue Ă˜ 60 Ă— January 2009
1972. Abdul Samad Mir of National Conference won from this Assembly Segment in 1977 and 1983 respectively while as Mir Mustafa, an independent candidate, wrested the seat in 1987. In 1996, Ali Mohammad Dar of National Conference was elected from Chadoora in 1996 Assembly polls.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B U D G A M
Budgam
Returning to house at 32 tells the whole story
Aga Syed Ruhullah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Mohd. Kamal Malik (PDP)
A
Total Votes : 87049 Vote Polled : 48942 Winner : 19652 Winning Margin : 9960 % Share Of Winner : 40.15 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 A.S.R. Medhi
NC
1996 Syed Ali Geelani
NC
1987 Gh. Hassan Geelani
NC
1983 Gh. Hassan Geelani
NC
1977 Gh. Hassan Geelani
NC
1972 Ali Mohd. Mir
Cong.
1967 Hakim Syed Mehdi
NC
1962 Syed Ali Safvi
NC
1957 Syed Ali Shah
NC
t 32, this young Shia leader of National Conference is not an ordinary political activist. He is back in the House second time. In 2002 when he won election at the age of 26 against a potential rebel from his own party, many believed Agha Syed Roohullah Mehdi's influential family ensured his success. But family lineage does not help always. His second time victory shows he has worked for people. Agha polled 19652 votes and his PDP rival Mohammad Kamal Malik securing 9692 votes was nowhere closer in the race.
2002 elections
A
young Shia leader Aga Syed Roohullah Medhi of National Conference won this constituency in 2002 elections securing 11,398 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Aga Syed Mehmod Al Mosvi, an independent candidate, by a margin of 6,645 votes. Aga Mehmood polled 4,753 votes. Agha Mehmood, it may be mentioned here, was a National Conference rebel and had remained a Minister of State in Farooq Abdullah Government.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
B
udgam has always sprung surprises. This Shia dominated constituency and also headquarters of this central Kashmir district, was represented by Syed Ali Shah of National Conference in 1957 and Syed Ali Safvi, again of National Conference, in 1962 elections. Hakim Syed Mehdi Epilogue Ă˜ 61 Ă— January 2009
of National Conference won this seat in 1967 while as Ali Mohammad Mir of Congress represented this Assembly segment in 1972 elections. Ghulam Hassan Geelani of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 and won again in 1983 and 1996 elections while as Syed Ali Geelani got elected from this constituency in 1987.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B U D G A M
Beerwah
Way to house, by wafer thin margin
Shafi Ahmed Wani (PDP)
defeats
Abdul Majid Matoo (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
A
Total Votes : 83890 Vote Polled : 47992 Winner : 11720 Winning Margin : 164 % Share Of Winner : 24.42 (Out of Total Votes)
t 55, Shafi Ahmed Wani of Peoples Democratic Party is coming to the Legislative Assembly for first time. Winning by a wafer thin margin of around 200 votes over National Conference candidate Abdul Majid Mattoo, Shafi has not only won an election but also a challenge for the party. PDP's sitting legislator had rebelled and his son Nazir Khan, one of founder members of the party, was in fray as independent candidate. Nazir, however, finished third.
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Sarfaraz Khan
PDP
1996 Aga Syed Mehmood
NC
1987 Syed Ahmad Saeed
NC
1983 Syed Ahmad Saeed
NC
1977 Syed Ahmad Saeed
NC
1972 Abdul Khaliq Mir
Cong.
1967 Abdul Qadoos Azad
Cong.
1962 Syed Abdul Qadoos
NC
1957 Abdul Qadoos Azad
NC
2002 elections
M
ohammad Sarfaraz Khan of Peoples Democratic Party was declared elected from this seat in 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest National Conference rival Mohammad Amin Banday by a margin of 11,920 votes. Mr. Khan polled 16,886 while as Banday received 4,966 votes. Sarfaraz, however, continued to revolt intermittently against the party leadership till latest elections.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
B
eerwah constituency was represented by Abdul Qadoos Azad on National Conference ticket in 1957 and as a Congress candidate in 1967. In 1962, Syed Abdul Qadoos of National Conference won this seat. Abdul Khaliq Mir of Congress got elected from here in 1972 while as Syed Ahmad Saeed of National Conference represented this Epilogue Ă˜ 62 Ă— January 2009
constituency in 1977, 1983 and 1987 elections. This seat was won by Aga Syed Mehmood of National Conference in 1996. As it can be seen from the trends, the National Conference has been a clear winner here from 1977 to 1996 and therefore its loss to the Peoples Democratic Party in 2002 elections was quite serious.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B U D G A M
Khan Sahib Hakeem Mohd. Yaseen (PDP)
defeats
Saif-ud-Din Bhat (PDP)
Toughnut of Kashmir politics
R
Total Votes : 71925 Vote Polled : 54030 Winner : 22616 Winning Margin : 8395 % Share Of Winner : 41.85 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Hakim Mohd Yaseen
Ind.
1996 Ab. Gani Naseem
Cong.
1987 Gh. Mohd. Mir
Cong.
1983 Hamim Mohd Yaseen
NC
eturning to House four time, 60 years old Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen is a tough nut to be cracked in Kashmir politics. He had first entered legislative assembly at the age of 29 in 1977 as National Conference nominee and against won in 1983. In 2002 he defeated a sitting MLA by a huge margin of nearly 16,000 votes. As an independent candidate he remained Minister with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and later Ghulam Nabi Azad but worked on his own terms. Neither Azad nor Mufti could woo him to their own camps and he went ahead to found his own party –Peoples Democratic Front. At one time he commanded influence over 12 independent MLAs but later most of them aligned with parties. As Minister his grip on departments he held remained absolute. 2002 elections
H
akim Mohammad Yaseen, an independent candidate, won from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Mr. Abdul Gani Naseem by a margin of 15,793 votes. Hakim polled 20,186 votes as against 4,393 polled by Naseem who had won this seat in 1996 for National Conference.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Hamim Mohd Yaseen
NC
1972 Gh. Qadir Wani
Cong.
1967 Ab. Gani Namthali
Cong.
1962 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
NC
1957 Ab. Rehman Rahat
NC
N
ational Conference has though dominated its presence in Khan Sahib but the Congress too had a significant influence in this constituency of Badgam district. The constituency was represented by Abdul Rehman Rahat of National Conference in 1957 and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Khan of the same party in 1962. Congress candidate Abdul Gani Namthali was declared elected from this constituency in 1967. Ghulam Qadir Wani of Epilogue Ø 63 × January 2009
Congress won from here in 1972 while as Hakim Mohammad Yaseen wrested this constituency in 1977 and 1983 as National Conference candidate. Ghulam Mohammad Mir of Congress was elected from Khan Sahib Constituency in 1987 and Abdul Gani Naseem in 1996. Trends also show that Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen had a strong following in the segment as he won twice on NC ticket and once as an independent.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
B U D G A M
Chrar-E-Sharief Abdul Rahim Rather (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Ghulam Nabi Lone (PDP)
Seat reserved in assembly, sixth time straight
R
Total Votes : 68095 Vote Polled : 50883 Winner : 24579 Winning Margin : 6375 % Share Of Winner : 48.30 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ab. Rahim Rather
NC
1996 Ab. Rahim Rather
NC
egarded as National Conference think tank, strategic planner and financial buff, Abdul Rahim Rather was straight out of College when he first became MLA from Charar-e-Sherief in 1977. And 31 years later he is against back to the assembly –sixth time in row. He has remained a Minister several times, particularly a best performing Finance Minister, but nothing like anti-incumbency could creep into his constituency. An orator par excellence, Rather's political acumen, administrative grip, honesty and integrity has rare parallels in state's political landscape. At 53 he is a 'young legislator' sixth time. Rather started his career with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, earned confidence of Farooq Abdullah and is trusted advisor of the third generation Abdullah, Omar. 2002 elections
1987 Ab. Rahim Rather
NC
1983 Ab. Rahim Rather
NC
1977 Ab. Rahim Rather
NC
1972 Abdul Qayoom
Cong.
1967 Abdul Qayoom
Cong.
1962 Bakshi Ab. Rashid
PDP
1957 Bakshi Ab. Rashid
PDP
O
ne of the towering political stalwarts of Jammu and Kashmir, Abdul Rahim Rather of National Conference was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his Peoples Democratic Party rival Ghulam Nabi Lone by a margin of 3,755 votes. Rather polled 20,275 votes as against 16,520 votes polled by Lone. This was fifth time straight win for Rather in this constituency.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
C
harar-e-Sharief constituency in Badgam district has one rare feature which has hardly been seen in another constituency in the state. This constituency has been returning a single candidate from same party continuously in five elections. Congress though won this seat twice but the National Conference has dominated throughout the Epilogue Ø 64 × January 2009
electoral history. The constituency was represented by Bakshi Abdul Rashid of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Abdul Qayoom of Congress was elected from here in 1967 and 1972 elections. Abdul Rahim Rather of National Conference has continuously retained the seat in 1977, 1983, 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections. This is a history in itself.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P U L W A M A
Pampore
Tral Mushtaq Ahmed Shah (PDP) n 10393 votes defeats Mohammad Ashraf Bhat (NC) n 6586 votes Total Votes : 74066 | Vote Polled : 36510 WINNING MARGIN 3807 % SHARE OF WINNER 28.46
Zahoor Ahmed (PDP) n 11117 votes defeats Mohammad Anwar Bhat (Congress) n 5969 votes Total Votes : 68904 | Vote Polled : 30178 WINNING MARGIN 5148 % SHARE OF WINNER 36.83
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Gh. Nabi Bhat
NC
1996 Ali Mohd. Naik
NC
1987 Gh. Nabi Naik
NC
1983 Ali Mohd. Naik
Ind.
1977 Mohd. Subhan Bhat
NC
1972 Ali Mohd. Naik
Ind.
1967 Ali Mohd. Naik
Ind.
1962 Ab. Gani Trali
NC
1957 Ab. Gani Trali
NC
Value addition to PDP
A
t 53, Mushtaq Ahmed Shah of PDP in new entrant in assembly snatching seat from NC. NC had fielded a new face but Shah dominated. Ghulam Nabi Bhat of NC was elected from this constituency in 2002 elections defeating his nearest Congress rival Surinder Singh by a margin of 309 votes. While Bhat polled 3,253 votes, Surinder Singh received 2,944 votes.
2002 Zahoor Ahmad Mir
PDP
1996 Mushtaq Ahmad
NC
1987 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
NC
1983 Mohammad Sultan
NC
1977 Malik Mohi-ud-Din
NC
1972 Gh. Hassan Masoodi
Cong.
1967 Pir Mubarak Shah
Cong.
1962 Ghulam Jeelani
NC
1957 Ghulam Jeelani
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
F
his South Kashmir constituency in saffron rich district of Pulwama has a significant proportion of Sikh population but never a member from the community has been elected from here even though they contested well. The constituency was represented by Abdul Gani Trali of NC in 1957 and also in 1962 Assembly elections. Ali Mohammad Naik won the 1967, 1972 and 1983 Assembly elections as an independent candidate. Naik's victory clearly reflected an individual following running higher than any party though NC maintained a clear dominance ever after. Mohammad Subhan Bhat of NC won from here in 1977 while as Ghulam Nabi Naik, again of National Conference, represented the constituency in 1987 elections. Ali Mohammad Naik later joined NC and won this seat in 1996 as a NC candidate.
Tribute to his father
A
t 36, Mir Zahoor's victory is a tribute to his father and pride for PDP. Zahoor's father Abdul Aziz Mir of PDP had won in the 2002 when he defeated his nearest Congress rival Mohammad Anwar Bhat by a margin of 705 votes. However, due to the assassination of Mir immediately after elections in 2002, bye-election was held in Pampore constituency in February 2003 in which Zahoor Ahmad Mir, again of PDP, was elected defeating his nearest NC rival Mushtaq Ahmad by a margin of 12,782 votes.
ollowing the general trend across Kashmir Valley, Pampore constituency was initially won twice by NC and then at equal occasions later by Congress before NC recaptured it for around two decades in 1977. Pampore constituency was represented by Ghulam Jeelani of National Conference in 1957 and 1962. Pir Mubarak Shah of the Congress won from here in 1967 while as Ghulam Hassan Masoodi of Congress was declared elected in the 1972 elections. Malik Mohi-ud-Din, Mohammad Sultan, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din and Mushtaq Ahmad, all of NC, were elected from this constituency in 1977, 1983, 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections respectively. This NC bastion was broken by PDP in 2002 elections.
Epilogue Ă˜ 65 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P U L W A M A
D I S T R I C T
S H O P I A N
Shopian
Pulwama Mohammad Khaleel Badh (PDP) n 10639 votes defeats Haji Sona Ullah Dar (Independent) n 4003 votes Total Votes : 71008 | Vote Polled : 29188 WINNING MARGIN 6636 % SHARE OF WINNER 36.44
Abdul Razzak Waghay (PDP) n 8006 votes defeats Mohammad Shafi (Congress) n 5208 votes Total Votes : 71092 | Vote Polled : 37704 WINNING MARGIN 2798 % SHARE OF WINNER 21.23
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Mohd. Khalil Band
PDP
1996 B.A. Nengroo
NC
1987 B.A. Nengroo
NC
1983 Sonaullah Dar
NC
1977 Mohammad Ibrahim Dar NC 1972 Sonaullah
Cong.
1967 Master Sonaullah
Cong.
1962 Sonaullah Sheikh
NC
1957 Sonaullah Sheikh
NC
Clear winner, twice
K
halil Ahmed Bandh has been able to retain seat he won for PDP in the 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest NC rival Bashir Ahmad Nengroo by a margin of 2,427 votes. Nengroo was a Minister in Farooq Abdullah government till 2002. While Band polled 5,209 votes, Nengroo received 2,782 votes. The total electorate in 2002 elections was 54,107 and the votes polled were 9,811. The poll percentage was recorded at 18.13.
2002 Gh. Hassan Khan 1996 S.M.Rafi
PDP
NC
1987 S.M. Mansoor
NC
1983 S.M. Mansoor
NC
1977 S.M. Mansoor
NC
1972 Ab. Majid Banday
Ind.
1967 Shamim Ah. Shamim
Ind.
1962 Ab. Majid Banday
NC
1957 Ab. Majid Banday
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
P
S
ulwama's electoral history is exactly the same as that of the neighbouring Pampore in same district –twice with Congress and six times with National Conference before slipping over to the PDP in 2002 elections. Pulwama Assembly segment was represented by Sonaullah Sheikh of National Conference in 1957 and 1962. Master Sonaullah of the Congress won from here in 1967 and 1972 elections. After a two term spell of Congress, the constituency again returned to the NC for next four terms. NC candidates Mohammad Ibrahim Dar and Sonullah Dar were declared elected from here in 1977 and 1983 Assembly elections while as B. A. Nengroo won this seat in 1987 and 1996 elections.
Safe turf for elder
A
bdul Razk Wagay is among the eldest few members of new legislative assembly. It was safe turf for him as PDP Ghulam Hassan Khan had won in 2002 but this time denied ticket. Last time Khan had Sheikh Mohammad Rafi of National Conference by a margin of 720 votes. Khan polled 4,083 votes and Rafi 3,363 votes. The total number of electors in the constituency in 2002 were 55,812. Of these, 15,012 cast their votes and the poll percentage was recorded at 26.90.
hopian constituency was represented by Mr. Abdul Majid Banday of NC in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Mr. Shamim Ahmad Shamim, an independent candidate, won from here in 1967 elections. Mr. Abdul Majid Banday again won this Assembly segment as an independent candidate in 1972. Sheikh Mohammad Mansoor of NC continuously represented this constituency in 1977, 1983 and 1987 elections while as Sheikh Mohammad Rafi of NC was elected in 1996.
Epilogue Ø 66 × January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P U L W A M A
Rajpora S. Bashir Ahmed Shah (PDP)
defeat
Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir (INDEPENDENT)
Winner in triangular contest
S
yed Bashir Ahmad of PDP has retained the seat after a tough triangular contest between him, NC candidate and an NC rebel. He was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir by a margin of 8, 086 votes. While Syed Bashir secured 13,946 votes Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir polled 5,860 votes.
Total Votes : 79149 Vote Polled : 40508 Winner : 10177 Winning Margin : 947 % Share Of Winner : 25.12 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Syed Bashir Ahmad
PDP
1996 Gh. Mohi-ud-Din
NC
2002 elections
1987
S
yed Bashir Ahmad of Peoples Democratic Party was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir by a margin of 8, 086 votes. While Syed Bashir secured 13,946 votes Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir polled 5,860 votes.
1983
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977
1972 Bashir Ahmed Magray
R
Cong.
1967 Gh. Mohammad Rajpori Cong. 1962 Gh. Mohammad Rajpori NC 1957 Gh. Mohammad Rajpori NC
ajpora was dissolved as a constituency in 1977 and was recreated in the delimitation of 1996. Before its dissolution in 1977, the constituency was twice each represented by the National Conference and the Congress. However, on its recreation it went again to National Conference before the party lost to Peoples Democratic Party in 2002. Epilogue Ă˜ 67 Ă— January 2009
The constituency was continuously represented by Ghulam Mohammad Rajpori first as National Conference candidate in 1957 and 1962 while as he won from here in 1967 as a Congress candidate. Bashir Ahmad Magray of Congress was elected from here in 1972 and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Dar of National Conference in 1996 Assembly elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S H O P I A N
Wachi Mehbooba Mufti (PDP)
defeats
Showqat Hussain Ganie (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
T
Total Votes : 68403 Vote Polled : 33749 Winner : 12810 Winning Margin : 8336 % Share Of Winner : 38.64 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Khalil Naik
CPI(M)
1996 Mohd. Jabar Mir
NC
1987 Nazir Ahmad Wani
NC
1983 Gh.Qadir Wani
NC
1977 Gh.Qadir Wani
NC
1972
1967
1962
1957
She pushed rivals out of race
he winner of 2002, Mohammad Khalil Naik of CPI(M) was really taken as sitting duck when PDP president Mehbooba Mufti decided to contest from Wachi constituency. This is first time that any member of Mufti family was contesting from here. Since PDP had last time lost with a margin of 80 votes, the decision appeared quite calculated. In an intensely contested election Mehbooba, in a way returns uncontested. 48 years old Mehbooba made all 18 other contestants to loose their security deposits. While Naik could poll only 2366 votes, NC nominee got 4474 against 12810 of Mehbooba.
2002 elections
M
ohammad Khalil Naik of Communist Party of India (Marxist) was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his Peoples Democratic Party rival Ghulam Hassan Bhat by a wafer thin margin of 80 votes. Naik received 4,133 votes while as Mr. Bhat received 4,053 votes. The electorate in Wachi constituency in 2002 was 50,054 and votes polled stood at 14,160. The poll percentage was recorded at 28.29.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
W
achi was not an assembly constituency till 1977 when it was created so by way of delimitation. In its first ever election after delimitation, the constituency was represented by Ghulam Qadir Wani of National Conference in 1977 and 1983 elections while as Nazir Ahmad Wani of again National Conference won the 1987 Assembly seat. Mohammad Epilogue Ă˜ 68 Ă— January 2009
Jabar Mir, again of National Conference, was elected from here in 1996 Assembly elections. Trends suggest that Wachi has clearly remained a bastion of National Conference till 2002. It can be seen that the contest in 2002 was actually between CPI(M) and the Peoples Democratic Party which suggested erosion of National Conference.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U L G A M
Noorabad
Daughter of illustrious father bounces back
Skina Itoo (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Abdul Aziz Zargar (PDP)
I
Total Votes : 61149 Vote Polled : 46092 Winner : 16240 Winning Margin : 4518 % Share Of Winner : 35.23
n a triangular contest, the youngest MLA of her times has defeated the oldest MLA of his times. Abdul Aziz Zargar was a senior Cabinet Minister in coalition government is a also a living signatory to the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the eldest MLA in previous assembly. When Sakina Ittoo won, first time, in 1996 elections she was the youngest of that assembly. Daughter of an illustrious NC leader Wali Mohammad Ittoo, Sakina's performance as Minister in Farooq Abdullah government was amazing.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ab. Aziz Zargar
PDP
1996 Sakina Ittoo
NC
2002 elections
A
1983 Wali Mohd. Ittoo
NC
bdul Aziz Zargar of Peoples Democratic Party was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating National Conference candidate Sakina Akhtar Ittoo by a margin of 315 votes. While Zargar polled 3,616 votes, Ms Sakina received 3,301 votes. The total electorate in 2002 was 51,946. Of these, 12,157 cast their votes and the polling percentage was recorded at 23.40.
1977 Wali Mohd. Ittoo
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1987
1972 Ab. Aziz Zargar
Cong.
1967 Ab. Aziz Zargar
Cong.
1962 Gh. Hassan Khan
NC
1957 Gh. Hassan Khan
NC
E
xcept for first two elections, the Noorabad constituency has oscillated between two families -Ittoos and Zargar. When Sakina Ittoo wins the seat again she makes full circle for her family. This constituency was represented by National Conference candidate Ghulam Hassan Khan in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Congress candidate
Epilogue Ø 69 × January 2009
Abdul Aziz Zargar won from here in 1967 and 1972 elections. Wali Mohammad Ittoo of National Conference was elected from Noorabad in 1997 and 1983 elections. Sakina Ittoo, again of Nationaol Conference –daughter of two time legislator from this constituency Wali Mohammad Ittoo –won in 1996 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U L G A M
Kulgam Mohd. Yousaf Tarigami (CPI(M))
defeats
Nazir Ahmed Laway (PDP)
Lonely comrade saves grace by hair-thin margin
T
Total Votes : 80833 Vote Polled : 50163 Winner : 17175 Winning Margin : 236 % Share Of Winner : 34.23 (Out of Total Votes)
he Comrade was locked in a risky game this time. He was the lone CPI(M) legislator in 1996 and had a colleague in 2002. This time he is again alone; the other one has been defeated badly. Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, the face of the Left in J&K, has always been lucky for other parties being sympathetic to him. The NC did not field a candidate against him in 1996 and this time he was spared by the Congress. PDP was, however, up to uproot him. The Comrade, however, saved grace by 236 votes.
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Yousaf Tarigami
PDP
1996
2002 elections
Mohd. Yousaf Tarigami
PDP
1987 Ab. Razak Mir
Ind.
1983 Gh. Nabi Dar
NC
M
ohammad Yousuf Tarigami of Communist Party of India (Marxist) was elected from this constituency in 2002, defeating his nearest NC rival Mr. Ghulam Nabi Dar by a margin of 4,885 votes. Mr. Dar polled 3,461 votes while as Mr. Tarigami polled 8,346 votes. The total number of voters in this constituency in 2002 elections was 66,159. Of these, 16,138 cast their votes and percentage of polling stood at 24.39.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Gh. Nabi Dar
NC
1972 Ab. Razak Mir
JMI
1967 Mohd. Yaqoob Bhat
Cong.
1962 Mohd. Yaqoob Bhat
NC
1957 Abdul Kabir
NC
T
he constituency was represented by Abdul Kabir of National Conference in 1957 elections while as another National Conference candidate Mohammad Yaqoob Bhat won in 1962. Mohammad Yaqoob Bhat won again in 1967 as a Congress candidate while as Jamat-e-Islami candidate Abdul Razak Mir was elected from here in 1972 elections. Ghulam Nabi Dar of National Conference won both the 1977 Epilogue Ă˜ 70 Ă— January 2009
and 1983 elections. Abdul Razak Mir was again elected from here in 1987 as an independent candidate whileas Mr. Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami of Communist Party of India (Marxist) wrested the seat in 1996 polls. Electoral trends show that National Conference could never make a lasting hold on Kulgam constituency as it had on a majority of seats across Kashmir Valley.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K U L G A M
Home Shalibug
The return of the quiet player
Abdul Gafar Sofi (PDP)
defeats
Abdul Majeed (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 65661
A
t 55, Sofi Abdul Gaffar has returned to the Legislative Assembly retaining this South Kashmir constituency for Peoples Democratic Party which he won first time in 2002. Sofi remained a Minister of State in Mufti Government and was eased out in 2005 to give chance to others. Polling 12249 votes, he has defeated Abdul Majid of NC who got a little over 7400 votes. Sofi is a quiet player and keeps low profile.
Vote Polled : 36309 Winner : 12249 Winning Margin : 4810 % Share Of Winner : 33.73 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ab. Gaffar Sofi
PDP
1996 Gul Mohd. Rafiqi
NC
1987 Ghulam Nabi
Ind.
1983 Ab. Salam Deva
NC
1977 Ab. Salam Deva
NC
1972 Ali Mohd. Dar
JMI
1967 Abdul Rehman
Cong.
1962 Ab. Kabir Wani
NC
1957 Ghulam Ahmad
NC
2002 elections
A
bdul Gaffar Sofi of PDP won from here in 2002 elections defeating his CPI(M) rival Mr. Mohammad Amin Dar by a margin of 4,476 votes. Mr. Sofi polled 6,803 votes while as Mr. Dar polled 2,327 votes. The total electors in 2002 Assembly polls in the constituency were 50,635. Of these, 11,612 exercised their right to vote and percentage of polling was recorded at 22.93.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
he constituency was represented by National Conference candidates Ghulam Ahmad in 1957 and Abdul Kabir Wani in 1962 elections. Abdul Rehman of Congress won from here in 1967 while as Ali Mohammad Dar of Jamat-e-Islamo was elected in 1972. Abdul Salam Deva of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 and retained it Epilogue Ă˜ 71 Ă— January 2009
in 1983 while as Ghulam Nabi, an independent candidate, was elected in 1987. Mr. Gul Mohammad Rafiqi, of National Conference had won from here in 1996. This constituency has a mixed influence of Jamat-e-Islami and National Conference before Peoples Democratic Party made a mark in 2002 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
D I S T R I C T
Marh
K U L G A M
Devsar
Sukhnandan Kumar (BJP) n 18368 votes defeats Ajay Kumar Sadhotra (NC) n votes Total Votes : 67805 | Vote Polled : 52417 WINNING MARGIN 6581 % SHARE OF WINNER 35.04
Mohd. Sartaj Madani (PDP) n 14175 votes defeats P. Ghulam Ahmed Shah (NC) n 10174 votes Total Votes : 76158 | Vote Polled : 52914 WINNING MARGIN 4001 % SHARE OF WINNER 26.78
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Ajay Kumar
NC
1996 Ajay Sadhotra
NC
1987 Mula Ram
Cong.
1983 Mula Ram
Cong.
1977 Tulsi Ram
JP
1972 Sushil Kumar
Cong.
1967 Guran Ditta Mal
Cong.
1962 Guran Ditta Mal
NC
BJP's rural punch to NC
N
C's organisational guardian of Jammu, Ajay Sadhotra lost to his 2002 rival Sukhnandan Kumar of BJP. In 2002 Sadhotra had defeated Sukhnandan by securing 14,959 votes and Sukhnandan Kumar polled 13,792 votes. The votes polled were 46,935 and poll percentage stood at 68.82. it was again an intensely contested election and Amarnath land row was a major influencer.
1957
2002 Mohd. Sartaj Madni
NC
1996 P.G. Ahmad Shah
NC
1987 P.G. Ahmad Shah
NC
1983 P.G.A.Shah NC 1977 Gh. Nabi Kochak
NC
1972 Gh. Hassan Parray
Ind.
1967 M.N. Koul Cong. 1962 Ab. Aziz Zargar
NC
1957 Ab. Aziz Zargar
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
M
D
arh constituency just on the outskirts of Jammu City has mainly remained a bastion of the Congress even though the National Conference won thrice in the electoral history. The constituency was represented by Guran Ditta Mal of National Conference in 1962 elections. He again won from here in 1967 on a Congress ticket. Sushil Kumar, another Congress candidate, won this seat in 1972 while as Tulsi Ram of Janta Party was elected in the 1977 elections. Mula Ram of Congress won both the 1983 and 1987 elections while as Ajay Kumar Sadhotra of National Conference won in 1996.
Kin to party power
A
close kin of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, PDP's Mohammad Sartaj Madni has retained the seat which he had won for first time in 2002. He crashed the hopes of National Conferencw which had fielded a former Minister Ghulam Ahmed Shah. In 2002, Madni has defeated his nearest CPI(M) rival Mr. Mohammad Yaqub by a margin of 3,026 votes. Mr. Madni received 8,721 votes while as Mr. Yaqub polled 5,695 votes.
evsar was represented by NC candidate Mr. Abdul Aziz Zargar in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Congress candidate M. N. Koul won in 1967. Mr. Ghulam Hassan Parray, an independent candidate, was elected from here in 1972. NC candidate Mr. Ghulam Nabi Kochak won the seat in 1977 elections. Mr. Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah of NC continuously won Devsar constituency in 1983, 1987 and 1996 elections.
Epilogue Ă˜ 72 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
A N A N T N A G
Anantnag Mufti Mohd. Sayeed (PDP)
defeats
Mirza Mehboob Beig (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Confident ride in star constituency
P
Total Votes : 75014 Vote Polled : 31499 Winner : 12439 Winning Margin : 4891 % Share Of Winner : 39.49
eoples Democratic Party has proved that it controls South Kashmir and the control is absolute. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's decision to challenge a National Conference strongman in Anantnag was not without risk but a risk worth taking. It really spoke of confidence. Mufti apparently decided to contest at Anantnag so that the safe constituency of Pahalgam, which he represented earlier, falls in PDP kitty. Victory margin of around 5000 votes over Dr Mehbooba Baig is quite significant.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Dr. Mehboob Beigh
NC
1996 Safdar Ali Beigh
NC
1987 Mohd. Syed Shah
Ind.
1983 M.M. Beigh
NC
2002 elections
1977 M.M.Afzal Beigh
NC
1972 Shams-ud-Din
Cong.
1967 Shams-ud-Din
Cong.
1962 Shams-ud-Din
NC
1957 Shams-ud-Din
NC
D
r. Mehboob Beigh of National Conference (NC) was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his JKAL rival Mr. Liyakat Ali Khan by a margin of 2,861 votes. Dr. Beigh polled 3,513 votes and Mr. Khan received 652 votes. The total electors in 2002 were 69,815 and total votes polled were 5,002. The poll percentage stood at 7.16.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
A
prestigious constituency of South Kashmir, Anantnag has remained with National Conference for most part of electoral history. This constituency also has the credit of electing of one former Chief Minister and one Deputy Chief Minister. Ananrnag the constituency was represented by Shams-ud-Din as National Conference candidate in 1957 and 1962. Shams-ud-Din, it may be mentioned here, has remained Chief Minister of the state for a brief period of few months. He was again elected Epilogue Ă˜ 73 Ă— January 2009
in 1967 and 1972 elections on a Congress ticket. . Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beigh of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977. Mirza Baig was the number two in NC hierarchy and also remained a Deputy Chief Minister with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. In 1983, his son, Mirza Mehboob Beg was elected from this Assembly segment. Mohammad Syed Shah, an independent candidate, wrested this seat in 1987 while as Safdar Ali Beigh of National Conference won from here in 1996.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
A N A N T N A G
Dooru Ghulam Ahmed Mir (CONGRESS)
defeats
Syed Farooq Andrabi (PDP)
Justice from court of peoples
I
Total Votes : 61874 Vote Polled : 43855 Winner : 15870 Winning Margin : 5518 % Share Of Winner : 36.18 (Out of Total Votes)
n the decade of 1990s he held Congress flag high in Kashmir when his party's name was a hate symbol in Valley for the follies of 1987 elections. After winning 2002 elections, Ghulam Ahmed Mir had at one point of time became a most powerful Congress leader in Kashmir. In the middle of his popularity he fell to a raging controversy. People had written his political career off. But Mir returned to put up a brave face –in assembly and among his people. His second victory shows that he was never guilty in the eye of his people on Dooru.
HISTORY 2002 Gh. Mohd. Mir
Cong.
1996 Gh. Hassan Wani
NC
1987 Mohd. Akbar Ganai
NC
1983 Mohd. Akbar Ganai
NC
2002 elections
A
young leader, Ghulam Ahmad Mir of the Congress was declared elected from this constituency in 2002. He defeated his National Conference rival Syed Manzoor Ahmad by a margin of 11,342 votes. Mir received 14,461 and Syed Manzoor polled 3,119 votes. The total number of voters in 2002 was 57,974. Of these, 21,848 cast their votes and poll percentage was recorded at 40.48.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Haji Ab. Gani Khan
NC
1972 Syed Mir Qasim
Cong.
1967 Syed Mir Qasim
Cong.
1962 Syed Mir Qasim
NC
1957 Shams-ud-Din & S.M.Qasim NC
D
ooru constituency has clearly been a Congress bastion in South Kashmir. It is also a prestigious constituency as it has been represented by two former Chief Minister at different occasion. The Dooru constituency was represented by Shams-ud-Din and Syed Mir Qasim on National Conference ticket in 1957 while as Qasim retained the seat in 1962 on NC mandate. He again won from here in 1967 and 1972 Epilogue Ø 74 × January 2009
but this time on a Congress ticket. Haji Abdul Gani Khan of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 and Mohammad Akbar Ganai of also of the Congress party won from here in 1983 and 1987 Assembly elections. Ghulam Hassan Wani, again of National Conference, was elected from Dooru constituency in 1996 elections but in 2002 Ghulam Ahmed recaptured the seat for Congress.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
A N A N T N A G
Kokernag P. Mohammad Sayeed (CONGRESS)
defeats
Ghulam Nabi Bhat (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Surprise return amidst all odds
A
Total Votes : 69616 Vote Polled : 48785 Winner : 13384 Winning Margin : 1270 % Share Of Winner : 27.43
s a Minister of many important departments in coalition government and also as President of Pradesh Congress, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed remained in this thick of controversies. Scams hit his departments –Rural Development and Education –twice and was sacked from the Cabinet towards the end of last assembly. Despite all odds, Peerzada has been able to resurrect. The victory margin has been wafer thin but luck has been on his side.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Peerzada Mohd. Sayeed Cong. 1996 Syed Abdul Rashid
2002 elections NC
1987 Peerzada Mohd. Sayeed Cong. 1983 Malik Hisam-ud-Din
NC
P
eerzada Mohammad Sayeed of Congress was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest Peoples Democratic Party rival Ghulam Rasool Malik by a margin of 436 votes.. Sayeed received 3,356 votes as compared to 2,920 votes polled by Malik. The total electorate in 2002 elections in Kokernag constituency was 57,743. Of these, 8,817 voters exercised their franchise and poll percentage was recorded at 15.26.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Malik Hisam-ud-Din
NC
1972 Hisam-ud-Din
NC
1967 Hisam-ud-Din
NC
1962 Nizam-ud-Din
NC
1957 Syed Hussain
NC
T
his constituency of South Kashmir has constantly remained with National Conference for 30 long years before Congress registered a first victory in 1987. Electoral history suggests that Congress' first win here was possible only for the reason that it had a seat sharing arrangement with the National Conference in 1987 elections. Kokernag constituency was known as Nowbug Breng till 1972. It was represented by National Epilogue Ø 75 × January 2009
Conference candidate Syed Hussain in 1957 and Nizam-udDin in 1962, In 1967 and 1972, Hisam-ud-Din was elected from this constituency. Malik Ghulam-ud-Din of National Conference was elected from this constituency in 1977 and 1983 Assembly elections. Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed represented this constituency in 1987 as Congress candidate while as Syed Abdul Rashid of NC wrested the seat in 1996 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
A N A N T N A G
D I S T R I C T
Shangus
A N A N T N A G
Pahalgam
P. Mansoor Hussain (PDP) n 13853 votes defeats Gulzar Ahmad Wani (NC) n 12423 votes Total Votes : 70209 | Vote Polled : 42005 WINNING MARGIN 1430 % SHARE OF WINNER 32.97
Rafi Ahmed Mir (PDP) n 24316 votes defeats Altaf Ahmed Wani (NC) n 13394 votes Total Votes : 68431 | Vote Polled : 49154 WINNING MARGIN 10922 % SHARE OF WINNER 49.46
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Peer Mohd. Hussain 1996 Abdul Majid Mir
PDP
NC
1987 Ab. Radhid Dar
NC
1983 Mohd. Maqbool
NC
1977 Mohd. Asraf
NC
1972 Mohd. Asraf
Cong.
1967 Mohd. Asraf
Cong.
1962 M.Nath Koul
NC
1957 M.Nath Koul
NC
Quite family affair
P
eerzada Mansoor Hussain, in a short period of time, has emerged as a key strategic planner of PDP. He has defeated Gulzar Ahmed Wani of Congress at a constituency earlier represented by his father-in-law Peerzada Mohammad Hussain. Peerzada senior had won from here in 2002 defeating Gulzar by a margin of 341 votes. Hussain secured 5,115 votes while as Gulzar polled 4,774 votes votes. The total number of electorate in 2002 was 54,319 and votes polled were 13,799. The poll percentage was recorded at 25.40.
2002 Mehbooba Mufti 1996 Abdul Kabir Bhat
PDP
NC
1987 Rafi AhmadNC 1983 P.L. Handoo
NC
1977 P.L. Handoo
NC
1972 M.L.Fotedar
Cong.
1967 M.L.Fotedar
Cong.
1962 Mohammad Syed
NC
1957 Gh. Ahmad Mir
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
P
he constituency was known as Kothar till 1972 when it was named as Shangus. It was represented by National Conference candidate Mohinder Nath Koul both in 1957 and 1962 polls. Mohammad Ashraf of the Congress won from here in 1967 and 1972 elections. He again won this seat on National Conference ticket in 1977. Mohammad Maqbool of National Conference was elected from here in 1983 and Abdul Rashid Dar, again of National Conference, won this Assembly segment in 1987. National Conference candidate Abdul Majid Mir was elected from this constituency in 1996.
Safe sailor
F
or Rafi Ahmed Mir it was a safe seat nourished by the Muftis. Mehbooba Mufti of Peoples Democratic Party was elected from here in 2002 defeating his nearest NC rival Rafi Ahmad Mir by a margin of 2,139 votes. Mufti polled 8,544 votes while as Mr. Mir received 6,405. The total electorate in 2002 elections in Pahalgam was 57,363. Of this, 18,940 voters cast their votes. The poll percentage was recorded at 33.01.
ahalgam constituency has thrown mixed results. Then known as Dachinpora, this constituency was represented by NC members Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Mohammad Syed in 1957 and 1962 Assembly polls. Makhan Lal Fotedar of the Congress won this seat in 1967 and 1972 while as P.L. Handoo of NC was returned from this constituency in 1977 and 1983. Rafi Ahmad and Abdul Kabir Bhat of NC won this constituency in 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections. It may be mentioned here that after election to Lok Sabha in 2004, the 2002 winner Mehbooba Mufti had resigned the seat causing bye-election in the constituency which was held in October, 2004. PDP patron and then CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was elected from this constituency defeating his NC rival Rafi Ahmad Mir. Interestingly, Mir later joined the PDP and was later nominated as Member of the Legislative Council.
Epilogue Ă˜ 76 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Man of organization, swears by ideology
Bijbehara Abdul Rehman Veeri (PDP)
defeats
Bashir Ahmed Shah (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
A
Total Votes : 75519 Vote Polled : 46752 Winner : 23320 Winning Margin : 10274 % Share Of Winner : 49.88 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ab. Rehman Veeri
A N A N T N A G
PDP
1996 Mehbooba Mufti
Cong.
1987 Ab. Gani Shah
NC
bdul Rehman Veeri swears by the ideology of his mentor Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Veeri, along with Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri, was first ever Member of Legislative Assembly on PDP ticket when he sought by-election on Bijbehara constituency vacated by Mehbooba. He returned to assembly in 2002 and became a Minister of State. A man of organization, his department as MoS was changed many times to tame the Cabinet Ministers. NC rival Bashir Ahmed Shah too polled an impressive 13000 votes but he was nowhere closer in contest with Veeri who secured a whooping 23320 votes. All ten others lost deposits. 2002 elections
A
bdul Rehman Veeri of Peoples Democratic Party was elected from here in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Haji Abdul Gani Shah by a margin of 3,877 votes. Bhat polled 5,961 votes while as Mr. Shah received 2,084 votes. The total electorate in 2002 Assembly elections was 61,322 and votes polled were 10,221. The poll percentage was recorded at 16.67.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1983 Ab. Gani Shah
NC
1977 Ab. Gani Shah
NC
1972 Saif-ud-Din
Cong.
1967 Mufti Mohd. Sayeed
Cong.
1962 Noor-ud-Din
NC
1957 Noor-ud-Din
NC
W
hatever name the constituency has been known by or whichever party he has come from, Bijbehara has clearly remained an individual stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ever since he contested and won first election here. This constituency, known as Khawerpora till 1962, was represented by Noor-ud-Din Dar of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 Assembly elections. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as a candidate of the Congress was elected from this constituency in 1967 while as Saif-ud-Din, again of the Congress, represented the Epilogue Ă˜ 77 Ă— January 2009
constituency in the 1972 elections. Abdul Gani Shah of National Conference continuously represented the constituency in 1977, 1983 and 1987 Assembly polls while as Mehbooba Mufti won from Bijbehara as a Congress candidate in 1996. However, Mufti resigned as MLA on formation of Peoples Democratic which resulted in a bye-election in the constituency in 1999, which was won by Abdul Rehman Bhat Veeri on PDP ticket. This was one of the two constituencies opening account of Peoples Democratic Party in electoral landscape of Kashmir Valley.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
L E H
D I S T R I C T
Nobra
K A R G I L
Kargil
Tsetan Namgyal (Independent) n 4608 votes defeats Tsewang Rigzin (Congress) n 3678 votes Total Votes : 12787 | Vote Polled : 8617 WINNING MARGIN 930 % SHARE OF WINNER 53.47
Qamar Ali Akhoon (NC) n 22935 votes defeats Haji Nissar Ali (Independent) n 17635 votes Total Votes : 58488 | Vote Polled : 42757 WINNING MARGIN 5300 % SHARE OF WINNER 53.64
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Sonam Wangchuk
Ind.
1996 Testan Namgyal
NC
1987 Ab. Gani Shah
NC
1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
Back after a break
T
setan Namgyal's election was tactical. He went as independent but carried along NC support. Congress' journalist-turned politician Tsewang Rigzin lost by 100 votes which is considered huge in Nobra. There was no contest in Nobra constituency in 2002 elections. Sonam Wangchuk, an independent candidate, was elected unopposed from the Nobra Assembly segment in the 2002 elections. Sonam, also known as Pinto Narboo, had contested on the plank of Ladakh Union Territory Front and there was completely unanimity on the issue and no other candidate filed nomination papers.
2002 Haji Nissar Ali
Ind.
1996 Qamar Ali Akhnoon
NC
1987 Qamar Ali Akhnoon
NC
1983 Munshi Habibullah
NC
1977 Munshi Habibullah
NC
1972 K.M. Ali Khan
Cong.
1967 K.M. Ali Khan
Cong.
1962 Aga Syed Ibrahim
NC
1957 Aga Syed Ibrahim
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
T
he trans-Himalayan constituency of Nobra is a relatively new and has seen only three elections (including the present one). The constituency was carved out by way of delimitation in April, 1995 and was first represented by. Testan Namgyal of National Conference in 1996.
Return after a break
Q
amar Ali Akhoon has resurrected his way to the assembly after a stunning loss last time. Haji Nissar Ali, an independent candidate, was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating Akhoon by a margin of 6,396 votes. Haji Nissar Ali polled 27,384 votes while as Mr. Akhoon received 20,988 votes out of 48,372 votes polled overall.
his Assembly segment was represented by Aga Syed Ibrahim of National Conference in 1957 and 1962. Kachu Mohammad Ali Khan won from here on a Congress ticket in 1967 and 1972 elections. Munshi Habibullah of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 and retained it in 1983. Qamar Ali Akhoon won 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections on National Conference ticket. Kargil is a Shia-Muslim majority assembly constituency and has predominantly remained a National Conference bastion for most part of the electoral history.
Epilogue Ă˜ 78 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
L E H
Leh
New hero of Ladakhi politics
Nawang Rigzin (CONGRESS)
defeats
Thupstan Chhewang (INDEPENDENT)
Total Votes : 67299
A
Vote Polled : 37640 Winner : 19008 Winning Margin : 1523 % Share Of Winner : 50.49 (Out of Total Votes)
clean and upright, Nawang Rigzin Jora's return to Legislative Assembly marks a watershed in Ladakh politics. In 2002 he returned uncontested as all leaders of all parties in Leh dissolved their local units to pitch for Union Territory demand. Units of all parties were later quietly revived. This time the sitting MP Thupstan Chhewang, supported by National Conference took on Rigzin who was on Congress ticket. It was a close contest, but the peoples reposed their confidence in Rigzin who has emerged as hero of Ladakhi politics.
HISTORY 2002 Nawang Rigzin
Ind.
1996 Chering Dorjey
Cong.
1987 Tsering Samghel
Cong.
1983 Sonam Gyalsan
NC
2002 elections
I
n Leh constituency also there was no contest in 2002 elections. In fact the local units of all political parties had been dissolved to give shape to the Ladakh Union Territory Front for the cause of Union Territory to the region. Nawang Rigzin Jora, an independent candidate, was declared elected unopposed from this constituency in 2002 elections. However, Jora later joined the Congress.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Sonam Narboo
Cong.
1972 Wonam Wangyal
Cong.
1967 Sonam Wangyal
Cong.
1962 Kushak Bakola
NC
1957 Kushak Bakola
NC
H
ome to stalwarts of Ladakhi politics, this constituency has produced some of the best Budhist leaders known ever. Leh constituency was first represented by Kushak Bakola of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Sonam Wangyal of the Congress wrested the seat in 1967 elections and retained it in 1972 polls. Another Congress candidate Sonam Epilogue Ă˜ 79 Ă— January 2009
Narboo was elected from here in the 1977 polls. However, in 1983 Sonam Gyalsan of National Conference won from here. Congress candidates Tsering Samphel and Chering Dorjey won the Leh seat in 1987 and 1996 Assembly elections. The trends show the National Conference had a grip for first ten years but after that the constituency has continuously remained with the Congress.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K A R G I L
D I S T R I C T
Zanskar
R A M B A N
Ramban
Firoz Ahmed Khan (NC) n 6552 votes defeats Ghulam Raza (Congress) n 5634 votes Total Votes : 20348 | Vote Polled : 14652 WINNING MARGIN 918 % SHARE OF WINNER 44.71
Ashok Kumar (Congress) n 21779 votes defeats Bali Bhagat (BJP) n 11460 votes Total Votes : 77695 | Vote Polled : 50097 WINNING MARGIN 10319 % SHARE OF WINNER 43.47
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Ghulam Abbas
NC
1996 Ghulam Abbas
Cong.
1987
1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
Change continues
Z
anskar has also gone for change –fourth time since 1996. NC's Feroz Ahmed Khan has defeated the sitting MLA seeking election on Congress ticket. Ghulam Abbas of NC was elected from this constituency for second time in row in 2002 elections defeating his nearest independent rival Tsering Chosphel by a margin of 3,187 votes. Tsering Chosphel polled 5,393 votes and Abbas 8,580 votes. The poll percentage was recorded at 78.96. Due to the demise of Abbas, the constituency went to a byeelection in August, 2005 and Ghulam Raza, an independent candidate, was declared elected from this constituency.
2002 Chaman Lal
NC
1996 Bali Bhagat
BJP
1987 Bharat Gandhi
Cong.
1983 Jagdev Singh
Cong.
1977 Prem Nath
NC
1972 Mohd. Akhter Nizami
Cong.
1967 Hans Raj
Cong.
1962 Asadullah Mir
NC
1957 Asadullah Mir
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
Z
A
anskar was not an electoral constituency till April, 1995 when it was carved out so by way of delimitation. The next year it went to polls for first time Ghulam Abbas of National Conference won from this constituency in 1996. Abbas was a retired Superintendent of Police. Though in Ladakh region, the Leh district is predominantly Budhist and Kargil predominantly Shia-Muslim but Zanskar constituency in Kargil district has mixed population of Muslims and Budhists. Therefore, the contest is often between two communities rather than two parties.
Ninth face since 1962
C
hange is the way in Ramban where Ashok Kumar of Congress is ninth new face since 1962. Chaman Lal of National Conference won this constituency in 2002 elections defeating his nearest Congress rival Ashok Kumar by a margin of 2,536 votes. Chaman Lal polled 15,220 votes and Mr. Ashok Kumar 12,681 votes. The total votes polled were 42,133 out of 73,011 registered voters and the poll percentage was recorded at 57.71.
shared ground for National Conference and the Congress, Ramban constituency was reserved for Scheduled Castes in 1977. The constituency was represented by Asadullah Mir of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 while as Hans Raj and Mohammad Akhter Nizami of the Congress party won from here in 1967 and 1972 elections respectively. Prem Nath of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 while as Jagdev Singh and Bharat Gandhi of the Congress won in 1983 and 1987 elections. In 1996 polls, Bali Bhagat of BJP was declared elected from this constituency.
Epilogue Ø 80 × January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Kishtwar Sajad Ahmed Kichloo (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Sunil Kumar (BJP)
K I S H T W A R
Living up to father’s legacy, peoples’ expectations
I
Total Votes : 70592 Vote Polled : 51356 Winner : 19248 Winning Margin : 2465 % Share Of Winner : 37.47 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 S.Hussain Kitchloo
NC
1996 B.Ahmad Kitchloo
NC
1987 B. Ahmad Kitchloo
NC
1983 Gh. Hassan Arman
NC
t could have been given to sympathy wave in 2002 when Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo sought election after demise of his illustrious father Bashir Ahmed Kichloo. Six years later the smart and suave Kichloo has proved that he has the capacity to live up to legacy of his father and expectations of his people. It was an intensely contested election in Kishtwar which was badly hit by Amarnath land row which put BJP first time ever in reckoning in this constituency. 43 years old Sajjad polled 19248 votes against 16783 of BJP candidate. PDP's Syed Asghar could muster only 10403 votes. As a legislator, Sajjad has an excellent performance in the previous assembly.
2002 elections
S
ajad Hussain Kitchloo of National Conference was elected from this constituency in 2002 elections defeating his nearest Congress rival Ghulam Hyder Sheikh by a margin of 1,663 votes. Kitchloo polled 16,725 votes while as Sheikh received 15,062 votes. 40,473 people exercised their franchise out of 73,793 registered voters. The poll percentage was recorded at 54.84.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 B.Ahmad Kitchloo
NC
1972 Nizam-ud-Din
Cong.
1967 Ghulam Mustafa
Cong.
1962 Syed Mir Budshah
NC
1957 Syed Mir Budshah
NC
K
ishtwar constituency in Jammu province is most arduous and vast segment. Though the National Conference and the Congress have been sharing honours in the electoral history but NC's leading stalwart Bashir Ahmed Kichloo had a clear sway in this segment. He won three elections here and after his death his son took over the bastion. This constituency was represented by Syed Mir Epilogue Ø 81 × January 2009
Budshah of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Ghulam Mustafa and Nizam-ud-Din, both Congress candidates, represented the Assembly segment in the 1967 and 1972 elections. Bashir Ahmad Kichloo of National Conference wrested the seat in 1977 while as Ghulam Hassan Arman won from here in 1983 polls. Bashir Ahmad Kitchloo of NC again won in 1987 and 1996 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K I S H T W A R
Indarwal
Firm grip over rugged terrains
G.M. Saroori (CONGRESS)
defeats
Shakti Raj (BJP)
Total Votes : 73863
G
Vote Polled : 53157 Winner : 22864 Winning Margin : 10415 % Share Of Winner : 42.67
hulam Mohammad Saroori's margin was one of highest in 2002 elections when entered the legislative assembly for first time. A man of organizational and public commitment, he has been able to nourish constituency to win it over twice. It was an intensely contested election in this mountainous constituency but none of the opponents could reach anywhere closer to Saroori's 22684 votes.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Gh. Mohammad
Cong.
1996 Jalal-ud-Din
NC
1987 Mohd. Sarief Niaz
NC
1983 Sheikh Gh. Mohd.
NC
1977 Sheikh Gh. Mohd.
NC
1972 Abdul Gani Goni
Cong.
1967 Abdul Gani Goni
Cong.
1962 Abdul Gani Goni
NC
1957 Abdul Gani Goni
NC
2002 elections
G
hulam Mohammad Saroori of Congress was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Qazi Jalal-ud-Din by a margin of 18,884 votes. Ghulam Mohammad polled 24,551 votes while as Mr. Jalal-ud-Din received 5,667 votes out of the 37,917 votes polled. This was one of the highest margins in 2002 elections. The total electorate registered for the 2002 polls was 66,987 and the poll percentage was recorded at 56.60.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
I
nderwal came to be known only after 1967 as this constituency was known as Bhalesa-Banjwah constituency in 1957 and 1962 polls when Abdul Gani Goni of National Conference was elected from here to the State Assembly. He again won the seat in 1967 and 1972 polls on a Congress ticket. Epilogue Ă˜ 82 Ă— January 2009
However, National Conference candidate Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad wrested the seat in 1977 and retained it in 1983. Mohammad Sharief Niaz and Jalal-udDin, both of National Conference, were elected from this constituency in 1987 and 1996 respectively.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Doda Abdul Majid Wani (CONGRESS)
defeats
Khalid Najib (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 73268
Roads connectivity, presence among people paid him
A
Vote Polled : 52196 Winner : 23254 Winning Margin : 7152 % Share Of Winner : 44.54 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Abdul Majid
D O D A
bdul Majid Wani is a rich man but that does not take him away from his people. Doda constituency has rough and rugged terrain and most of its villages are with poor accessibility. A surprise winner of 2002 elections, Wani did two things –one that he took roads to most of the villages and second that he remained among the people during militant attacks as well as search operations by security forces. When forces picked up suspects, Wani stood guarantee for their release. This is what people mainly want in such areas. His victory was therefore a reiteration of public faith in his leadership. Wani polled 23254 votes and his nearest rival Khalid Najib Suharawardy of National Conference got 16102 votes. There were 18 other candidates in the fray.
Ind.
2002 elections
1996 M.A.U.Suharwardy
NC
1987 M.A.U.suharwardy
NC
1983
A
timber contractor Abdul Majid Wani, as an independent candidate, was elected from this constituency in 2002 winning the seat by a margin of 607 votes by defeating his nearest National Conference rival Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy. While Majid received 13,799 votes, Mr. Khalid polled 13,192 votes. The total registered electorate in the 2002 polls was 70,278 out of which 39,104 voters exercised their right to vote. The total poll percentage was recorded at 55.64.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977 Gh. Qadir Wani
NC
1972 Hans Raj Dogra
Cong.
1967 Lassa Wani
Cong.
1962 Lassa Wani
NC
1957 Gh. Ahmad Wani
NC
D
oda constituency has been home to National Conference stalwart Maulana Atta Ullah Suhrawardy –a close friend and colleague of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah –but it has always thrown mixed results. Urban rural divide has often been a decisive factor in determining fortunes of the aspirants. Though there is no large urban base on the constituency but the candidate who lives in rural are is preferred over the city resident. This constituency was represented by National Conference candidates Ghulam Ahmad Wani and Lassa Wani in 1957 and 1962 polls . Mr. Lassa Epilogue Ø 83 × January 2009
Wani again won this seat in 1967 on a Congress ticket. Mr. Hans Raj Dogra of Congress was elected from here in 1972 and Ghulam Qadir Wani of Janta Party won the seat 1977 elections. Elections were suspended in 1983 while as Moulana Atta Ullah Suharwardy of National Conference won in the 1987 elections. He retained the seat in 1996 again. However, due to the demise of Atta Ullah Suharwardy, bye-elections were held in the constituency and his Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, who contested on National Conference ticket, was declared elected.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
D O D A
Bhaderwah Ghulam Nabi Azad (CONGRESS)
defeats
Daya Krishen (BJP)
W
Total Votes : 94972 Vote Polled : 60835 Winner : 38328 Winning Margin : 29436 % Share Of Winner : 62.85 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohd. Sharief Niaz
He made all to forfeit security deposits
hen he sought a by-election from Bhaderwah constituency in 2006, two main parties –NC and PDP –opted out of contest and BJP remained there for tokenism. Azad won with an unbeatable margin. Two years later there was an aggressive campaign against him by all parties. He has again won by an unbeatable margin. He polled 38238 votes and all other 11 candidates forfeited their security deposits. Chief Ministers normally don't get time for their own electoral segments but Azad made his constituency a model. University Campus, tourism promotion, Colleges and infrastructure development in rural areas paid him well. This was Azad's second election ever from the home state even as spent 30 years at national politics.
Cong.
2002 elections
1996 Sheikh Ab. Rehman
BSP
1987 Hari Lal
NC
1983 H.L. Hiteshi
NC
1977 Narayan Dass
JP
1972 Bodh Raj
Cong.
1967 Jagat Ram
Cong.
1962 Chuni Lal
NC
1957 Chuni Lal
NC
M
ohammad Sharief Niaz of Congress was elected from this constituency in 2002 elections. He polled 16,962 votes and defeated his nearest National Conference rival Mohammad Aslam Goni by a margin of 6,827 votes. Aslam Goni received 10,135 votes. A total of 49,628 voters voted out of 91,478 registered electorate and the poll percentage was recorded at 54.25. Niaz, however, later resigned the seat to pay way for the election of then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. By-elections were, therefore, held here in April 2006 and Azad won with a record margin.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
here is a unique feature with Bhaderwah constituency. Since 1962, people of this constituency have never given second chance to anyone who won once. Ghulam Nabi Azad had been able to break jinx in present elections. Not only the change of face, the trends suggest, that different parties have been given chance by the people to perform in the constituency. Bhaderwah constituency was represented by Chuni Lal of National Conference Epilogue Ø 84 × January 2009
in 1957 and 1962 while as Jagat Ram and Mr. Bodh Raj of the Congress party won the 1967 and 1972 elections. Narayan Dass of Janta Party won from here in 1977 while as Hira Lal Hiteshi of National Conference wrested the seat in 1983. Hari Lal of Congress represented the constituency in 1987 while as Sheikh Abdul Rehman of Bahujan Samaj Party won from Bhaderwah in 1996. It went to Congress in 2002.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R A M B A N
D I S T R I C T
Banihal
R E A S I
Reasi
Vikar Rasool Wani (Congress) n 8287 votes defeats Showkat Javed Daing (Independent) n 5254 votes Total Votes : 70552 | Vote Polled : 47683 WINNING MARGIN 3033 % SHARE OF WINNER 17.37
Baldev Raj (BJP) n 26031 votes defeats Jugal Kishor (Congress) n votes Total Votes : 97535 | Vote Polled : 70336 WINNING MARGIN 6662 % SHARE OF WINNER 37.00
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 M.Abdul Rashid
Ind.
1996 Farooq Mir NC 1987 M.Abdul Rashid
NC
1983 M.Abdul Rashid
NC
1977 M.Abdul Rashid
NC
1972 Hajira Begum
Cong.
1967 Mohammad Akhter
NC
1962
1957
Young blood from mountains
V
ikar Rasool, at 33, proves that it is time of youth in politics. Moulvi Abdul Rashid, independent, was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Mohammad Farooq Mir by a margin of 6,674 votes. Moulvi Abdul Rashid polled 11,393 votes and Mr. Mohammad Farooq Mir 4,719 votes out of the 23,980 votes polled overall. The poll percentage was recorded at 40.55
2002 Jugal Kishore
Cong.
1996 Jagjivan Lal
JD
1987 Mohd. Ayub Khan
Cong.
1983 Jagjivan Lal
NC
1977 R.K. Koushal
JP
1972 R.K. Koushal
BJS
1967 B.L. Kohistani
Cong.
1962 R.K.Kahushal
PP
1957 Reshi Kesh
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
B
N
anihal is one of the most hilly and difficult to manage constituencies in Jammu province along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. A clear bastion of National Conference, the electoral battle in Banihal is clearly on the urban rural divide. Like Doda, Banihal too does not have any large urban localities but a candidate belonging to village has always got preference over the one from the township. This constituency was represented by Mohammad Akhter of National Conference in 1967 elections while as Hajira Begum of Congress won from here in 1972. Moulvi Abdul Rashid of National Conference won three successive terms from this Assembly segment in 1977, 1983 and 1987. Farooq Mir was elected from here in 1996 polls.
2002 scene reversed
B
aldev Raj of BJP has defeated Jugal Kishore of Congress with double the margin he had lost by in 2002. The constituency was won by Jugal Kishore of Congress in 2002 Assembly polls. He defeated BJP rival Baldev Raj by a margin of 2,056 votes. Jugal Kishore secured 23,045 votes while as Baldev Raj polled 20,989. The total votes polled were 62,333 and poll percentage was recorded at 62.19.
o party has ever been able to maintain a continuous sway on Reasi constituency. While in first two elections one can see it was National Conference all over the state but Reasi constituency had a candidate from the Praja Parishad in 1962. The constituency was represented by Reshi Kesh of NC in 1957 while as Rishi Kumar Koushal of Praja Parishad won from here in 1962. Bansi Lal Kohistani of the Congress was elected in the 1967 elections while as Reshi Kumar Koushal again won from here as a Bhartiya Jana Sangh candidate in 1972. Koushal represented the constituency again 1977 as a Janta Party candidate. Jagjivan Lal of NC won this seat in 1983 while as Mohammad Ayub Khan of the Congress was elected from here in 1987. In 1996, Jagjivan Lal won from here on a Janta Dal ticket.
Epilogue Ă˜ 85 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Former school teacher returns to house, third time
Gulab Garh Abdul Gani Malik (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Mumtaz Ahmed (INDEPENDENT)
Total Votes : 59672
R E A S I
A
Vote Polled : 45609 Winner : 14268 Winning Margin : 3248 % Share Of Winner : 31.28 (Out of Total Votes)
school teacher in a remote village, Abdul Ghani Malik took up a challenge in 1996. Resigned from Government job and contested election on Janta Dal ticket. He had his way. Few years later he joined National Conference and won second election in 2002. At the age of 50, he is returning to assembly third time straight. Polling 14268 votes he defeated independent candidate Choudhary Mumtaz Ahmed Khan who polled 11020 votes. Malik is humble and down to earth.
HISTORY 2002 Abdul Gani Malik
NC
1996 Abdul Gani Malik
JD
1987 Haji Buland Khan
NC
1983 Haji Buland Khan
NC
1977 Haji Buland Khan
NC
1972 Mohd. Ayub Khan
Cong.
1967 Mohd. Ayub Khan
Cong.
1962 Mohd. Ayub Khan
NC
1957 Mohd. Ayub Khan
NC
2002 elections
A
bdul Gani Malik of National Conference was elected from here in 2002 defeating his nearest independent rival Aijaz Ahmad Khan by a margin of 2,930 votes. Then Malik had won second time straight. He polled 12,476 votes as compared to 9,546 votes received by Mr. Khan. A total of 35,492 people exercised their right to vote out of the total electorate of 63,386. The poll percentage was recorded at 55.99.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
S
ince first election in 1957, this constituency was represented four times by Mohammad Ayub Khan and thrice by Haji Buland Khan. It was only in 1996 that Khan voluntarily retired out of the electoral politics and his son Ajaz Ahmed Khan lost to Janta Dal candidate who later joined the National Conference. This constituency was earlier known as Arnas and was
Epilogue Ă˜ 86 Ă— January 2009
represented by Mohammad Ayub Khan in as National Conference candidate in 1957 and 1962. He was again elected from this constituency on a Congress ticket in 1967 and 1972. Haji Buland Khan of National Conference won this seat in 1977, 1983 and 1987 Assembly elections. In 1996, this constituency was represented by Mr. Abdul Gani Malik of Janta Dal.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R E A S I
Gool Arnas Ch. Ajaz Ahmed Khan (CONGRESS)
defeats
Ghulam Qadir Mugal (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 55615
Career politician gets second endorsement
A
Vote Polled : 42086 Winner : 15594 Winning Margin : 3452 % Share Of Winner : 37.05 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Aijaz Ahmad Khan
Ind.
1996 Abdul Wahid Shan
NC
t age of 39, Choudhary Ajaz Ahmed Khan is returning to Legislative Assembly second time. This Law Graduate took politics as career at the age of 25 and tried his luck first time in 1996. In 2002 he reached assembly as an independent candidate and performed exceptionally well as Minister of State with both Chief Ministers –Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad. Though later he joined Congress but earned trust of both leaders well. He was trusted by Azad so much that whenever there was a crisis in Council of Ministers, Ajaz would get charge of departments till issue was resolved. At one point of time he had as many as 13 departments sharing with various Cabinet Ministers from different parties. Polling 15994 votes, he has defeated GQ Mughal of NC who got 12142 votes. 2002 elections
1987
1983
1977
A
ijaz Ahmad Khan, an independent candidate, was elected from Gool Arnas in the 2002 Assembly polls. He defeated his nearest BJP rival Kabala Singh by a margin of 4,986 votes. While Khan received 10,881 votes, Mr. Kabala Singh got 5,895 votes out of the total of 32,614 votes polled. The poll percentage was recorded at 60.08. Khan later joined the Congress as associate member.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1972
1967
1962
1957
G
ool Arnas was not a constituency till 1995 when it was created by way of delimitation. in fact the erstwhile Arnas constituency was bifurcated into two parts –Gulab Garh and Gool Arnas. Being a bastion of National Conference for three successive terms before Epilogue Ø 87 × January 2009
split of constituency, the 1996 election also saw the party retaining seat. Abdul Wahid Shan of National Conference had won seat in 1996 elections. Observers believe the 1996 election was actually won for Shan by Haji Buland Khan, why by then had retired from the electoral politics.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
U D H A M P U R
Udhampur Balwant S. Mankotia (JKNPP)
defeats
Pawan Gupta (BJP)
H
Total Votes : 103714 Vote Polled : 71074 Winner : 25259 Winning Margin : 2770 % Share Of Winner : 35.53 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Balwant Singh
At 39, second journey on bicycle
e is young, energetic and aggressive. Winning election from a complex constituency like Udhampur is not an easy task for a new comer but Balwant Singh Mankotia of Panthers Party did it six years back at the age of 33. This time he has only returned with a renewed public support. Polling over 25000 votes in a keenly contested election, Mankotia has defeated Pawan Gupta of BJP by margin of over 3000 votes. There were 16 other candidates in fray. Balwant's performance in Assembly too remained quite impressive.
JKNPP
2002 elections
1996 Shiv Charan Gupta
BJP
1987 Balak Ram
Cong.
1983 Balak Ram
Cong.
1977 Shiv Charan
JP
1972 Dev Dutt
Cong.
1967 Hem Raj Jandial
Cong.
1962 Amar Nath Sharma
PP
1957 Amar Nath Sharma
NC
B
alwant Singh Mankotia of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party was elected from this constituency in 2002. He defeated his nearest BJP rival Pawan Kumar Gupta by a margin of 9,952 votes. Kumar polled 14,727 votes while as Balwant Singh received 24,679 votes. The total electorate was 1,04,642 and the total votes polled were 61,103. The poll percentage was recorded at 58.39.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
U
dhampur constituency has also refused to be bastion of any particular political party. Elections here have remained highly competitive and the constituency has often alternated between Congress and the BJP or its various previous avatars. National Conference represented Udhampur only once when it was, more or less, the only party in assembly. The constituency was represented by Amar Nath Sharma of National Conference in 1957. Epilogue Ă˜ 88 Ă— January 2009
He again won in 1962 but on as a Praja Parishad candidate. Hem Raj Jandial of the Congress won this seat in 1967 while as another Congress candidate Dev Dutt was elected in 1972 Assembly polls. Lala Shiv Charan Gupta of Janta Party won this seat in 1977. Congress candidate Balak Ram won both in 1983 and 1987 elections. In the 1996 polls, this constituency was won again by Lala Shiv Charan Gupta, this time on BJP ticket.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
U D H A M P U R
D I S T R I C T
Chenani
K A T H U A
Bani
Krishan Chander (Congress) n 16276 votes defeats Dhina Nath (BJP) n votes Total Votes : 79496 | Vote Polled : 45882 WINNING MARGIN 6438 % SHARE OF WINNER 35.47
Lal Chand (BJP) n 11041 votes defeats Ghulam Haider Malik (NC) n votes Total Votes : 37204 | Vote Polled : 27903 WINNING MARGIN 2249 % SHARE OF WINNER 39.56
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Faquir Nath
JKNPP
1996 Prithvi Chand
BJP
1987 Yash Paul Khajuria
Cong.
1983 Bhim Singh
ND/PP
1977 Bhim Singh
NC
1972 Nirmala Devi
Cong.
1967 Shiv Charan
PJS
1962 Shiv Charan
PP
1957 Moti Ram
NC
3 years old Krishan Chander has restored this Constituency to Congress after 20 years as he defeats BJP's Dina Nath with huge margin. Faquir Nath of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party was elected from this constituency in 2002 when he defeated Krishan Chander by a margin of 1,765 votes. Nath polled 17,118 votes as compared to 15,353 polled by Mr. Chander.
5
2002 Prem Sagar
Cong.
1996 Gh. Haider Malik
NC
1987
1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
B
his historic Chenani constituency was earlier known as Lander-Tikri. The constituency was represented by Moti Ram Baigra of National Conference in 1957. Baigra had earlier also remained a members of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly representing this constituency. Shiv Charan of Praja Parishad in 1962 had won when it was known as Lander Tikri constituency. Shiv Charan of PJS won from there again in 1967. Nirmala Devi of Congress won this seat in 1972 while as Bhim Singh was elected from here in 1977 as Congress candidate while as in 1983 he was elected as Panthers Party candidate. Yesh Paul Khajuria of the Congress won from here in 1987 while as Prithvi Chand of BJP represented this constituency in 1996. This constituency was reserved for Scheduled Castes in 1995
Master makes way
M
aster Lal Chand was out of fray in 2002 but this time he pushed the last winner out of fray. Prem Sagar Aziz was a Minister in coalition and has finished third. Aziz had won from Bani in 2002 elections when he defeated his nearest National Conference rival Ghulam Haider Malik by a margin of 3,687 votes. Haider polled 6,708 votes while as Sagar polled 10,395 votes of the total 24,356 votes polled. The total electorate was 36,015 and the poll percentage was recorded at 67.62.
ani was not a constituency till 1995 when it was created so by way of delimitation. It is the only constituency in Kathua district to have a significant population of Muslims who emerge as decisive factor. Ghulam Hyder Malik of National Conference was the first to win from this constituency.
Epilogue Ă˜ 89 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
U D H A M P U R
Ramnagar
Bhim’s pride is man of masses
Harsh Dev Singh (JKNPP)
defeats
Vinod Khajuria (BSP)
T
Total Votes : 100190 Vote Polled : 64871 Winner : 30609 Winning Margin : 12146 % Share Of Winner : 47.18 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Harsh Dev Singh
JKNPP
1996 Harsh Dev Singh
JKNPP
his astute law graduate taught tuitions to Jammu City and was a teacher in a private school before carving his way to the Legislative Assembly in 1996. His uncle Bhim Singh had though founded the Panthers Party in early 1980s but Harsh Dev Singh opened first account at the age of 36. For his keen participation in legislative business and educative speeches, he was adjudged as best legislator in ninth assembly. After securing his Ramnagar seat second time in 2002, he became a Cabinet Minister in the coalition government and took remarkable initiatives to reform the education department, which he held. His concentration in constituency always remained keen that this time he secured 30609 votes over 18463 of the rival.
2002 elections
1987 Chandu Lal
Cong.
1983 Ram Dass
Cong.
1977 Prithvi Chand
BJP
1972 Chandu Lal
Cong.
1967 Chandu Lal
Cong.
1962 Hem Raj Jandial
NC
1957 Hem Raj Jandial
NC
H
arsh Dev Singh of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party was elected from this constituency by defeating Khalil Ahmad Qazi of Bahujan Samaj Party by a margin of 16,484 votes. Qazi polled 13,430 votes as against 29,914 polled by Haresh Dev Singh. The total voters were 97,787 and votes polled 59,354. The poll percentage was recorded at 60.71.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
he constituency was represented by Hem Raj Jandial of National Conference both in 1957 and 1962. Chandu Lal of the Congress won this seat in 1967, 1972 elections. Prithvi Chand of BJS won from here in 1977 while as Ram Dass of the Congress won in 1983. In the 1987 Epilogue Ø 90 × January 2009
elections, Chandu Lal, again of Congress, was elected while as Haresh Dev Singh of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party won from here in 1996 polls.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K A T H U A
D I S T R I C T
Basholi
K A T H U A
Hiranagar
Jagdish Raj Sapolia (BJP) n 16651 votes defeats Davinder Singh (NC) n 13770 votes Total Votes : 67923 | Vote Polled : 47235 WINNING MARGIN 2881 % SHARE OF WINNER 35.25
Durga Dass (BJP) n 19730 votes defeats Prem Lal (Independent) n 16993 votes Total Votes : 101057 | Vote Polled : 64680 WINNING MARGIN 2737 % SHARE OF WINNER 30.50
HISTORY
HISTORY
2002 Lal Singh
Cong.
1996 Ch. Lal Singh
AICCT
1987 Jagdish Raj Sapolia
Cong.
1983 Mangat Ram
Cong.
1977 Mangat Ram
Cong.
1972 Mangat Ram
Cong.
1967 Mahant Ram
NC
1962 Mahant Ram 1957 Mahesh Chander
Victory, at last
J
adgish Raj Sapolia is an old warhorse but he suffered many defeats before routing a family. Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress won in 2002 Sapolia by a margin of 3,668 votes. However, after Lal Singh's election to Lok Sabha he resigned as MLA and wife Kanta Andotra contested bye-election in, 2004. Kanta was elected again defeating Jagdish Raj Sapolia.
2002 Girdhari lal 1996 Prem Lal
Cong.
BSP
1987 Baldev Singh
BJP
1983 Ram Dass
Cong.
1977 Girdhari Lal Dogra
Cong.
1972 Girdhari Lal Dogra
Cong.
1967 Girdhari Lal Dogra
Cong.
NC
1962 Girdhari Lal Dogra
NC
PP
1957 Girdhari Lal Dogra
NC
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
M
T
ahesh Chander of the Praja Parishad won this seat in 1957. In 1962 and 1967, Mahant Ram won on National Conference and Congress mandate respectively. However, Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma of Congress represented the constituency for three consecutive terms in 1972,1977 and 1983 elections.. Jagdish Raj Sapolia has won in 1987 as Congress nominee. In 1996 Lal Singh won on Tiwari Congress ticket but later the party was merged in Congress.
Clear resurgence of BJP
T
otal votes polled by the winner, Durga Dass of BJP, are just 1000 less than the victory margin of Congress rival in 2002 who this time finished third. Congress was clearly out of contest. Girdhari Lal of Congress won this seat in 2002 Assembly elections when he defeated his nearest BJP rival Gopal Dass by a margin of 18,212 votes.
he Hirnagar was known as Jasmer Ghar till 1972 and has returned stalwarts to the legislative assembly. A towering political leader of his times Girdhari Lal Dogra won five successive terms from 1957 to 1977 elections. While as he won as National Conference candidate in 1957 and 1962 elections, he was successfully represented the constituency in 1967, 1972 and 1977 elections on a Congress ticket. In 1983, this seat was won by Ram Dass of the Congress party while as another stalwart Thakur Baldev Singh of BJP won in 1987 elections. Another BJP candidate Prem Lal was elected from this constituency in 1996 elections. Constituency returned to Congress in 2002 elections but BJP has again recaptured in present elections.
Epilogue Ă˜ 91 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K A T H U A
Honesty, of course, remains the best policy
Kathua Charanjeet Singh (INDEPENDENT)
defeats
Som Raj (BSP)
F
Total Votes : 111546 Vote Polled : 74070 Winner : 19123 Winning Margin : 2362 % Share Of Winner : 25.81 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Babu Singh
DM
1996 Sagar Chand
BSP
1987 Om Prakash
Cong.
1983 Sanji Ram
Cong.
1977 Dhian Chand
JP
1972 Punjaboo Ram
Cong.
1967 Punjaboo Ram
Cong.
1962 Randhir Singh
NC
1957 Maj. Piyara Singh
NC
ew years back, a middle rung a middle rung officer in the state administration got the 'State Award' honesty and he wasted no time in getting his credentials endorsed by the public. Many think when Charanjit Singh was Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kathua he had an idea for contesting elections from there. Even if he had such a planning, his impressive victory in 2008 elections brings home the fact that he is a peoples' man. 57 year old Charanjit resigned from the government service just ahead of filing his nomination papers. His victory has other underlying factors also. It was not a hands-down election. Among others in the fray were a sitting Member of Parliament, Chowdhary Lal Singh, as Congress nominee, and a Ministertill-recently, Babu Singh. None of them was even runner up. Polling 19123 votes, Charanjit's nearest rival was BSP candidate Som Raj who got a little over 16,000 votes. A victory worth celebrating. 2002 elections
A
trade unionist Jatinder Singh, popularly known as Babu Singh, of Democratic Movement was elected from this constituency in 2002 elections. He defeated his nearest Bahujan Samaj Party rival Sagar Chand by a margin of 3,059 votes. Babu Singh polled 16,366 votes while as Sagar Chand polled 13,307 votes. The total electorate in 2002 polls was 1,12,359 and the votes polled were 64,021. The poll percentage was recorded at 56.98.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
C
ongress secured Kathua constituency four times in the electoral history but this segment has thrown mixed results giving chance to different parties. The constituency was represented by Major Piyara Singh of National Conference in 1957. Randhir Singh, again of National Conference won in 1962 elections. Punjaboo Epilogue Ă˜ 92 Ă— January 2009
Ram of the Congress won from here in 1967 and 1972 while as Dhian Chand of Janta Party won the 1977 polls. Sanji Ram and Om Prakash, both of Congress, won this seat in 1983 and 1987 elections respectively. Sagar Chand of the Bahujan Samaj Party represented the constituency in 1996 polls.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
K A T H U A
Billawar Manohar Lal Sharma (CONGRESS)
defeats
Satish Sharma (BJP)
Doctor’s prescription does well, twice
W
Total Votes : 88601 Vote Polled : 61931 Winner : 22262 Winning Margin : 8383 % Share Of Winner : 35.94 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 M.L Sharma
Ind.
1996 Balbir Singh
AICCT
1987 Suram Singh
Cong.
1983 Puran Singh
Cong.
hen he stunned all in 2002 by defeating a Congress heavyweight, Dr Manohar Lal's first question in legislative assembly was about promotion of silviculture in his constituency. He said he is looking at smaller avenue which could fetch locals some income. Such were the issue he had been working at that people sent Manohar to assembly in 2002. Next six years everybody fought for Ministerial berth in rag tag coalition of PDP and Congress but Manohar, an independent, concentrated on his constituency. No wonder that he has won second time when so called titans were pitted against him. He holds a doctorate degree and is 42 years old. As a Congress nominee this time, he has secured 22262 votes against 13879 of BJP rival. 2002 elections
M
anohar Lal Sharma, an independent candidate, won Billawar seat in 2002 Assembly elections when he defeated his nearest Congress rival Balbir Singh by a margin of 14,561 votes. Sharma polled 24,736 votes and Balbir Singh 10,175 votes out of 51,783 votes polled overall. The number of electors in Billawar for 2002 polls were 81,170 and the poll percentage was recorded at 63.80.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Dhian Singh
JP
1972 Randhir Singh
Cong.
1967 Randhir Singh
Cong.
1962 R.C. Khajuria
NC
1957 R.C. Khajuria
NC
C
ongress has won this seat five times in history but the electoral trends suggest that people have clearly preferred a new face every time. Thakur Randhir Singh, now with Nationalist Congress Party, and Ram Chand Khajuria of National Conference were the only candidates to have won this constituency twice. Now this record has been matched by the present winner Manohar Lal. This constituency Epilogue Ø 93 × January 2009
was represented by Ram Chand Khajuria of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Randhir Singh won this seat in 1967 and 1972 on a Congress ticket. Dhian Singh of Janta Party represented this constituency in 1977 while as in 1983, 1987 and 1996 Congress candidates namely Puran Singh, Suram Singh and Balbir Singh have been elected from Billawar Assembly segment.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S A M B A
Samba
Young lad proves he is fit for job
Yashpaul Kundal (JKNPP)
defeats
Satwant Kour (BJP)
W
Total Votes : 76298 Vote Polled : 53739 Winner : 14631 Winning Margin : 1989 % Share Of Winner : 27.22 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Yashpaul Kundal
JKNPP
1996 Som Nath
BSP
hen a private school teacher –hoping for government job –Yash Pal Kundal won 2002 elections from Samba constituency at the age of 32 it was seen merely an accident of democracy. Six years later and at the age of 38, Kundal has proved that elections are not always won by accidents. Kundal remained a Minister in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government till 2005 and is among few Ministers of the coalition government who retained their seats. His good work and constant connection with the public appears to have worked. Samba was focal point of the Amarnath land agitation. Going by that count the BJP candidate should have won here but Kundal's 14631 votes over 12600 votes of BJP candidate tell the whole story of this young MLA's acceptability in the public. 2002 elections
1987 Prakash Sharma
Cong.
1983 Prakash Sharma
Cong.
1977 Gauri Shankar
Cong.
Y
ashpaul Kundal of Jammu and Kashmir National Panther Party was elected from here in 2002 elections defeating his nearest Congress rival Swaran Lata by a narrow margin of 746 votes. Kundal polled 11,079 votes while as Swaran Lata received 10,333 votes out of the 43,780 votes polled overall. The poll percentage was recorded at 58.42.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1972 Paramanand
Cong.
1967 K. Sagar Singh
NC
1962 Sagar Singh
NC
1957 Mehar Singh
NC
M
ehar Singh (RSV) and Sagar Singh of National Conference represented the Assembly segment from 1957 to 1962. K. Sagar Singh, again of National Conference, represented this constituency in 1962. Babu Paramanand and Gauri Shankar of the Congress won from here in 1967 and Epilogue Ø 94 × January 2009
1972 elections. Dhian Singh, an independent candidate, won this seat in 1977. In 1983 and 1987 elections Congress candidate Prakash Sharma represented the constituency. The seat was won by Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Som Nath in 1996 Assembly elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
S A M B A
Vijaypur Surjeet S. Salathia (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Chander Parkash (BJP)
Total Votes : 100730
S
Vote Polled : 77515 Winner : 21090 Winning Margin : 1212 % Share Of Winner : 27.20 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002
1996 S. Singh Salathia
Two victories in one election
urjeet Singh Slathia's victory in Vijaypur is not just a simple election. He has won over two factor heavily weighed against him. Vijaypur was the nerve center of Amarnath land agitation and the BJP candidate Chander Prakash Ganga was the key mobilizing force. When thousands of meters of cloth was burnt in effigies of NC leader Omar Abdullah for his speech in Parliament, leaders like Slathia had been pushed to wall. Another key factor was the sitting legislator, also a Minister in coalition government, who had defeated him in 2002. A Minister in Farooq Government till 2002, 53 years old Slathia has bounced back securing 21090 votes against 19878 of BJP rival. Sitting MLA and PDP candidate Manjit Singh polled 12536 votes.
NC
2002 elections
1987 Swaran Lata
Cong.
M
1983 Gouri Shanker
Cong.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Gurbachan Kumari
JP
1972 Baldev Sharma
Cong.
1967 Dina Nath
Cong.
1962 Paramanand
NC
1957
anjit Singh of Bahujan Samaj Party had defeated National Conference candidate Surjeet Singh Slathia in 2002 elections. While Manjit Singh polled 25406 votes, Slathia had got 20329 votes. Manjit was a lone winner on BSP ticket and he later joined the Peoples Democratic Party.
E
xcept for first election in 1957 this constituency has remained a bastion of the Congress except on one occasion when a Janta Party candidate won. It was only in 1996 that the constituency returned to the National Conference nearly 40 years after it had held it last. The constituency was known as Ramgarh till 1972 and Bari Brahmana till 1983. Parmanand of National Conference won from here in Epilogue Ă˜ 95 Ă— January 2009
1962 while as in 1967 Congress candidate Dina Nath represented this constituency. In 1972 another Congress candidate Baldev Sharma was elected while as Gurbachan Kumari of Janta Party won this seat in 1977 elections. Gouri Shanker of Congress and Swaran Lata of the same party represented this constituency in 1983 and 1987 respectively. Mr. Surjit Singh Salathia of NC won from here in 1996.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Nagrota Jugal Kishore (BJP)
defeats
Ajatshatru Singh (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 64705
4
Vote Polled : 48958 Winner : 11141 Winning Margin : 1620 % Share Of Winner : 22.75 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Jugal Kishore
BJP
1996 Ajat Shatru Singh
NC
1987 Shiv Dev Singh
Cong.
1983 Bhalwan Singh
Cong.
1977 Dhan Raj
JP
5 years old Jugal Kishore of BJP broke an over 40 year old record by winning assembly election from Nagrota constituency for second time in row. Since 1962 Nagrota constituency never sent a candidate twice to the assembly. He defeated the National Conference candidate Ajat Shatru Singh–the scion of the erstwhile ruling Dogra dynasty –by a margin of over 2000 votes. This is second time that this BJP candidate defeated the 'Maharaja'. Ajat Shatru was a Minister in Farooq Abdullah cabinet between 1996 and 2002 when he contested last election and lost to Jugal by a wafer thin two digit margin. This victory of BJP is not necessarily an Amarnath land row gift. Nagrota is a rural constituency with a huge Muslim population and the land row agitation had relatively lesser impact here. Congress candidate lost the security deposits. 2002 elections
1972 Shanta Bharati
Cong.
1967 Ranjit Singh
Cong.
1962 Ronak Singh
NC
1957
First time since 1962, a record is broken
J
ugal Kishore of BJP was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Ajat Shatru Singh by a margin of 67 votes only. Jugal polled 10,653 votes while as Singh got 10,586 votes. The total electorate was 62,238 and overall votes polled were 39,723. The poll percentage was recorded at 63.72.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
N
agrota constituency has a unique history of not repeating any candidate since 1962. The results of past 50 years reveal that people have always gone for new faces and preferred change in parties also. This constituency was known as Jindra Gharotra till 1983 and was represented by Ronak Singh of NC in 1962 elections. Ranjit Singh of the Congress won the 1967 Epilogue Ø 96 × January 2009
election while as another Congress candidate Shanta Bharati won the 1972 polls. Dhan Raj of Janta Party represented the constituency in 1977 while as Bhalwan Singh and Shiv Dev Singh, both of Congress, won from here in 1983 and 1987 elections respectively. Ajat Shatru Singh of the National Conference was elected from here in 1996 polls.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Gandhi Nagar
Lone urban face of Congress survives land row
Raman Bhalla (CONGRESS)
defeats
Nirmal Singh (BJP)
Total Votes : 152810
R
Vote Polled : 92138 Winner : 33486 Winning Margin : 2263 % Share Of Winner : 36.34 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Raman Bhalla
Cong.
1996 Ch. Piara Singh
BJP
1987 H.S. Bali
Ind.
1983 Pradhuman Singh
NC
aman Bhalla has emerged as the lone urban face saver of the Congress. In a highly polarized election campaign post-Amarnath land row agitation it was really not an easy task for Bhalla to retain Gandhi Nagar constituency which he won with a huge margin in 2002. While BJP had been able to consolidate its base, a potential candidate coming from National Conference further threatened Bhalla's prospects. His down to earth approach, accessibility and attitude of being 'peoples' man' finally saw Bhalla returning to the Legislative Assembly second time. For Dr Nirmal Singh of BJP, the runner up, it was an historic opportunity lost.
2002 elections
R
aman Bhalla of Congress was elected from here in 2002 elections defeating his nearest National Conference rival Harbans Singh by a margin of 10,493 votes. Bhalla polled 37,010 votes while as Harbans Singh received 26,517 votes, out of 74,299 votes polled overall. The total electorate was recorded at 1,53,334 and poll percentage was recorded at 48.40.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Pradhuman Singh
NC
1972 Trilochan Dutt
Cong.
1967 Kulbeer Singh
NC
1962 Milki Ram
HM
1957 Rajinder Singh
PP
G
andhi Nagar is the most prestigious constituency of Jammu City and has predominantly been represented by the Congress. This is also one of the few exceptions which did not return the National Conference nominee in 1957 elections. This constituency was represented by Rajinder Singh of Praja Parishad and Milkhi Ram of Hindu Mahasabha from 1957 to 1962. Kulbeer Singh of National Epilogue Ă˜ 97 Ă— January 2009
Conference won this seat in 1962 while as Tirlochan Dutt of the Congress wrested the seat in 1967. He won again in 1972 elections. In 1977, Pradhuman Singh of Congress won this seat while as Tirlochan Dutt again won this seat in 1983 on a Congress ticket. Mr. H.S. Bali, an independent candidate, represented the constituency in 1987 elections. Choudhary Piara Singh of BJP was elected from here in 1996.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Jammu East
Dummies return BJP state chief to House
Ashok Khajuria (BJP)
defeats
Narinder Singh (CONGRESS)
T
Total Votes : 55099 Vote Polled : 31370 Winner : 15907 Winning Margin : 10427 % Share Of Winner : 50.70 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Y.Kumar Sawhney
Cong.
1996 Vaid Vishnu Dutt
BJP
1987 Prof. Chaman Lal
BJP
1983 Om Prakash
Cong.
he process of his victory had begun in the month of June 2007 and the only wait was for going to elections. Jammu East was an epicenter of the Amarnath land agitation and there was no other formidable candidate from Congress to counter BJP. This constituency has often been seeing a direct contest between BJP and the Congress. The 2002 winner of Congress had lackluster performance. The party fielded a new face –former City Mayor Narinder Singh –but he was seen as a dummy. The runner up –Congress candidate –could poll only 5480 votes against nearly 16000 votes of Ashok Khajuria. The 58 year old Khajuria, also state president of BJP, had earlier also won election here after this constituency was vacated by Vaid Vishnu Dutt of BJP upon his election to Lok Sabha in 1999. 2002 elections
Y
ogesh Kumar Sawhney of Congress won this seat in 2002 elections defeating Ashok Kumar of Bhartiya Janta Party by a margin of 3,336 votes. While Sawhney polled 11,784 votes, Kumar received 8,448 votes out of the 33,753 votes polled overall. The total electorate was 87,332 and poll percentage was recorded at 38.64.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Ram Nath Balgotra
JP
1972 Abdul Rehman
BJS
1967 Prem Nath Dogra
JS
1962 Prem Nath Dogra
NC
1957 Prem Nath Dogra
PP
J
ammu East constituency has remained a Right Wing bastion for most part of the history and kept Congress at bay till 1983. National Conference could never get mandate in this constituency even in 1957 and 1962 when party swept across the state. The constituency was represented by Pandit Prem Nath Dogra of Praja Parishad in 1957 and 1962 elections while as he won again in 1967 as a Jana Sangh candidate. Abdul Epilogue Ø 98 × January 2009
Rehman of Bhartiya Jana Sangh won the 1972 elections while as Ram Nath Balgotra of Janta Party won the 1977 elections. Om Prakash of Congress was elected from this constituency in 1983. Prof. Chaman Lal and Vaid Vishnu Dutt, both of BJP, won in 1987 and 1996 elections respectively. Vaid Vishno Dutt was later elected to the Lok Sabha the Ashok Khajuria of BJP subsequently won the byelection here.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Eldest man in House pushed Ex-DyCM out of fray
Jammu West Chaman Lal Gupta (BJP)
defeats
S.S. Shingari (INDEPENDENT)
Total Votes : 145743
J A M M U
A
Vote Polled : 84906 Winner : 34288 Winning Margin : 13037 % Share Of Winner : 40.38 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mangat Ram Sharma
Cong.
1996 Hans Raj Dogra
BJP
1987 Mangat Ram Sharma
Cong.
1983 Rangil Singh
Cong.
1977 Harbans L. Bagotra
JP
1972 Chaman Lal
BJS
1967 Ram Nath Mahajan
JS
1962 Ram Chand
NC
1957 Ram Chand
NC
t the age of 74, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta becomes the oldest man in the eleventh legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. The first battle for this aging BJP leader was to secure a party ticket and then it was certainly a cake walk for him. The only man, Chaman Lal Gupta could have feared was his Congress rival Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma but he had long been pushed out of the fray –thanks to Amarnath land agitation in addition to Mangat's style of working as Deputy Chief Minister and later a senior Cabinet Minister. Surprisingly, a little known political face, independent candidate Surinder Singh Shingari was able to poll more than 20,000 votes while Mangat could get only around 13,000 votes. Gupta had already represented this constituency twice before being elected to Lok Sabha and becoming a Union Minister. 2002 elections
P
andit Mangat Ram Sharma of Congress was elected from here by securing 25,627 votes by defeating Virender Kumar Gupta, an independent candidate, by a margin of 7,923 votes. Gupta polled 17,704 votes. The total electorate was 1,63,689 and votes polled were 63,327. The poll percentage stood at 38.69.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
A
mong three constituencies of Jammu City, Jammu West is the only segment which gave mandate to the National Conference twice the electoral history. Ram Chand of National Conference represented this constituency in 1957 and 1962 while as Ram Nath Mahajan of Jana Sangh won the 1967 elections. Chaman Lal of Bhartiya Epilogue Ø 99 × January 2009
Jana Sangh won this seat in 1967 while as Harbans Lal Bagotra of Janta Party was elected in 1977. Rangil Singh of Congress wrested the seat in 1983 and another Congress candidate Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma won the 1987 elections from this constituency. Hans Raj Dogra of BJP won from here in the 1996 elections.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
Bishnah Ashwani Sharma (INDEPENDENT)
defeats
Kamal Verma (BSP)
J A M M U
Lonely independent has thousands supporters
I
Total Votes : 86281 Vote Polled : 62372 Winner : 14006 Winning Margin : 446 % Share Of Winner : 22.45 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Ashwani K. Sharma
Ind.
1996 Jagdish Raj Dubey
JD
1987 Paramanand
NC
1983 Bhagat Chaju Ram
Cong.
t was in 2001 when thousands of people along border belts of Jammu district had to leave their homes when all of sudden they realized that their fields have been mined and Army have taken the war position –operation Parakrama. Government did not have any rehabilitation plan and people were shivering in the cold. On a visit to Bishnah those days we saw several hundreds gathered for lunch in a school building surrounded by temporary tents. It was one of several rehabilitation camps arranged by Ashwani Sharma, then a youth leader of the Congress. We could not meet him but people said, he was a 'Godsend'. Ashwani had been working in the area for quite some time. Congress did not give ticket in 2002 but Ashwani still won with a huge margin. In 2008, the poll watchers had written Ashwani off –Congress had fielded its top ranking leader a Cabinet Minister in coalition government, Gulchain Singh Charak. BJP's candidate was Shilp Verma –wife of Kuldeep Verma who allegedly committed suicide during Amarnath land agitation and the party's campaigner here was none less than Narinder Modi. As independent candidate Ashwani was against alone but his people were certainly with him. While Congress and BJP both lost deposits, the runner up –another independent –was way behind by 6000 votes. 2002 elections
A
1977 Paramanand
Cong.
1972 Paramanand
shwani Kumar Sharma, an independent candidate, was elected from here in 2002 by securing 17,961 votes and defeating Kamal Verma of National Conference by a margin of 4,663 votes. Verma received 13,298 votes. Out of the total electorate of 81,424, votes polled were 54,895. The poll percentage was recorded at 67.41.
Cong.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1967 Bhagat Chaju Ram
Cong.
1962 Trilochan Dutt
NC
1957 Ram Piyara
NC
T
his constituency has given almost equal chance to both National Conference and the Congress in its electoral history till Janta Dal registered a first win in 1996 elections. This constituency was represented by Ram Piyara of National Conference in 1957 and Trilochan Dutt of the same party in the 1962 elections. Epilogue Ø 100 × January 2009
Bhagat Chaju Ram of the Congress won this seat in 1967 and again in 1983 elections while as in the 1972 and 1977, Parmanand of Congress was elected from this constituency. Parmanand again won in 1987 on National Conference ticket. Jagdish Raj Dubey of Janta Dal was elected from here in 1996.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
R.S.Pura Prof Gharu Ram Bhagat (BJP)
defeats
Suman Lata Bhagat (CONGRESS)
Easy jump, from Campus to Constituency
M
Total Votes : 77185 Vote Polled : 54932 Winner : 15902 Winning Margin : 1630 % Share Of Winner : 28.94
ost of the potential contestants in RS Pura had already been tested and tried by people. Therefore, it was a clean mandate for change even though the Amarnath land row had a huge impact on elections. 53 years old Prof Gharu Ram Bhagat is a Professor and Dean at Sher-e-Kashmir Agriculture University. The campus is situated in RS Pura township and Gharu has long been active in the local politics.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Suman Lata Bhagat
Cong.
1996 Ram Chand
BSP
1987 Rangil Singh
Cong.
1983 Janak Raj
Cong.
1977 Jana Raj
Cong.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1972 Rangil Singh
Cong.
R
1967 S. Kulbir Singh
Cong.
1962 Bhagat Chajju Ram
NC
1957 S. Kulbir Singh
NC
2002 elections
S
uman Lata Bhagat of Congress was elected from this constituency in 2002 defeating Romesh Lal Motton of Nationalist Congress Party by a margin of 3,184 votes. Bhagat polled 19,669 votes as against 16,485 received by Motton. The total electorate was 77,388 and the votes polled were 47,507. The poll percentage was recorded at 61.38.
.S. Pura constituency was represented by Kulbir Singh of National Conference in 1957 while as another National Conference candidate Baghat Chajju Ram was elected in 1962 polls. Kulbir Singh again won in 1967 on a Congress ticket. Rangil Singh of the Congress won the 1972 elections while as another
Epilogue Ă˜ 101 Ă— January 2009
Congress candidate Janak Raj Gupta represented this constituency in 1977 and 1983 elections. Rangil Singh of Congress again won from here in 1987 elections while as Ram Chand of Bahujan Samaj Party represented R.S. Pura in 1996 Assembly elections. RS Pura was reserved for Scheduled Castes in 1995 delimitation.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Suchetgarh Sham Lal Choudhary (BJP)
defeats
Taranjit Singh (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
T
Total Votes : 60357 Vote Polled : 45682 Winner : 17995 Winning Margin : 6936 % Share Of Winner : 39.39 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Gharu Ram
Cong.
1996 Chuni Lal
BJP
1987
1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
Quite down, down to the masses
hat the sitting legislator, who was also an important Minister in coalition government, lost his security deposits, speaks volumes about public connections of Shal Lal Choudhary. A Commerce Graduate, 48 years old Sham had contested 2002 elections as an independent candidate. Winning election by polling an impressive 17995 votes, this time he represents BJP and was quite active during land row agitation. But if agitation alone influenced elections, the NC candidate Taranjit Singh would not have polled over 10,000 votes and PDP candidate Tarlok Singh 6200 votes. Gharu Ram of Congress had humiliating defeat at 6545 votes.
2002 elections
C
houdhary Gharu Ram of Congress polled 11,344 votes in 2002 elections and defeated his nearest BJP rival R.S. Chib by a margin of 137 votes. Mr. Chib polled 11,207 votes. The total votes polled were 41,332 and poll percentage was recorded at 69.77.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
S
uchetgarh constituency is on the edge running along India-Pakistan International Border. The much talked about Suchetgarh-Sialokote road connecting Jammu with Sialkote in Pakistan ran through this area. Suchetgarh was not a constituency till 1995 when it was created so way of delimitation. the next year it went to polls for first time and BJP nominee Chowdhary Chunni Lal was declared elected in 1996.
Epilogue Ă˜ 102 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Raipur Domana
A silent giant killer
Bharat Bhushan (BJP)
defeats
Mula Ram (CONGRESS)
Total Votes : 91691
O
Vote Polled : 54966 Winner : 28685 Winning Margin : 12269 % Share Of Winner : 52.18
n the outskirts of Jammu City, Raipur Domana constituency saw the heat of Amarnath land agitation in summer of 2008. Mula Ram of Congress has been a strongman with relatively clean image in party and appreciable performance as Minister. Credit may go to land agitation but Bharat Bhushan Bodhi of BJP has certainly crashed a titan. With huge victory margin of around 12000 votes, Bodhi's popularity in this constituency, reserved for Scheduled Castes, can not be undermined.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mula Ram
Cong.
1996 Sat Paul
JD
1987
1983
2002 elections
M
ula Ram of Congress won from here in 2002 defeating his nearest independent rival Bharat Bushan by a margin of 11,686 votes. Mula Ram polled 20,538 votes and Mr. Bharat Bushan received 8,852 votes out of the 47,230 votes polled overall. The total electorate was 77,364 and poll percentage was recorded at 61.05.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
R
aipur-Domana was not a constituency till 1995 when it was created so way of delimitation. the constituency is situated just on the outskirts of Jammu City and is reserved for Scheduled Castes. Sat Pal Lakhotra of Janta Dal was elected first MLA from RaipurDomana when constituency first went to polls in 1996. Lakhotra along with other winners on Janta Dal ticket later joined the National Conference. Epilogue Ă˜ 103 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Akhnoor Sham Lal Sharma (CONGRESS)
defeats
Govind Ram Sharma (BJP)
Total Votes : 84986
His brother’s brother takes roots
S
Vote Polled : 65872 Winner : 31600 Winning Margin : 13884 % Share Of Winner : 47.97
ham Lal Sharma was just his brother's brother till recently. He shot into prominence by winning a by-election to the state assembly on seat vacated by his brother Madan Lal Sharma upon his election to Lok Sabha in 2004. That he has been able to retain seat in most intensely contested election underlines that this 59 years old outspoken Sham has taken roots in constituency. Polling 31600 votes he defeated BJP's Govind Ram Sharma who polled 17716 votes.
(Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Madal Lal Sharma
Cong.
1996 Govind Ram
NC
1987 Govind Ram
Ind.
1983 Dharampal
Cong.
1977 Dharampal
Cong.
1972 Dharampal
Cong.
1967 Dharampal
Cong.
1962 Shiv Ram
NC
1957 Sehdev Singh
PP
2002 elections
M
adan Lal Sharma of Congress was elected from here in 2002. He polled 17,102 votes and defeated his National Conference rival Govind Ram Sharma by a margin of 1,065 votes. Govind Ram polled 16,037 votes. The total votes polled were 58,242. The poll percentage was recorded at 71.24. Bye-election in the constituency was caused by th the resignation of Madan Lal Sharma. It was held on 13 October, 2004. Sham Lal Sharma of INC was elected from here defeating Govind Ram Sharma, an independent candidate.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
A
khnoor constituency also made a difference in not returning a National Conference nominee in 1957 elections. This constituency was represented by Sehdev Singh of Praja Parishad in 1957 and Shiv Ram of National Conference in 1962 elections. Dharampal won from here in 1967, 1972, 1977 and 1983 elections on a Congress ticket. Epilogue Ø 104 × January 2009
Govind Ram was elected in 1987 as an independent candidate while in 1996 he was elected from Akhnoor on National Conference ticket.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
J A M M U
Chhamb
Third time victory against all odds
Tara Chand (CONGRESS)
defeats
Chaman Lal (BJP)
I
Total Votes : 70828 Vote Polled : 52140 Winner : 25335 Winning Margin : 2395 % Share Of Winner : 48.59 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Tara Chand
Cong.
1996 Tara Chand
Cong.
1987 Madan Lal
Cong.
1983 Madan Lal
Cong.
t was an election of all odds against Congress leader Tara Chand. His growing clout within party and public was not going well with many of colleagues making him a victim of conspiracies. His position as Speaker of Legislative Assembly left him politically ineffective. Amarnath land row agitation engulfed his constituency that there was no rule of law for several weeks in the summer of 2008. 43 year old Tara Chand's third straight victory tells the story of his deep roots in Chhamb constituency. Main issue here, the rehabilitation of border migrants, which has been close to his heart. He has been running from J&K Secretariat to the Home Ministry and the Defence Ministry in Delhi for getting rehabilitation package for border migrants. Chaman of BJP lost to Tara Chand by a margin of over 3,000 votes. 2002 elections
T
ara Chand of Congress was elected for second time in row from here in 2002 defeating his nearest National Conference rival Chhaju Ram by a margin of 10,334 votes. Chand polled 20,630 votes and Mr. Ram 10,296 out of 44,562 votes polled overall. The total electorate was 63,294 and poll percentage was recorded at 70.40.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Ram Nath
Ind.
1972 Kanwar D. Singh
NC
1967 Chaju Ram
Cong.
1962 Chaju Ram
NC
1957 Sat Dev
PP
C
hhamb constituency, along the Indo-Pak International Border, is also an exception to the order that it did not return a National Conference nominee in 1957 elections. Later National Conference won twice and since 1983 the Congress has been maintaining a complete dominance here. Sat Dev of Praja Parishad represented this constituency in 1957. Chaju Ram won from here as National Conference candidate in 1962 and on Epilogue Ă˜ 105 Ă— January 2009
Congress ticket in 1967. Kanwar Devakar Singh of National Conference won this seat in 1977 while as an independent candidate Ram Nath was elected in 1977. Madan Lal of Congress won this seat in 1983 and 1987 elections while as Tara Chand of the Congress was elected from here in 1996 and has been holding the seat till now. Chhamb was reserved for Scheduled Castes in 1995 delimitation.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R A J O U R I
Nowshera
Clearly, vote against poor performance
Radhey Sham (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Ramesh Chander Sharma (CONGRESS)
N
Total Votes : 85723 Vote Polled : 62365 Winner : 16511 Winning Margin : 3820 % Share Of Winner : 29.47 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Romesh Chander
Cong.
1996 Radhay Ram Sharma
Cong.
1987 Beli Ram
Cong.
1983 Beli Ram
Cong.
ational Conference candidate Radhey Shyam Sharma's victory marks return of the maverick. This 58 years old businessman was first elected from this constituency in 1996 on Congress ticket and towards end of that term he joined National Conference. The runner up, Dr Romesh Chander Sharma of Congress, is son of veteran leader late Master Beli Ram who won election from this constituency six times consecutively -1962 to 1987. Romesh is one of only few Ministers of coalition government who remained Ministers for over five years –both with Mufti and Azad. That people still preferred Radhey, who mostly remains away from the state, underlines that Romesh failed to deliver. BSP's Surendra Chowdhary too polled an impressive vote count of 12186 votes. 2002 elections
D
r Romesh Chander Sharma, son of Master Beli Ram –a leading political stalwart of his time, of Congress was elected from Nowshera in 2002 elections when he defeated his National Conference rival Radhay Sham Sharma by a margin of 4,474 votes. Chander polled 20,511 votes while as Mr. Radhay Sham Sharma received 16,037 votes. The total number of voters in 2002 was 88,099. Of these, 50,972 cast their vote and poll percentage was recorded at 57.84.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1977 Beli Ram
Cong.
1972 Beli Ram
Cong.
1967 Beli Ram
Cong.
1962 Beli Ram
NC
1957 Krishan Dev Sethi
Cong.
B
arring two elections in its entire electoral history, Nowshera constituency has continuously remained a bastion of the Congress and saw a one-man rule for nearly four decades. Krishan Dev Sethi of National Conference represented this constituency in 1957 elections. A living signatory to the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, Sethi was a member of the 1952 Constituent Assembly representing this Nowshera constituency. It was in 1962 Epilogue Ø 106 × January 2009
that Master Beli Ram won his first election from here and then never lost again till he retired from active politics three decades later. Beli Ram won six Assembly elections in a row from 1962 to 1987. Barring 1962 when he won on National Conference ticket, Beli Ram won all other elections as Congress candidate. Radhay Sham Sharma of Congress was elected from this constituency in 1996 and then Beli Ram's son returned in 2002 on Congress ticket.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R A J O U R I
Darhal
Credibility defeats dangerous caste politics
Zulfikar Ali (PDP)
defeats
Mohammad Iqbal (INDEPENDENT)
I
Total Votes : 88532 Vote Polled : 67667 Winner : 19395 Winning Margin : 4558 % Share Of Winner : 28.66 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Puran Singh
Ind.
1996 Mohammad Hussain
NC
1987 Ch. Mohammad Hussain NC 1983 Bashir Ahmad
Cong.
t was intensely competitive election here credibility and merit candidates and programmes of their parties were decisive factors and not the hate loaded caste campaign between Gujjars and Paharis as was the case last time. 38 years Postgraduate in Law and Management, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali of the Peoples Democratic Party won by polling over 19,000 votes defeating an independent candidate Mohammad Iqbal. Also in close contest, the National Conference candidate finished third. Sitting MLA Thakur Puran Singh was a Congress nominee and he remained a Minister in the coalition government. Zulfikar's father Choudhary Mohammad Hussain represented this constituency five times before he dies in 2002. Road connectivity is one of the major issues in this area. 2002 elections
I
n a highly caste polarised poll, Puran Singh, an independent candidate, was elected from here defeating his National Conference rival Choudhary Liaqat Ali by a margin of 217 votes. While Singh polled 11,832 votes, Mr. Ali received 11,615 votes. The total number of voters in 2002 was 90,353 of which 42,115 cast their votes and poll percentage was recorded at 46.61. Puran Singh had later joined Congress as its associate member.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND 1977 Ch. Mohammad Hussain NC 1972 Abdul Rashid
NC
1967 Ch. Mohammad Hussain Cong. 1962 Mohammad Iqbal
NC
1957 Mohammad Iqbal
NC
L
ike Rajouri, this constituency too has alternated between National Conference and the Congress throughout its electoral history till an independent won from here in 2002 elections while a single candidate –Choudhary Mohammad Hussain –won as many as four times from here. The constituency was represented by Mirza Mohammad Iqbal of National Conference both in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Choudhary Mohammad Hussain of the Congress represented Epilogue Ø 107 × January 2009
Darhal in 1967 Assembly polls. Mirza Abdul Rashid, again of the Congress, won in 1972 while as Choudhary Mohammad Hussain of NC won from here in 1977. Mian Bashir Ahmad, who had earlier won two elections from Kangan constituency in today's Ganderbal district of Kashmir, won from Darhal constituency in 1983 on Congress ticket. In 1987 and 1996 elections National Conference leader Choudhary Mohammad Hussain again retained the constituency.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R A J O U R I
Rajouri
The proud winner of lottery election
Shabir Ahmed Khan (CONGRESS)
defeats
Tasadiq Hussain (PDP)
I
Total Votes : 106125 Vote Polled : 73807 Winner : 10013 Winning Margin : 333 % Share Of Winner : 13.56 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Mohammad Aslam
NC
1996 Mohd. Sharief Tafiq
NC
1987 Mirza Ab. Rashid
Cong.
1983 Talib Hussain
Cong.
1977 Talib Hussain
Cong.
1972 Talib Hussain
Cong.
1967 Ab. Rashid
Cong.
1962 Ab. Aziz Shawl
NC
1957 Ab. Aziz Shawl
NC
t was a lottery election in Rajouri constituency and Shabir Khan was really lucky that he won. Eight candidates in this constituency were rated as the potential winners. They included former Ministers Choudhary Talib Hussain and Mohammad Sharief Tariq, rebels of NC and PDP respectively; there were official candidates from these parties and another rebel from the Congress. First time in electoral history of this constituency, BJP candidate too was in a strong position. 45 years old Khan got little over 10,000 votes and defeated Tassaduq Hussain of PDP by a wafer thin margin of 400 votes. PDP getting into position of runner up was a significant development. The most important feature of election in Rajouri constituency this time was a clean campaign not riding on the caste factor. Shabir was a Vice Chairman of the Pahari Advisory Board during regime of the coalition government. The sitting MLA here was Mohammad Aslam Khan of the National Conference. 2002 elections
M
ohammad Aslam Khan of National Conference won this seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Qamar Hussain by a margin of 2,678 votes. Aslam polled 11,933 votes while as Hussain received 9,255 votes. The total votes polled were 29,836 and poll percentage was recorded at 27.01.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
T
he constituency was represented by Abdul Aziz Shawl of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections. Mirza Abdul Rashid of the Congress won this seat in 1967 while as Choudhary Talib Hussain continuously represented the constituency in the 1972, 1977 as Congress candidate and 1983 elections as National Conference candidate. Congress retained Epilogue Ă˜ 108 Ă— January 2009
the seat again in 1987 when its candidate Mirza Abdul Rashid won from here. However, National Conference wrested the seat in 1996 when its candidate Mohammad Sharief Tariq was elected. Trends show that Rajouri constituency has often oscillated between National Conference and the Congress and no other party has ever been able to clinch the seat.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
R A J O U R I
Kalakote Rachpal Singh (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Ashok Sharma (INDEPENDENT)
Total Votes : 75938
Grassroots connections proved twice
R
Vote Polled : 55494 Winner : 25314 Winning Margin : 11420 % Share Of Winner : 45.61 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Rachpal Singh
NC
1996 Ashok Kumar
Cong.
ashpal Singh of National Conference has won second time straight. When this constituency went to polls first time in 1996, after delimitation, National Conference was keen to field him but it could not happen due to a legal wrangle. In 2002 he defeated Ashok Sharma, the sitting MLA of Congress. This time Congress did not give ticket to Sharma making Rashpal's victory much easier. Congress handpicked a retired engineer from Poonch district and Sharma joined the fray as independent candidate. Rashpal polled 25314 votes and Sharma, the runner up, got 13894 votes. Interestingly, the Congress nominee who got preference over the old guard, AG Kohli, got 1071 votes. It is important to note here that PDP candidate polled an impressive 7742 votes and finished third. With huge margin, Rashpal proves connections with grassroots.
1987
2002 elections 1983
1977
1972
1967
1962
1957
K
unwar Rachpal Singh of National Conference won this seat in 2002 elections defeating his Congress rival Ashok Kumar Sharma by a margin of 1,200 votes. Rachpal Singh polled 19,324 votes while as Ashok Sharma received 18,124 votes. The total votes polled were 41,462 and poll percentage was recorded at 48.66.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
K
alakote was not a constituency till 1995 when it was carved out by way of delimitation. Next year it went to elections for first time and Ashok Kumar Sharma of the Congress registered a comfortable win as other parties did not have any promising candidate in the fray. Epilogue Ă˜ 109 Ă— January 2009
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P O O N C H
Surankote
Gandhi family loyalist bounces back
Mohammad Aslam (CONGRESS)
defeats
Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 85129
C
Vote Polled : 63553 Winner : 28102 Winning Margin : 2051 % Share Of Winner : 44.21 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 M.Ahmad Shah
NC
1996 M.Ahmad Shah
NC
1987 Ch. Mohd. Aslam
Cong.
1983 Ch. Mohd. Aslam
Cong.
1977 Ch. Mohd. Aslam
Cong.
1972
1967
1962
1957
houdhary Mohammad Aslam is among those Congress leaders who joined the class with Indira Gandhi and never even imagined showing back to NehruGandhi family. After representing this constituency three times in row Aslam lost to Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari of National Conference in 1996. It was a major surprise. In 2002 too he lost to Bukhari when Congress was resurgent and National Conference was badly routed. Trends have only been reversed. 64 years old Choudhary is currently a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), he has remained Speaker of J&K Legislative Assembly and Cabinet Minister. When he lost twice, Aslam was wooed by other parties with rehabilitation package but he refused to betray loyalty with Gandhi family. 2002 elections
S
yed Mushtaq Ahmad Shah Bukhari of National Conference won this seat in 2002 defeating Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam of the Congress by a margin of 1,972 votes. Mushtaq Bukhari secured 15,243 votes while as Aslam won 13,271 votes. The total votes polled were 33,254 out of the total electorate of 83,113. The poll percentage was recorded at 40.01.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
S
urankote was not a constituency till 1977 when it was created so by way of delimitation. Congress stalwart and veteran Gujjar leader Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam won the seat in 1977 elections and retained consecutively for next three terms when he lost in 1996. Aslam's loss here in 1996 was a stunning defeat for Epilogue Ă˜ 110 Ă— January 2009
the Congress. He was Speaker of the dissolved assembly at that point in time. He struggled hard to recapture constituency in 2002 elections but by that time Mushtaq Bukhari had firmed up the grip. Caste polarisation is also a decisive factor in this constituency which has seen hot militant activity over the years.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P O O N C H
Mendhar S. Rafiq Hussain Khan (PDP)
defeats
Javid Ahmed Rana (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
Total Votes : 78846
Thin margin, significant for PDP
R
Vote Polled : 60958 Winner : 29036 Winning Margin : 742 % Share Of Winner : 47.63 (Out of Total Votes)
afiq Hussain Khan returns to the legislative assembly after 25 years political experimentation. Mendhar witnessed a highly polarized caste campaign between Gujjars and Paharis which is a general trend across these twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. This is Peoples Democratic Party's one among the only seats won in Jammu province. 66 years old Khan got 29036 votes and defeated Javed Ahmed Rana of National Conference by a thin margin of 742 votes.
HISTORY 2002 Javid Ahmad Rana
NC
1996 Nissan Ahmad Khan
NC
1987 Nissan Ahmad Khan
NC
1983 Rafiq Hussain Khan
NC
1977 Rafiq Hussain Khan
Ind.
1972 Mohammad Aslam
Cong.
1967 Mohammad Aslam
Cong.
1962 Jamait Ali Shah
NC
1957 Jamait Ali Shah
NC
2002 elections
J
avid Ahmad Rana of National Conference won the 2002 elections here when he defeated his nearest independent rival Rafiq Hussain Khan by a margin of 7,865 votes. Rana had polled 24,530 votes while as Rafiq won 16,665 votes. Total votes polled were 47,729 and poll percentage was recorded at 60.00.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
F
ollowing the predominant trend prevailing in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, this Mendhar constituency is an epicentre of caste polarisation between Gujjars and the Paharis. The constituency was represented by Peer Jamait Ali Shah of National Conference in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam of the Epilogue Ă˜ 111 Ă— January 2009
Congress won this seat in 1967 and 1972 elections. Rafiq Hussain Khan was first elected in 1977 as an independent candidate while as in 1983 he was returned from Mendhar on National Conference mandate. National Conference retained the seat in 1987 and 1996 elections when its candidate Nissar Ahmad Khan won this Assembly constituency twice.
Election Special D I S T R I C T
P O O N C H
Poonch - Haveli
‘His father’s son’ is youngest in House
Azaj Ahmed Jan (NATIONAL CONFERENCE)
defeats
Ch. Bashir Ahmed Naz (CONGRESS)
Total Votes : 97321
A
Vote Polled : 71415 Winner : 28297 Winning Margin : 9933 % Share Of Winner : 39.62 (Out of Total Votes)
HISTORY 2002 Gh. Mohammad Jan
NC
1996 Gh. Mohammad Jan
NC
1987 Ch. Bashir Ahmad
Ind.
jaz Ahmed Jan of National Conference will be the youngest MLA in eleventh assembly making a debut at the age of 31. He defeated his Congress rival Choudhary Bashir Ahmed Naz by a margin of around 10,000 votes. Naz had won this seat in 1996 and later remained an MLC. Jan's father GM Jan was first elected to assembly from Poonch constituency in 1996 on NC ticket and he retained the seat in 2002 elections also. After Jan senior's death in 2006, Ajaz was given party ticket to contest by-election in December same year but he lost to Jahangir Mir of Congress. 2002 elections
G
hulam Mohammad Jan of National Conference was elected second time straight in 2002 polls when he defeated his nearest Congress rival Yashpal Sharma by a margin of 646 votes. Jan polled 27,364 votes and Sharma received 26,718 votes. The total votes polled were 57,712 and poll percentage was recorded at 60.73.
ELECTORAL BACKGROUND
1983 Ghulam Ahmad
NC
1977 Ghulam Ahmad
NC
1972 Mir Gh. Mohammad
Cong.
1967 Mir Gh. Mohammad
Cong.
1962 M.Gh. Mohammad
NC
1957 M.Gh. Mohammad
NC
T
he historic Poonch-Haveli segment comprises the district headquarters of Poonch and most of its areas are close to the Line of Control. The constituency was represented by Master Ghulam Ahmad of National Conference both in 1957 and 1962 elections while as Mir Ghulam Mohammad Poonchhi of the Congress won from here in 1967 and 1972 elections. National Conference again wrested the seat in 1977 elections and retained it in 1983 when its candidate Ghulam Ahmad was elected from here. The seat was won by an Independent candidate Epilogue Ø 112 × January 2009
Choudhary Bashir Ahmad in 1987. Naz had, however, later joined National Conference. Ghulam Mohammad Jan of National Conference won this seat in 1996 and retained it in 2002. Due to the demise of GM Jan, the Poonch-Haveli segment went for bye-poll in December, 2007 in which Mir Jehangir Hussain of Congress was elected from this constituency when he defeated his nearest independent rival Yashpal Sharma. Interestingly, Yashpal Sharma is one such candidate who has been fighting elections for last 20 years but always lost with narrow margins.
Annual Reviews Mughal Road
The Dream Turns into Reality K.D. Maini
T
here was no limit of joy and pleasure for the people of Pir Panchal region (PoonchRajouri district) and Kashmir valley on 5th of December 2008 when the first phase of Mughal road project of Rs. 639.00 crore was completed and fair whether single lane 84 kilometer road from Bufliaz Poonch to Shopian Kashmir was linked at Lal Gulam near Pir Marg. The DDC Shopian Mohd Ramzan Thakur told that the road is ready for motorable traffic. Hindustan Construction Company Limited has completed the construction works under the supervision of Ashok Kachroo XEN Mughal road division Surankote and Umar Farooq Mughal road division Shopian. After independence, the construction of 422 years old Mughal road remain the main dream and demand of the people of Poonch-Rajouri because due to the establishment of LOC, the historic Poonch-Haji Peer Srinagar was closed and this region remain cut off from Kashmir valley for the last 62 years. There was no direct link of Poonch and Rajouri with the summer capital Srinagar. It was very expensive and time consuming to reach Srinagar via Jammu. With the construction of Mughal road the distance from Poonch and Rajouri to Srinagar shall be reduced from 530 kilometer to 204 kilometer and 196 kilometer respectively. It will be eight hour journey with charming a n d a ttra ctive site sce n e s of
Noorichum, Ratachum, Pir Marg, Aliabad, Sukh Sarai valley and Dubjan. The impact of this road on the development of Poonch and Rajouri is significant. It will prove the lifeline for nine lac people of this region. Mughal road which was originally constructed and Iranian Engineer Ali Mardan Khan about 400 years back on the orders of Mughal Emperor Jhangir for the movement of Mughal caravans. This road will again revive its old glory and glamour with the visits of tourists, travelers and nature loving people. This road shall provide an alternate route to Kashmir valley with rest of country, boost commercial avenues in border
Epilogue Ă˜ 113 Ă— January 2009
districts Poonch-Rajouri, exploit tourism potential of Pir Panchal region and improve the economic conditions and life style of the people. There are number of lush green margs, high pasturelands and scenic spots along side Mughal road from Pir Pass (12000 feet) to Rattan Pir (8600 feet). On the other hand Dubjan, Sukh Sarai Valley, Aliabad and Pir Marg also falls on this road in Kashmir side. These virgin hill station and nature blessed spots shall be exposed for Foreigners, Indians and local tourists. Number of peaks around the road like Tatakuti, Ganga Choti, and Kagalana shall be the point of attraction for the climbers. The valley of seven lakes like Nandansar, Chandansar,
Annual Reviews Neelsar and so on located in the upper reaches of Pir Panchal in between 12000 feet to 15000 feet above the sea level is only seven kilometer from Aliabad sarai. There are number passes leading towards valley which are suitable for tracking purpose. The unique cultural heritage of nomadic tribes of Pir Panchal region, their traditions, dresses, distinct lifestyle, melodious folklore, shrines, sarais and ruins of Mughal period shall boost up the heritage tourism in this area. Mughal road has also got much importance with the opening of Poonch-Rawalakote road and trade across the LOC. The fruit growers of Shopian and Pulwama shall be able to export their fruits to POK via Mughal road-Poonch-Rawalakote road which is directly linking six districts of POK namely district Bagh, Sudhnutti, Rawalakote, Kotli, Bhimber and Mirpur. Therefore, it is expected that new townships, colonies, hotels and restaurants shall rapidly come up on Mughal road from Bufliaz to Shopian for the conveyance of tourists and travelers. The Mughal road was originally known as Nimak road (salt route) before the conquer of Kashmir by Mughals because salt was exported to Kashmir from Western Punjab via this route. It was a pedestal road trafficable only for ponies and horses. With the conquer of Kashmir by Emperor Akbar in 1586 AD this road got great importance because it was the shortest route between Lahore and Srinagar. Since Mughal Emperors were nature loving, therefore the scenic beauty of Kashmir started attracting them. The Emperor Akbar visited twicely, Jhangir 13 times, Shah Jahan and Oranzeb once via Mughal road. With the movement of Shai caravans the small pedestal path was converted into a wide road which was fit
for the movements of elephants, camels, loaded animals, Mughal forces and caravans.
Mughal road in between Bheramgala and Thanamandi. Some portions of his body were buried at Chingus Sarai.
For the first time the widening work on this road was started in 1587 AD on the eve of the first visit of Emperor Akbar to Kashmir. As per Iqbalnama Akbari, 10000 labourers and masons remain working day and night on this road for months together before the visit of Emperor Akbar. But the main work was taken place during the period of Emperor Jhangir. He had ordered an Iranian Engineer Ali Mardan Khan for the construction of Mughal road, Sarais, Mosques, Baradaries, Hamams along side the road for the conveyance of the royal caravans of the Mughal. Ali Mardan Khan divided Mughal road into 14 Paraves (halting stations) from Lahore to Srinagar which was 246 mile long route. But the actual Mughal road was starting from Gujrat town which was 70 mile away from Lahore and 176 mile from Srinagar. The main halting stations constructed on this road were Gujarat, Bhimber, Saidpur, Nowshera, Chingus, Rajouri, Thanamandi, Bheramgala, Poshiana, Aliabad Sarai, Hirpur, Shopian, Ramu, and Kanakpura. The interval between each station was varying from 10 to 15 miles keeping in view the geographic conditions of the area. The journey from one station to another was completed in one day. Ali Mardan Khan also constructed Baradaries, Hamam, Mosques, Sarai Forts on these halting stations while the natives constructed their houses around these stations with the help of local Rajas and Mughal Governors. By this way, small townships on almost all the halting stations had emerged during Mughal period and this road became the centre of hustle-bustle. While coming from Srinagar in 1629 AD Emperor Jhangir had taken his last breaths on
In 1753 AD Kashmir was snatched by Afghans from Mughals. Afghans had closed Mughal road and seized all the passes which were passing through Pir Panchal area because Afghans were apprehending that Mughals will attack on Kashmir via Mughal road. Therefore the new Afghan government of Kashmir established their links with Kabul via Jhelum valley road. By this way, Mughal road was completely seized. Under these circumstances the glory and glamour of this road was vanished. The people who had settled along side this road had left this area in search of livelihood and thus the buildings and monuments constructed by the Mughals turned into ruins. Later on this route remain used by the Gujjar, Bakerwals and Pahari peoples to cross Pir Panchal and visit Kashmir.
Epilogue Ă˜ 114 Ă— January 2009
The decision for the construction of 84 kilometer Mughal road from Bufliaz Poonch to Shopian Kashmir was taken in 1978 AD by the then Chief Minister Sheik Mohammad Abdullah to provide an alternate route to Kashmir valley, to establish direct link with RajouriPoonch and to exploit scenic resorts of Pir Panchal region for the development of tourism industry. However, the work on ground was started in 1981 AD. The original cost of the road was Rs. 18 crore. The work was started on war footing level from Shopian and Bufliaz for which two Mughal road divisions were created. After the death of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1982 AD, the pace of work was slowed down keeping in view the paucity of funds and changing of the priorities of construction of the government. Finally, this road was suspended in 1985
Annual Reviews AD due to some observations of Defence Ministry. However, the people of Poonch-Rajouri remain demanding for the construction of the Mughal road. Keeping in view the chronic public demand and necessity of road as an alternate route for Kashmir valley the construction of Mughal road was i n c l u d e d i n Pr i m e M i n i s t e r s Reconstruction Programme during 2005 AD. Two Mughal road divisions were revived at Surankote and Hirpur under the monitoring of a Superintending Engineer with station at Srinagar. The then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayed laid the foundation of the restarting of the work of Mughal road at Bufliaz and Hirpur on 1st October 2005 AD, but the actual work was started during February 2006 AD. Keeping in view the peaceful atmosphere, strong will of state government and provision of funds liberally by the central government, the work was geared up. The HCC used heavy machinery on both the sides and ensure the completion of road within the target time. The work was again held up during 2007 AD due to the apprehensions of wild life organization that the sanctuary along side Mughal road shall be endanger with the construction of this road because the road will pass through the main sanctuary of Markhore goats, Musk Deer's and Beers. These wild animals are abundantly available in Pir Marg, Rainear near Aliabad, Sukhsarai valley, Hussantham and Sari Mastan on the right side of the road and Bagla, Panar, Tatakuti Marg and Hill Kaka track on the left side of the road while going from Bufliaz towards Shopian. The conservationists and ecologists were also of the opinion that the attacks of beers in the villages on the slopes of Pir Panchal region during 2006-07 AD were
due to the blasting for the construction of Mughal road. The bear had left their sanctuary and entered in the villages due to which numbers of people were killed and others were injured apart from loss of crop and property. However the project was got cleared from Environment department and road has been constructed. There is a need of proper walling and fencing of forest areas from Dugran, Poshiana to Pir Marg, Alibad Sarai and Dubgen along both the sides of the road and proper guarding of the wildlife sanctuaries from the hunters so that the rear species of wildlife available in Pir Panchal region may not be disturbed and destroyed. As per the geographical survey, the Mughal road passes through geographical stable terrain as compared to Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Therefore, this road will be another option to link Kashmir with rest of the country. However at present the status of road is not 'all whether' because 31 kilometer road passes from ten thousand to twelve thousands feet above the sea level from Dubgen to Chita Pani which remain under snow cover from December to February. Moreover, four-kilometer road falls under landslide and avalanches prone zones from Pir Marg towards Chita Pani, which will create trouble even during monsoon season. Therefore unless eleven kilometer tunnel (for which the survey has already been done) from Lal Gulam to Rata Chum is not constructed, the road shall remain permanently closed from December to February due to heavy layer of snowfall. With the opening of Mughal road, the heritage tourism will also get boost due to the existence of Mughal Sarais, Tombs and Baradaries along side the road. The Aliabad Sarai is still intact where Royal Mughal caravan after crossing Pir
Epilogue Ă˜ 115 Ă— January 2009
Panchal were halting for few days for hunting, relaxing and enjoying the rich nature of the area. The old glory of this Sarai can be revived with original style of renovation. There is also a need of construction of some bunglows and tourist sarais in the lush green meadow located near the Aliabad Sarai. This station shall attract climbers and trackers for expeditions towards the valley of seven lakes which is about 7 kilometer in the south of Aliabad Sarai. In the same manner, Noorichum waterfall, Bheramgala, Dhera-ki-Gali, Thanamandi and Chingus can also be developed as tourist resorts which are equally important for heritage tourism. Now when the Mughal road has been completed and open for traffic it is expected that tourism department will divert its attention towards these scenic spots and resorts along side the Mughal road for the attraction of Indian, Foreigners and domestic tourists. Number of businesspersons are also set to construct the hotels, restaurants, dhabas, and shop lines on these stations. Therefore, with the establishment of new hotels and bunglows on these halting stations from Hirpur to Bheramgala and Thanamandi shall replace the old ruins of Mughal period which were once constructed by Iranian Engineer Ali Mardan Khan for the conveyance of Mughal caravans. With the construction of Mughal road apart from an alternate route to Kashmir valley, the doors of development and prosperity for the people of Poonch and Rajouri have also been opened.
Annual Reviews History
Rajput Rulers and Sufis of Jammu Prof. Jigar Mohammad
S
ufism entered India in the 12th century as a new socioreligious trend. The arrival of Sufism in India was welcomed by the indigenous population. With in short period it spread in different parts of India. From Punjab to Rajputana, from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala sufism influenced the opinion and life of the people. Though on the eve of the entrance of Sufism population of the Muslims in most parts of India was vertually negligible, sufis hardly faced any local resistance or obstru ction in te rms of th e ir settlement. It is true that the sufism emerged in Islamic land. But it received better social response in India and adjusted with its indigenous cultural trends in a very diligent manner. Sufism became a source of regional identity in India from 13th century onwards. It is It is an established fact that the Rajput rulers of the various parts of India welcomed the arrival of all those who were willing to work and contributed to the flourishment of their states. Similarly, the political life of Jammu state has also been dominated by the Rajputs from early medieval period onwards. The Dev Rajput dynasty of always welcomed the diverse shades of thought, social trends and persons of the different art and crafts. They believed in the concept of justice in diversity and discouraged the concept of uniformity. The arrival of sufism was one of the most important social developments of medieval Jammu. The socio-political history of Jammu shows
that the Dev Rajput rulers of Jammu treated the Sufis and their shrines as the important sources of cultural development in their state. They not only provided favourable atmosphere for the flourishment of the Sufi's philosophy of the Unity of Being, but, more importantly, they also established social contact with them and worked for their settlement and maitenance of their their shrines. The modern Jammu region is divided into the districts such as Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Punch and Rajouri, Samba, Riasi, Kishtwar and Ramban consist of several sufi shrines. As far as the sources of the history of the sufis and their shrines in the Jammu hills are concerned, most of the shrines have no contemporary record. It is either the present Sajjadanashin or oral traditions which speak the history of these shrines. A large number of legends are associated with the arrival, settelements and the activities of the sufis of Jammu and these are narrated by both controllers and the followers of the shrines. It is very interesting to mention that the sufis and their shrines have been made parts of the local culture by the oral traditions and these legends, folklores and tales are preserved in in the local languages and dialects such as Dogri, Kishtwari, Bhadrawahi, Gojri and Pahari etc. Some nineteenth century sources such as the Gulabnama of Diwan Kirpa Ram, Rajdarshani of Ganeshdas Badehra and some travel accounts also contain some information regarding the role of the sufis and their shrines in the socio-economic life of the Jammu hills.
Epilogue Ø 116 × January 2009
From the 13th century onwards sufism became one of the popular philosophies in the Jammu hills and the activities of the Sufis received tremendous social support. The sufis performed different types of the activities. Most of the Sufis of the Jammu hills performed miracles (Kashf wa Karamat). Some of the miracles of Pir Roshan Ali Shah are mentioned by the Rajdarshani. It is said that the king of Jammu was so much impressed from the miracles of Pir Roshan Shah Wali that he came to meet the sufi. The king is known as Raja Sarab-li- Dhar. The later was so much influenced with the miracles of the Pir that he requested the Pir to settle in Jammu. The Pir accepted the offer of the king and settled down at Jammu. The king of provided all types of facilities to the Pir. Another miracle, narrated by Rajdarshani is associated with the death of Pir Roshan Shah Wali. Ganeshdas Badehra, the author of Rajdharshani, found the shrine and Khanqah of Pir Roshan Wali to be very popular and thriving during the 19th century. Narrating the arrival,meeting of the Pir with the Raja and his death Ganeshdas Badehra writes, “…a long man of towering body named Roshan Shah Wali, one of the close associates of the Prophet, of an Arab-like gait, came to the chakla of Jammu like a Faqir and met Raja Sarab-li-Dhar and gave him the tidings of safety, that the army of Islam would not endanger his life and faith, nor would it harm Jammu. But the countries of the Punjab and Hindustan would be trampled under hoofs of the seeds of the Musalman. “So I a feeble
Annual Reviews ant, has been deputed by the Holy and popular Rasul to guard Jammu.” He uttered such words, took off his skull from his head like turban, walked headless for some steps and going near the Gumat gate, sat in side and gave up the ghost. They buried him there as per his will. His Khanqah exists to this day and enjoys the same reverence.” About the Pir Mitha it is famous that once he tied his horse nearby his hut and went out of his home. After some time the horse felt thirstyness, there was nobody to provide water to the horse. But suddenly a fountain was raised and two trees sprang up. The horse drank the water and ate the leaves of the trees and met his both thirstiness and hunger. Another miracle associated with Pir Mitha shows that he possessed merit to cure a patient with his action. According to a hagiographical story, a queen of Jammu fell ill and she could not recover for long time despite all the royal efforts. Pir Mitha came to know about the illness of the queen through some of the royal water carriers (Bhishtis). It is known that during fifteenth century water supply to the royal palace, situated at modern Dalpatian Mohallah, was maintained by the water carriers through the river and wells. Generally the water carriers carried water from Peer Koh to the palace. The house of Pir Mitha was situated at a place from which the water carriers went to Peer Koh. Once when a water carrier, carrying water from Peer Koh, reached at the near the house of Pir Mitha, the latter asked about the illness of the queen. When he came to known that queen's continued to suffer from the disease he touched the water pot of the water carrier. The latter did not approve the action of Pir Mitha and threw all the water decalaring it to have become impure. But whenever that water carrier passed by the house of the Pir he touched the
water pot. Ultimately, the water carrier carried the water, touched by the Pir, to the palace. When the queen drank this water she recovered from the disease. It was a matter of surprise for all including the King. When the King came to know that it was the miracle of the Pir which cured the queen he became his follower. It is known that after the death of the Pir his shrine received continous royal patronage. Several such types of miracles are associated with the almost all the sufis of the Jammu hills. But these miracles had great significance in terms of the popularity of the sufis. A large number of the persons became the followers of the sufis. Several persons became the disciples (Murids) of the Sufis. Through the narration of these miracles the sufis' life and works are kept alive from the days of the sufis concerned to modern times. It may be mentioned that not only the common people of Jammu hills work together in terms of protecting the shrines and propagation of the teachings of the sufis, but the Maharajas of Jammu from Maharaja Gulab Singh onwards worked for the preservation of these shrines. It is known that Gulab Singh, as a jagirdar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, requested the Maharaja for the grant of land to the shrine of Shah Ghulam Badshah, situated in Rajouri district. Maharaja accepted the request and granted land for the expenses of the shrine. Similarly, Maharaja Gulab Singh granted fifty Kanal lands to the shrine of Pir Wali Shah at Katra in Udhampur district. Both Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-85) and Maharaja Pratap Singh extended financial support and renovated a number of the sufi shrines of Jammu hills. More importantly, Jai Singh, the king of Kishtwar, accepted Islam under the influence of Sayyid Farid-ud-din Qadiri during the 17th century and
Epilogue Ø 117 × January 2009
received the title of Bakhtiyar Khan. Baba Jiwan Shah was very much respected by the Maharaja Pratap Singh (1885-1925) and his brother Amar Singh. It is known that Maharaja Pratap Singh extended financial support to Baba Jiwan Shah both in cash (wazifa) and kind to meet the expenses of his mystic activities. The Maharaja loved to meet the Baba. Therefore, he frequently invited the Baba to his palace. Maharaja is said to have presented a hukka and a dhoosa to the Baba during his visit to the palace. It is known that Maharaja Pratap Singh respected the sufis and their shrines very much. He constructed a road upto the shrine of Mian Muhammad Ibrahim. Therefore people started to call him Rah Baba. This shows that people accepted that the sufi was the source of the construction of the road and also his activities were respected by the Maharaja. The tradition of the annual commemoration of the death anniversary (Urs) and people's visits to the sufi shrines on every Thursday were instrumental in organisation of the commercial activities around the sufi shrines. Thus these sufis and their shrines worked for inter-connecting the people of one area to other and the route followed by the visitors became the means of socio-economic development. The sense of isolation, prevailing in hills, was converted into binding force. It is important to mention that the extension of the royal patronage to the Sufis and their shrines in Jammu shows that the Rajput ruling class of Jammu worked for the promotion and propagation of the diverse cultures and philosophies. It was the acceptance of the concept of unity in differences by the ruling class of Jammu which inspired them to found Jammu and Kashmir state in 1846 under the leadership of the Maharaja Gulab Singh.
Annual Reviews The Great Leap Forward :
Indo-US relations on the Upswing Sonali Huria
2
008 was a year marked by a flurry of activity surrounding the IndoUS Civilian Nuclear Deal, which in many ways formed the cornerstone of bilateral relations between the two countries. While at one stage most had written off the deal as a failed, 'deadend' diplomatic endeavour; the dramatic events leading to the political realignment within India, the subsequent phoenix-like revival of the deal and its final conclusion, left supporters delighted and skeptics disappointed. Many strategic analysts hailed the deal as historic, in that it had brought to an end the 'nuclear isolation and apartheid' that India had long been subjected to. Says C. Raja Mohan, Professor of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, “The 123 Agreement is…one of the finest achievements of Indian diplomacy…(which has accomplished) the impossible task of bridging India's nuclear interests with the global nonproliferation regime”. Apart from the deal, the two countries also made important strides in other arenas of bilateral cooperation, of which the area of 'defense' engagement witnessed the greatest activity. Additionally, the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saw uninhibited declarations from either side on the urgent need for greater collaboration in areas of counter-insurgency and intelligence-sharing. A brief overview of the key events in India-US bilateral ties in 2008 is given below.
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal Nothing hogged the limelight this year like the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Agreement. With stiff opposition from the Left parties, to what they believed was an American ploy to “lock India into US global strategic designs”, and threats to withdraw their support from the Congress-led UPA government; it had begun to appear by June this year that the deal was on its last legs. On 8 July the Left finally pulled out of the government; despite which, on the 22nd of the same month, the UPA government survived the Parliamentary trust vote with a 275-256 margin, thereby paving the way for the unhindered pursuit of the deal. Thereafter, the Indian government concluded an India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the application of safeguards to India's civilian nuclear facilities; after which the next major hurdle in the consummation of the deal was getting a waiver from the 45-member NSG (Nuclear Suppliers' Group), to enable India buy nuclear fuel and technology from the international market, despite it not being a signatory to the NPT. The waiver finally came through on 6 September 2008, despite the strong reservations expressed by Austria, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland, on the waiver
Epilogue Ø 118 × January 2009
being granted to India. These countries wanted the waiver to explicitly state that India's right to engage in nuclear commerce would be revoked should it test a nuclear device at any given point in the future – a position supported by China. Significant pressure from the Bush administration and the declaration made by India's External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, pointing to India's voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and reiterating India's commitment to realize the goals of nonproliferation and disarmament, are what appear to have finally brought these countries to reconsider their stance and grant approval for the waiver. The IAEA Safeguards Agreement and NSG waiver having been successfully secured; what needed to be done next was get the US Senate to approve the deal, which finally came through on 1 October 2008, after the US House of Representatives had passed the bill on 28 September 2008, thereby allowing India to engage in nuclear commerce with the United States. The legislation was finally signed into law by President Bush on 8 October 2008, and is now officially known as the United StatesIndia Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act.
Defense Relations The military-to-military or defense relations between the US and India have
Annual Reviews been the most conspicuous area for cooperation and are considered by strategic analysts as by far, the most successful. The defense forces of both countries have conducted joint air, ground and naval exercises with considerable regularity since the 2002 Malabar exercises. Recently, in August 2008, the Indian Air Force participated in the multinational 'Exercise Red Flag' at the Nellis US Air Force Base in Nevada. Other recent defense exchanges, according to strategic expert, Gurpreet S. Khurana, have included “US defence sales to India, h i gh - le ve l vi si ts, a n d tra i n i n g exchanges…(and US) efforts to bring India into arrangements like the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and Logistics Support Agreement (LSA)”. While India has been reluctant to join the PSI which is an international initiative to combat the transfer and proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and materials; the LSA, which calls for mutual provision of support services and supplies to the two countries' armed forces on transit, has been under consideration by the Indian Government, despite Defence Minister AK Antony's recent assertion that the LSA was “not on the agenda at the moment”. The US and India in the meanwhile have also continued to engage in an expanding defense trade. While in 2007, the US transferred an amphibious transport ship to India; in 2008, India reportedly purchased $1 billion worth of transport aircraft from the US. Following the recent Mumbai terrorist strikes, India is reported to have requested the US to provide it '510 units of the American CBU-105 cluster bomb' in addition to the provision of 'full
logistics support services'. The sale of these munitions, if approved by Washington, is likely to cost the Indian government US $375 million. It may be pertinent to note here that the US and India, among the world's largest producers, users and stockpilers of cluster munitions, abstained from signing one of the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaties in over a decade – the Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed between 2-4 December 2008 by nearly a 100 countries in Oslo, Norway.
Counter-insurgency Cooperation and Intelligence-sharing 2008 witnessed greater convergence between the two countries on concerns relating to terrorism. Following the July 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul; Afghanistan and Indian officials claimed they had evidence which proved the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI in the suicide attack – an allegation supported by the US government. More recently, with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November this year, the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the support it enjoys within Pakistan, despite the official ban imposed by Islamabad on the group in 2002, has been brought into sharp international glare, forcing an earlier hesitant American administration to acknowledge that cross-border terrorism is a real and present danger to India's security. While US President George Bush condemned the Mumbai attack; America's President-elect, Barack Obama, voiced his support for India's right to self-defence and reiterated his resolve to work more closely with India
Epilogue Ø 119 × January 2009
to address the problem of terrorism. US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice visited India soon after the Mumbai attacks in what was an apparent display of American solidarity. At a press briefing in New Delhi, Rice stated in no unambiguous terms that Pakistan must take 'very direct and tough action against non-state actors responsible for launching such attacks from Pakistani soil'. Says Professor Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution, “while everyone knows that the senior levels of the Pakistan government are not responsible, there is a new awareness that states must be held accountable for actions launched from its territory. America applies this policy to Pakistan's FATA and North West Frontier Province, (and) is beginning to apply it to (the) attacks on India”. The Kabul Embassy and Mumbai terrorist attacks have led many within the Indian and US establishments to call for greater intelligence-sharing between the intelligence agencies of both countries to help them forewarn each other about probable terrorist strikes. The ten-year New Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship signed in 2005, lists as one of the four key areas of shared security interests, “defeating terrorism and violent religious extremism” and calls for a strengthening of the capabilities of “our militaries to promote security and defeat terrorism”
Trade, Space Cooperation, Education, Agriculture and Disaster Management Earlier this year, in February, the US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and India's Minister of Commerce and
Annual Reviews Industry, Kamal Nath met at the fifth ministerial-level meeting of the United States-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) to discuss matters related to trade and investment. The TPF was set up in 2005 as an important inter-governmental platform to further the US-India economic dialogue. According to the foreign trade statistics of America's Census Bureau, until October this year, while India's exports to the US stood at US$21,996.3 million, its imports from the US amounted to US$16,399.1 million. The US however, continues to remain critical of what it sees as extensive trade and investment barriers erected by India, as an impediment to stronger economic ties between the two countries, and which have led to the failure of the 'Doha round' of multilateral trade negotiations. A press release of the White House titled Fact Sheet: The U.S.-India Relationship: A Strategic Partnership outlines the proposed cooperation that the two countries have committed to undertake in the areas of higher education in the form of a “bi-national US-India Education Foundation which will award Fulbright-Nehru scholarships in shared priority areas such as management, public policy and democratic governance, agriculture, energy, and the environment”. The document also underscores the need for further collaboration in the field of rural development through farm-tomarket linkages, sharing seed t e c h n o l o g y, p o s t - h a r v e s t management, infrastructure and supply-chain development, and marketing systems. Additionally, both countries propose to continue sharing 'forecasting information and disaster preparedness strategies' under the mutually-agreed 2005 Disaster Relief Initiative.
In 2006, during President Bush's visit to India, both sides had agreed to cooperate in the field of space exploration and the development of mechanisms that would facilitate the “launch of US satellites and satellites containing US components by Indian space launch vehicles”. India's first unmanned lunar mission, ChandrayaanI, launched this year, which carried two critical NASA instruments to map the moon, has been described as the beginning of a whole new era of trust and partnership between the two countries in the field of space exploration. The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) announced in 2004 by US President George Bush and thenPrime Minister Vajpayee, calls for cooperation between the two countries in the areas of high technology, civilian nuclear activities, and civilian space programmes. Conclusion The relations between India and the US have never been as pronounced as during the presidency of George Bush Jr. India holds an important place in the United States' geo-strategic schema, especially since it is seen as the only potential power within the Asian region that can counterbalance the unchecked rise of China. Additionally, India is considered a lucrative market and investment destination by American firms, notwithstanding the inflationary pressures experienced this year on account of mounting food and oil prices; and the global financial crisis, the reverberations of which are just beginning to be felt within the Indian economy. President-elect, Barack Obama, has on several occasions reiterated his resolve to strengthen ties with India 'across the board', especially in the area of energy
Epilogue Ø 120 × January 2009
cooperation, underscoring the importance the US places on its relationship with India. The mutual concerns with regard to the threat of international terrorism have further served to strengthen bilateral relations between the two. However, there is growing concern that this new 'strategic partnership' could dilute India's independence in deciding the course and contours of its foreign policy, as was witnessed in the case of India's vote against Iran at the IAEA, a decision which many believe was influenced by the US. India will therefore, do well to tread carefully along this path, lest it end up as a subservient partner in an asymmetrical and ultimately detrimental relationship.
Annual Reviews Bangladesh:
The Great Experiment Fails Sandeep Bhardwaj
A
s India watched with growing interest the American political drama unfold and is now occupied with its own upcoming elections, a little of that limited national attention span for international news has been diverted to our own backyardBangladesh. Now here is politics little more of Indian taste. Between politicians surrounded by corruption charges, constant bickering and failing democratic reforms, one may find oneself at home in Bangladeshi politics. After two years of military-backed apolitical caretaker government, Bangladesh is again plunging into chaotic democracy, with parliamentary elections to be held in December, 2008. Once again the forerunners are the “Battling Begums” of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Both ex-PMs of the nation, both embroiled in corruption and extortion charges and cases of murder. Along with them, will come a gamut of minor coalition partners with leanings going from fundamental Islam to far Left. Corruption remains rampant in the country and inflation keeps soaring. Electoral reforms brought in by the temporary government are being
contested by political parties at the last moment and most probably will not be followed, as a whole. It is expected that in a classic winner-takes-all style election, the winning party will have all charges against itself dropped and harass the opposition. In short, a regular political circus. However, what is to be noted is the fact that democracy is being restored in Bangladesh. South Asia, where militaries have always had a taste for coups and authoritarian rule, it must be credited to Bangladesh, that the military is voluntarily restoring democracy. It is a fact that Bangladeshi army, largest contributor to UN Peace Keeping Missions, earns huge revenue through UN. It might have lost that revenue if international community felt the democracy was being sabotaged by military in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the credit is due. This two year long experiment with governance may have given us some insights into the age-old question. Which is preferable- a corrupt, chaotic democracy or benevolent authoritarian rule?
Bangladesh. The country was yet to recover from bitter suicide bombing campaign that had raged through the country in 2004 and 2005. Corruption was rampant (Bangladesh ranked as most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International) and radical Islamic movement was rearing its ugly head instilling fear in Bangladeshis. In this backdrop, at the end of 2006, came about the end to five-year term of Khaleda Zia (leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party) as Prime Minister. And the nation came to a tipping point. The bitter political feud between the “Begums” turned into an actual war and capital streets flooded with protests and mass agitation. The stability of the country was threatened, bringing it on the brink of anarchy. The political violence on the streets of Dhaka and rest of the country reached critical levels. Elections were scheduled to take place at the end of 2006 but did not since the interim government was accused by Sheikh Hasina, premier of Aw a m i L e a g u e p a r t y, o f B N P (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) bias.
Historical overview End of 2006 was a terrible time for
Epilogue Ø 121 × January 2009
In this dark a caretaker government (CTG,) set up with the backing of
Annual Reviews military, took over after the head of interim government, Iajuddin Ahmed, stepped down. CTG brought with it a sense of relief and hope for the people who were sick and tired of political bickering. The CTG was led by Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, a renowned economist who had worked in World Bank and headed the Bangladesh Bank, earlier. Apolitical CTG with no past political affiliation and minimal democratic answerability headed by an intellectual was so opposite to the alternative that it was welcomed by everyone. The CTG immediately moved to installing National Emergency, bringing army to the streets to curb the violence. It also embarked upon an enormous reform campaign aiming at getting rid of corruption, terrorism and political instability. It also undertook a massive electoral reform campaign that intended at clearing out all the anomalies in voters list. It brought in force a massive crackdown on corruption and terrorism. Even the exprime ministers, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were arrested. Several terrorists were executed and violence was not tolerated on the streets by army that was maintaining law and order. At the time no one had a doubt that if the CTG remains corruption-free and doesn't fall for the lust of power, it will truly bring about a positive shift in Bangladesh.
Current Scenario Today, as the election date of 29 December, inches close, it is becoming painfully clear that the government has failed to do so. Bangladesh is right where it started. Inflation is through the roof and economy is deteriorating. FDI
flow to the country actually dropped in 2007 by 16% as against the regional trend of 18% increase. Power and petroleum costs significantly more than they did two years ago. The nation is heading for an energy crisis and CTG failed create a substantial infrastructure to exploit country's vast reservoirs of natural gas. Meanwhile the corruption, despite arrests of more than 500,000 citizens, remains as it was. In September, 2008 Transparency International declared that the corruption levels in Bangladesh remain where they were two years ago. CTG had also attempted to alter the political landscape of Bangladesh by creating an alternative to Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. It is now clear that the attempt was unsuccessful and the “Begums are the only serious contenders to PM post in coming election. Representation of People Order (RPO) the law which aimed at bringing about major electoral reforms was torpedoed by all political parties. CTG had to roll back on many reform initiatives it had undertaken for the coming elections. In the meantime communalisation or radical Islam is gaining momentum in the country. On 15 October 2008, government under the pressure from fundamentalists removed five Baul (folksingers) statues from Dhaka Airport. This has sparked a controversy in the nation as the secular groups are viewing it as government bowing down in front of the Islamic fundamentalists. Another controversy was recently set off when on 14 October, Jamaat-eIslami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid was spotted in a meeting with Chief Adviser, Ahmed. Mojahid is a fugitive involved in a graft case and Dhaka Police had issued a warrant against him on 6 October.
Epilogue Ø 122 × January 2009
Conclusion Thus the age-old question reappears. It can not be disproved that CTG had every intention of bringing a major positive change in country when it took power in 2007. Government clearly attempted to bring major transformation in country, addressing the pressing needs. Neither can it be argued that the leaders of CTG were incompetent. CTG's top three men, Chief Advisor, Advisor for Foreign Affairs and Advisor for Finance are extremely qualified. All of them hold doctorates in their respective fields and all of them have extensive national and international experience. All of them have held high positions in institutions like World Bank, WTO and UN. However, their report card shows nothing better than what the corrupt, chaotic democracy had achieved. Moreover it seems, in the end the political parties will have the last laugh. It has been speculated by many that whichever party comes to power is bound to pursue charges against CTG members on grounds ranging from Human Rights violation to unconstitutional actions. What went wrong with government's actions is a question that requires much more through and deep analysis. What is apparent though is that once again it is proved that democracy, for better or for worse, is the best solution to governance possible. As we approach the coming elections hoping for the best, it is abundantly clear that the unstable, chaotic democracy of Bangladesh is here to stay. Implications of this for Bangladeshi people and rest of the world need not be all pessimistic. One can always hope for light at the end of tunnel. However, the tunnel clearly does not finish for some time to come.
Annual Reviews Indo-Pak Relations
Back to Square One Samarjeet Ghosh
S
ince the independence and partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the relationship between these two countries has proven, time and time again, to be the most obdurate, not to mention the most dangerous, political and military confrontation, in South Asia. And following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent end of the Cold War, it is conceivably the most precarious and unpredictable region in international politics. Given the awkward concurrence between the shared idea of a once unified terrain,
with the imposition of a sovereign structure in 1947, there remain to be methodological difficulties in harnessing a coherent strategy for cordial relations between the two countries. After having engaged each other in conflict in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999, all in varying degrees, there was a recognition on the part of the governments of both states, that they had reached a nadir, and lest remedial measures were taken, they would sooner than later reach a point of no-
return. It was, then, after the 2003 cease-fire, that relations between the two countries bettered, and they decided on beginning a composite dialogue in 2004, both at the secretarial and ministerial level. The dialogue would cover all issues of concern, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, confidence-building measures, the river water distribution, so on and so forth. And despite some ups and downs over the years, four phases of the composite dialogue were concluded by the end of 2007. After a six-month break, representatives of the two countries reinitiated relations, with a ministerial review of the fourth round of the composite dialogue. And through the course of the year, a number of positive steps were taken by both countries, which led to reconciliation both at the political as also the social level for the citizens of both countries. Earlier in the year, a number of prisoners were released by both countries to the other, which went a long way in strengthening bonds between the two countries. At a more grass-roots level, a decision was taken by the Pakistani government to legally allow, to begin with, a select number of Bollywood films to be released in Pakistan, with the quid pro quo that an equivalent step would be taken by India as well. Trivial as it might seem, this step was a radical one, as films originating from either country were banned in the other since the 1965 war. Of course, by no means had this
Epilogue Ă˜ 123 Ă— January 2009
Annual Reviews stopped bootleg copies of Indian films from proliferating in Pakistan, but this official step would allow citizens from both countries to interact at an intimate and human level. A number of confidence-building measures were also taken, with steps into place to increase the number of cross-border flights via national carriers, as also formally restarting trade over the LoC, via road and rail links, as a follow-up to the opening up of the same back in 2003. The fifth phase of the composite dialogue, however, began in July 2008, under the shadow of the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, which left a number of Afghans and Indians, including a civil servant and a military attaché, dead, and several others injured. This was unequivocally the lowest point in Indo-Pak relations in
the past four years, and the Indian foreign secretary admitted as much, for despite full-throated denials by the Pakistanis, and the initial reticence on the part of the Indian government to lay the blame on them, American intelligence agencies were able to prove conclusively that the InterServices Intelligence (ISI) agency of Pakistan had a hand in the attack. It was a difficult step for India to resume the composite dialogue, as the Kabul suicide attack was followed by terror attacks in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, and investigations on both fronts revealed Pakistani involvement. Alongside, India had also taken issue with Pakistan for violating a cease-fire accord along the boundary that divided Kashmir between them. Indian and Pakistani forces had traded gunfire earlier in July along the heavily fortified frontier, for more than 12
hours, the worst violation since the 2003 cease-fire agreement. It must be mentioned that Pakistan was not altogether a silent party all this while. They laid blame on the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and by extension, on India, for attempting to undermine its national security. Islamabad has also felt surrounded and cloistered by India and its allies. It views India's strong economic and political presence, both internally and externally, a threat just as real as the Indian Army guarding the northwestern frontier. It also accuses the RAW of instigating the separatist movement in the province of Baluchistan, as also giving support to the Taliban in Pakistan, which is responsible for suicide bombings and hotel blasts, not to mention the Indian government's alleged interference in
The highs… 5 February 2008 – India and Pakistan to have regular contact between the Indian military-funded Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) and Pakistan's state-run Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS), to foster track two channels of communication 3 March 2008 – Kashmir Singh, an Indian national in prison in Pakistan for 35 years on charges of spying and sentenced to death, is released. 19 March 2008 – A Pakistan national arrested in India in 2006 on charges of spying and possession of fake currency, is acquitted and handed over to Pakistani authorities. 4 April 2008 – Pakistan Senate Committee decides to allow 12 Bollywood films to be released in Pakistan every year, with the rider that Pakistani films should be released in India as well. Subsequently, 'Khuda Kay Liye' becomes the first Pakistani film in decades to be released in India. 21 May 2008 – Foreign ministers of both nations agree to a series of Kashmir-specific CBMs, including a triple-entry permit to facilitate crossing the LoC 25 May 2008 – In the face of threats from separatists, Junoon, a Pakistani rock band, is allowed by the Indian government to perform at Srinagar in the biggest musical event in the valley in decades 24 June 2008 – Under the umbrella of the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism, India and Pakistan agree to exchange intelligence to prevent terrorism and the like 25 September 2008 – President Zardari and Prime Minister Singh announce the opening of trade routes, such as the WagahAtari road link and the Khokrapar-Munnabao rail, as also the Srinagar-Muzaffarad and Poonch-Rawalakot roads. Trade commenced on 21 October 2008, when the first trucks rolled across the LoC. Initially, trade is to be limited to 21 items, on two days of the week. 25 November 2008 – At the fifth round of the secretary-level talks, as part of the composite dialogue, India and Pakistan agreed to enhanced cooperation between civilian investigations and security agencies to deal with cross border issues.
Epilogue Ø 124 × January 2009
Annual Reviews river water distribution. Yet, the dialogue was continued with the optimism that while conflictual issues would be tackled as and when they occurred, the two sides should continue to build on matters of mutual concern and convergence and previously agreed areas of cooperation. On the fateful night of 26 November, ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Shah Mehmood Qureshi confidently spoke of boosting trade relations, people-topeople contacts and combating terrorist as a united front. On a more populist note, the Indian government was also considering sending the Indian cricket team on a tour of Pakistan, a move which had always served brilliantly as a track-two measure. However, the terror attacks that were inflicted on Mumbai, the financial capital of India, would change all dimensions of relations between the two countries for the foreseeable future. Two prominent hotels, a café popular with locals and foreigners alike,
and the iconic Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus were ravaged by terror attacks lasting nearly 72 hours, which left at least 166 persons, including 20 security personnel and 20 foreigners, dead and over 300 persons injured. In the past, the Indian government, while always perceived to be quick on the trigger to accuse Pakistan, has tried to steer away from directly doing so, but given the clarity of the evidence this time around, it was constrained to make clear that elements from Pakistan were involved. A lot of political capital had been invested in steering relations between the two countries in a peaceful direction, and yet, the political leadership had to confront the reality that this had not worked out, and while it is not in the interest of either nation that tensions should build upto a point which would lead the Pakistani military to take over again, the Indian government needed to prove, both domestically and internationally, that it would not take this incident lying down.
The composite dialogue process was accordingly frozen, the first casualty of which was the trade talks, an area in which the new civilian government in Islamabad had shown great optimism and enthusiasm. India called off a prospective trip by a team from the Planning Commission, which was intended to facilitate an eventual visit by Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who would have been returning an earlier visit by his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Faruqui. There were initial signs of hope for a peaceful resolution, with Prime Minister Gilani volunteering to send Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the chief of ISI, for consultation with his Indian counterparts. However, this decision was swiftly vetoed by the Pakistani military, who saw it as an admission of guilt and submission to Indian pressure. This action highlighted the problem, that while there may be a feeling of goodwill between the political leadership of both countries, that optimism does not trickle down the intelligence and security machinery, especially so in Pakistan. Earlier, the
The lows… 26 March 2008 - National Security Advisor (NSA) M. K. Narayanan, delivering the 25th Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal Memorial Lecture, said that the Pakistani external intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), continues to help terrorist outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) to launch attacks against India. 23 April 2008 - The involvement of Pakistan-based outfits has been observed in most of the terrorist attacks in India as groups from across the border continue to sponsor terrorist and subversive activities in the country, the Union Home Ministry said in its Annual Report for 2007-08. 7 July 2008 - 41 persons, including four Indians, were killed and over 140 were injured when a suicide bomber rammed his bomb-laden car into the gates of the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul. 12 July 2008 - India confirmed that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's external intelligence agency, had a definite role in the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7 26 July 2008 - 40 people were killed and more than 100 others injured when serial blasts struck different parts of Ahmedabad, the Capital city of Gujarat. On 20 November, the Ahmedabad Police in Gujarat confirmed that the master plan for the bomb blast of July 26 in Ahmedabad was carried out on the direction of Amir Raza Khan. Amir Raza Khan, who is presently based in Pakistan, had directed Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal to carry out the bomb blasts. Amir Raza Khan, a member of the HuJI, is a resident of Kolkata, while Riyaz Bhatkal is said to be the founder member of Indian Mujahideen
Epilogue Ø 125 × January 2009
Annual Reviews Pakistani military had also taken exception to President Zardari voluntarily giving up the 'no first use' option in the nuclear arena. With his own wife having been assassinated by terrorists, Zardari's s t a t e m e n t t h a t t h e Pa k i s t a n i governmental machinery was not involved in the Mumbai attacks, can be believed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Pakistani armed forces or the intelligence apparatus therein, both of which have rogue elements, which the government has not brought under its control as yet. And a stable and peaceful cooperative relationship between Pakistan and India would be a nightmare for the militants. The militants stand to gain the most from bad blood between the two. There is a pattern of such attacks in the recent history of the relations between the two countries. Whenever some progress is made on peace-building between the two countries, certain elements in Pakistan have attempted to sabotage it, leaving both countries pointing fingers at each
other. These elements have links with the Islamic militants, Islamic political parties and the ISI, and if sabotaging rapprochement between India and Pakistan was the purpose, then the miscreants seemed to have been successful in their objective. The attack has caused more than a hiccup in thawing relations between the two nuclear rivals. Both countries were expected to make positive progress in the coming months on major contentious issues. In December, Pakistan and India talked of improving relations as the rivals appeared to be searching for a path away from confrontation following the Mumbai terror attacks, hoping for relations to be normalized, but not until Pakistan stops allowing its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India. While Pakistan has denied any official link to the Mumbai assault, it has arrested some alleged plotters while demanding India hand over evidence to aid in their prosecution. While Pakistan has offered to help in India's investigation, India has been reticent to
share the information it has gleaned so far, finding itself in the position of having to investigate terrorist attacks hand-in-hand with its longtime nemesis. The Defence Committee of the Cabinet in Pakistan renewed the offer of full cooperation with India, including intelligence-sharing, assistance in investigations and the formation of a joint commission against terrorism. Given the deep and long history of mistrust, it's hard to see how New Delhi and Islamabad can somehow restore a modicum of mutual confidence and begin sharing intelligence and cooperating together against jihadi groups whose targets include the destruction of both states, for although Pakistani support for extremist groups has much reduced over the past few years, it still remains selective in its choices of which groups it cracks down on and which it still supports. It will, thus, take considerable time, effort and political courage on the part of the two countries to seriously work out the contours of reconciliation.
13 September 2008 - 24 persons were killed and 100 more injured in a series of five bomb blasts in the busy market places of national capital New Delhi. On 17 September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointing at the role played by the Pakistan-based terrorist groups in the recent serial bomb blasts in the country said that the involvement of local elements added a new dimension to the terrorist threat 26 November 2008 - At least 166 persons, including 20 security personnel and 20 foreigners, were killed and over 300 persons injured in multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The terrorist siege was finally concluded on 29 November 2008. 1 December 2008: The High Commissioner of Pakistan in India, Shahid Malik, was called to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi and served a demarche which asked Islamabad to take strong action against those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Malik was informed that the Mumbai attacks were carried out by elements in Pakistan and told that Islamabad's actions needed to match the sentiments expressed by its leadership that it wishes to have a qualitatively new relationship with India. Soon after the MEA served the demarche to Pakistan's envoy, Islamabad responded in a similar manner. Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Salman Bashir, summoned Indian High Commissioner, Satyabrata Pal, in Islamabad to give a response to the Indian demarche, rejecting New Delhi's contention. 9 December 2008 - The Government urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to declare the Jama'at-ud-Da'awa, a front organisation of the Pakistan-based LeT accused in the Mumbai terror incidents, as a terrorist outfit. 16 December 2008 – Upon being questioned on the point, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee admits to a 'pause' in the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Epilogue Ă˜ 126 Ă— January 2009
Annual Reviews Inside Pakistan
Changing Realities Rekha Chakravarthi
S
uperlatives are encouraging when developments progress from good to better or best and not the other way round, i.e. from bad to worse. Consider this. The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released its eleventh annual list of the "Top Ten" humanitarian crises of 2008. According to the report, some of the most politicized and violent conflicts during the year made it extremely difficult for aid organizations to provide assistance to affected populations. The counterinsurgency campaign in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is seventh on the list of top ten humanitarian crises. Since the elections in February 2008, the political landscape in Pakistan has changed dramatically. In what could have been a better transition post-Musharraf regime, a look back at the year that was.
The Dream Alliance After the tragic assassination of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, the Pa k i s t a n e l e c t i o n c o m m i s s i o n announced that the 8 January elections would be delayed until 18 February. In the run-up to the February elections, the “sympathy vote” was deemed as crucial for the PPP to secure a majority in the National Assembly. While PPP emerged as the most successful party, it failed to secure an absolute majority.
The official results announced by the election commission in March 2008 reflected a tally of 120 seats for the PPP and 90 for PML-N. The failure on part of the PPP and the PML-N to score an absolute majority required the two parties to forge a coalition government at the Center. In the provincial assemblies, the PPP and the PNL-N formed the government in Punjab; PPP and Awami National Party (ANP) formed the government in NWFP; PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Sindh; and PPP and Jamiat Ulema-eIslam (F) (JUI-F) in Balochistan. The grand union of the PPP and the PMLN at the Centre was hailed as a dream alliance that would haul Pakistan from the abyss that Musharraf was accused of pushing it to and guide its people towards politically stable, if not glorious days. The PPP and PML-N joined hands against a common enemy by name Pervez Musharraf; however, the dream paused in between and the coalition split.
The Great divide Soon after forming the government, the PPP and PML-N agreed on the framework of a governing coalition known as the Murree Declaration. The six-point summit declaration represented the agreement between the two parties to strengthen democracy and restore the deposed judges. Accordingly, the two agreed on restoring the judiciary “within 30 days
Epilogue Ø 127 × January 2009
of the formation of the federal government through a parliamentary resolution.” Differences persisted between the two parties on the procedure of restoring the judges, as well as on the future of (the then) President Musharraf. The PPP insisted on restoring the judges by an act of Parliament and judicial reform measures while Nawaz Sharif called for an immediate restoration through an executive order. A 12th May deadline was agreed between the two parties for a complete restoration, failing which, the PML-N withdrew its ministers from the cabinet. The PML-N, however, continued to support the government from outside.
Musharraf resigns In what was seen as an effort to pacify the vociferous PML-N and thereby save the coalition, the PPP and the PML-N agreed to impeach President Musharraf “for plunging the country into political and economic crises.” The coalition also announced it would reinstate the judges soon after the President's removal, following which the PML-N decided to re-join the cabinet in part. On 18 August, President Musharraf announced his resignation to avoid an impending impeachment process.
Nawaz walks out of the coalition According to reports, the PPP and PML-N
Annual Reviews had agreed to restore the sacked judges within three days of the President's removal. However, the deadlock over the issue persisted. Asif Ali Zardari reportedly insisted on reinstating all the judges except for Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who Zardari believed was “political and controversial.” The PMLN remained adamant on reinstating all of the judges, including Chaudhry, through an executive order. Differences widened when the PPP nominated Zardari as the next President. Zardari indicated that agreements with the Nawaz league are “not holy like the holy Quran or the Hadith” and the issue of restoring judiciary had to be put on back burner. Consequently, Nawaz Sharif accused Zardari of violating accords and pulled out of the four-party PPP-led alliance at the Centre citing differences over the restoration of deposed judges, the military operations in FATA and the election of the next president.
prices, inflation rate touched 25 per cent and the Rupee stood at 80PKR against 1USD in October. Pakistan was forced to seek a US$7.6 billion loan from the IMF to help stabilize its economy. In addition, Pakistan continued to face severe power crisis with load-shedding of 6-8 hours across the country in October, as per a report in The News. According to the same report, power deficit swelled to 4,000 MW because of reduction in water outflows from the Tarbela Dam and closure of seven thermal power units. Worse, Pakistan could also not escape the impact of the global food crisis. In April 2008, the World Food Program (WFP) reported that the number of people deemed food insecure had risen 28 per cent to 77 million from 60 million in the previous year.
In the Provinces
Pakistan's tribal belt FATA, comprising of seven agencies, came under the control of different militant groups operating as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Formed in December 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud from South Waziristan, the Pakistan Taliban has emerged as a different brand of the Taliban movement. The TTP owes ideological allegiance to Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader of Afghanistan. The Pakistan Taliban seeks to enforce shariah law, unite against NATO forces in Afghanistan and perform defensive jihad against the Pakistan army. The Musharraf government sought a policy of resorting to both military operations and peace agreements with the militants in the region. More than 80,000 troops have been deployed in FATA since 2001 and the army has mounted several aerial and ground operations. The military operations first
Meanwhile, economy crumbles Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the 14th President of Pakistan, a transition that soon made him popular as Mr. 100 per cent. In the meantime, the Karachi stock exchange had been witnessing a downturn since the beginning of 2008. In October 2007, Pakistan had US$16 billion in foreign reserves and had registered a GDP growth of 7 per cent in the last five years. In November 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the country's foreign reserves stood at US$6.59 billion. In December 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan, in its annual report for 200708, said that the GDP is expected to grow between 3.5 to 4.5 per cent in fiscal year 2008/2009 as against the previously forecasted growth rate of 5.5 per cent. Following the rise in global oil
Map of FATA and NWFP
Epilogue Ø 128 × January 2009
Annual Reviews people have been displaced from Bajaur, Swat and Waziristan regions since August 2008. Although Pakistan has repeatedly protested against the US strikes in its territory, The Washington Post carried a report in November stating that Pakistan is allowing US predator strikes on suspected terrorist targets inside Pakistani territory under a tacit agreement reached between the two countries in September. The report described the deal as "one in which the US government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes.”
Who's war is this? began in South Waziristan in 2003 and have been highly unpopular since then. Similarly, several peace agreements have been signed since the first deal in Shakai, South Waziristan, in April 2004. The PPP-led government also sought the dual approach of peace deals and m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s . H o w e v e r, exasperated by the failure of this policy as well as the military's operations to wipe out militant sanctuaries, the US significantly increased cross-border missile strikes, predator and ground attacks inside Pakistan.
Strikes by the United States According to a report by Amir Mir in The News (28 October 2008), the US forces carried out 32 military strikes in Pakistani territory since the beginning of 2008 as against a combined total of 10 during 2006 and 2007. At least 355 people have been killed and 248 others
injured in these 32 operations. Out of the 355 killed, 301 were civilians, 36 were alleged militants belonging to alQaeda and the Taliban and 18 were Pakistani security personnel. The report also states that 16 of the 32 US attacks took place during 1 January and 31 August while the remaining 16 strikes occurred in a short span of hardly two months between 3 September and 26 October. Most of these attacks have been in South and North Waziristan and Bajaur. Pakistan officials also claim that their military operations have killed 1,000 militants in Bajaur. Military operations in Bajaur and Swat are considered successful; however, reports indicate that the government has lost control of Swat and Shangla districts to the Taliban. Moreover, the military operations and air strikes by the US in the tribal belt have resulted in a humanitarian crisis. More than 200,000
Epilogue Ø 129 × January 2009
In spite of the increasing number of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and the losing writ of the federal government in the tribal areas, many in Pakistan believe that their country is paying a huge price for fighting “America's war.” There has been massive opposition to air strikes by the US in the tribal areas both by the public and the army. Many believe that the government should have a domestic policy to deal with militancy and religious extremism, which is de-linked from the US war on terrorism. There is also a belief that President-elect Obama will pursue policies that would help Pakistan reconstruct its economy and bring security to the tribal areas as against the offensive policies of the Bush administration.
Annual Reviews On 29 October, Balochistan also witnessed an earthquake that killed 300 people and left more than 15,000 people displaced.
Suicide Terrorism Balochistan The insurgency is Balochistan continued to simmer in 2008. Despite a dialogue process in place and assurance by the PPP government to end military operations in the province, attacks persisted on gas pipelines, railway tracks, power transmission lines, and on military establishments and government facilities. The Institute of Conflict Management (ICM) database reports 373 insurgency-related incidents (data until 18 December) in 2008. The present insurgency began in 2004 (previous periods of uprisings include 1948, 1954, 1961, and from 1973 to 1977). In 2008, the PPP government called for an end to the military operation in the province in February and Asif Ali Zardari also apologized for the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. Nawab Aslam Raisani, an independently elected Baloch member of parliament, was appointed as the provincial Chief Minister. In a significant move, Rehman Malik - the Prime Minister's adviser on Interior Affairs – announced on 28 August that the names of all political leaders of Balochistan had been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) and 35 of the 54 checkpoints of the Frontier Corps (FC) in the province were being abolished. He also announced that all the detained political workers of Balochistan would be released and cases registered against them would be dropped after a
committee formed to investigate their cases had forwarded its recommendations. On 26 October, the Balochistan Reconciliatory Committee announced a three-pronged strategy to resolve the long-standing issues facing the province. The 3R strategy involved reconciliation with all political forces, rebuilding national institutions and reallocating resources. In spite of these efforts, nationalist feeling continue to run high in the province. The issue of control of the natural resources and their royalties and ownership are yet to be addressed by the government. Commenting on the issue, Zardari said that, “the people of Balochistan have the first right over their natural resources and the government will develop those resources with the help of the locals willing to be stakeholders and partners in development projects.”
Epilogue Ø 130 × January 2009
According to a report by The News, 61 suicide attacks were reported in 2008 killing at least 889 people and injuring 2,072 others. There were 56 acts of suicide terrorism in Pakistan in 2007. 29 of the 61 attacks occurred in the NWFP and 16 in FATA. In NWFP, Swat district witnessed 11 suicide attacks killing 101 people and injuring 294 others. There were four suicide attacks in Peshawar killing 99 and injuring 226. Punjab witnessed 10 suicide blasts and there were three suicide attacks in Islamabad including the attack on Danish embassy and Marriot hotel. One incident of suicide attack was reported in Balochistan on 23 September that killed a young girl and injured 22 people. No suicide attack was reported in Sindh province.
Annual Fatalities in Terrorist Violence in Pakistan, 2003-2008
Annual Reviews Reconciling with the Taliban
Raghav Sharma
R
econciliation is being touted as “one of the key long-term solutions in Afghanistan.” Th e sta te me n t of US defense secretary Robert th Gates on 6 October, 2008 in Budapest on the eve of a NATO summit signals a fundamental reconceptualization of US policy in Afghanistan. Both the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have been compelled to attempt a political reconciliation with a resurgent Taliban in light of rising military and civilian casualties, endemic corruption, war fatigue and soaring opium production. Further, off late there has been an increasingly strong public expression of frustration with the allied war effort with top military commanders such as the US General Petraeus and General John Craddock mincing no words to state that the “war cannot be won militarily” and termed the NATO effort as “disjointed.” However what stands out but has received scant attention are the Taliban's positive overtures to the recent peace initiatives being held under tutelage of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and with the blessings from the Whitehouse. This assumes significance for it comes at a time when the Taliban are on the upswing militarily and psychologically. In light of the dramatic shifts in the ground situation- that for the moment appears to be favoring the Talibs-this article attempts to etch out what then are the factors that have acted as a magnet in making the Taliban
gravitate to the negotiating table. The article also looks at the geo-political fallout if the negotiations were to r e s u l t i n t h e Ta l i b a n returning to walk down the corridors of power in Kabul. Interestingly, inspite of the Taliban's political rhetoric of demanding the exit of all foreign troops from Afghanistan as a prerequisite to any negotiations they have already begun engaging in a political dialogue with the US backed Karzai government. Broadly speaking one can identify four factors that have made the Taliban inch closer to the negotiating table. First, three decades of relentless war have inevitably taken a toll on the Afghan populace that has been pining for peace and development. The Taliban are aware that in the long run a protracted military stand off would gradually whittle down civilian sympathy they have carefully cultivated- much of it arising not so much as an acceptance their ideology as from the government's failures. On the other hand if the Taliban manage too hammer out a peace deal with the US backed government in Kabul, this
Epilogue Ø 131 × January 2009
process would create a politically conducive environment thus allowing the much needed re-construction efforts to get off the ground. The Taliban could effectively utilize these developments to extract political mileage, enlarge their support base and in turn increase their power for future political bargaining.
Annual Reviews Second, seven years of guerilla warfare and living in harsh conditions is bound to take its toll on the Taliban rank and file. Commenting on this retired MajorGeneral Jamshed Ayaz Khan aptly states "War fatigue is a big thing. No matter how strong and committed a guerrilla commander is, at some stage he will be fatigued. That could be a turning point for a settlement.” Thus, the Taliban's acceptance of negotiations with their political nemesis could in part be egged on by war fatigue taking its toll on their men. Moreover the Taliban are well aware of their inability to throw a successful political challenge to the Karzai government so long as it is backed by international forces whom they can tie down in protracted war but cannot easily evict. Third, by severing its links with the extremist Pan-Islamist al Qaeda- an essential pre-condition laid down for negotiation- the Taliban's financial and geographical would be blunted in the short run. However, if the negotiations succeed the Taliban would have a lot to gain from it politically as it would bestow on them direly needed international political recognition and legitimacy that has thus far eluded them. Further, it would help them place the movement in an indigenous milieu as links with the al Qaeda that has its roots in the extremist Wahhabi ideology. This “foreign” ideological linkage drew the Talibs flak from domestic quarters as well that accused them of and being insensitive to customs rooted in the local cultural milieu. Fourth, by joining the political mainstream the Taliban would expect to gingerly undercut President Hamid Karzai's support base amongst the ethnic Pushtuns and also enable the Taliban politically marginalize other
Islamist opposition groups such as the extremist Hizb-i-Islami under Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. If political dialogue with the Taliban was to fructify and it brought to the fore a political dispensation in Kabul where members of the Taliban were to share the political dais it would undoubtedly have important geo-political ramifications for a multitude of players involved.
past hostility as also India's investment of political capital in the Karzai government as also its close ties with the Northern alliance. However the evolving ground situation in Afghanistan in which calls for finding a political solution inclusive of the Taliban seem to be getting louder, India will be left with little choice but to carefully weave in its interests in the emerging political matrix.
While for the US and its allies it would help to significantly bring down the level of insurgency, make the war effort politically saleable to domestic audiences and eventually pave way for an acceptable “exit strategy” from Afghanistan. For the Taliban it would mark their first major political victory since their ouster in 2001. However, for the Tajik dominated Northern Alliance which dominates much of the government, accommodating their political nemesis would be a bitter pill to swallow and is likely to cause intense political friction in the government. It would also be extremely difficult to bring Iran-a neighbor an important regional player- on board, given the past hostility with the Taliban accentuated as it were by prevailing Shia-Sunni divide.
Pakistan too has important stakes in the political alignments and realignments that are underway in Kabul. Thus far Islamabad had enthusiastically supported the pariah Taliban regime as part of its strategic calculus to gain “strategic depth” against India and pacify its restive North Western Frontier province (NWFP) against Pushtun nationalism. However, given the sheer impunity with which state authority is being challenged and undermined the neoTaliban Pakistan is likely to support a political process whereby the militant edge of the Taliban could be blunted. By supporting Taliban's inclusion into the political mainstream Islamabad hopes it would not only find a favorable political lobby in Kabul but it would also break down linkages between the militant neo-Taliban in Pakistan and their Afghan counterpart.
There is also a degree of skepticism in New Delhi which somewhat nervously pieces together the political jigsaw in Afghanistan where its profile has grown tremendously since the fall of the Taliban. Given the active hostility of the Taliban regime to Indian interests, often in concert with Islamabad, New Delhi's conservatism is not completely unfounded. A prospect of Taliban's return could render New Delhi's position in Kabul somewhatvulnerable, given the
The current efforts aimed at peaceful political reconciliation, if fruitful, could potentially provide a relatively more peaceful and acceptable political settlement to the Afghan cauldron. While the sustenance of any agreement reached depends much on how internal politics plays out, but how the international community braces itself to dealing with what was regarded as a pariah (Islamist) regime will also have its bearings.
Epilogue Ø 132 × January 2009
Annual Reviews Mumbai Attacks :
Those who do not learn from the past.. Samarjit Ghosh
T
here is hardly a subject that has generated more debate and newsprint in recent times than the terror attacks that the city of Mumbai witnessed in the last week of November, and while the due process of law has yet to be concluded, a chain of events has already commenced, giving heart to those who seek justice for the slain, yet lead others to question the efficacy of the actions undertaken. In the wake of these attacks, Indian authorities are believed to have unearthed evidence to the effect that Pakistani nationals were involved in the orchestration and enactment of the same, and have leveled accusations on two allegedly terrorist organizations in particular, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [a.k.a. Jamaat-ud-Dawa] headed by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, and the Jaish-eMohammed [a.k.a Khudam-ul-Islam] helmed by Maulana Masood Azhar, now believed to have relinquished control to his younger brother, Mufti Abdul Rauf. Per Pakistani news reports, Hafiz Saeed has been held under house arrest in his house in the Johar Town area of Lahore, for prospectively the next three months. Masood Azhar, in turn, has been held captive at his house in the Model Town area of Bahawalpur. The organizations Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Jaish-eMohammaed have been banned by the government of Pakistan, and their offices across the country seized and sealed. The bans came into enforcement after India submitted a formal request to the UN for these organizations and their
leaders to be put on its terror list. Pakistan, in earlier statements, had agreed to acquiesce to such a request, provided it carried the sanction of the UN.
Masood Azhar into custody in December 2001, and Hafiz Saeed, shortly after. Both India and the United States had already declared these organizations as 'terrorist' and banned them accordingly.
While President Zardari has yet to make a formal statement accepting or rejecting the Pakistani government's inadequacies relevant to the attack, he has expressed his sympathies via an oped piece in the New York Times. In the same media, he has laid the blame of these attacks at non-state actors, and while appreciating Indian sentiments, has counseled the Indian government to be prudent in its accusations.
The arrests and ban on the organizations helmed by them were the result of a much-quoted speech by erstwhile President Pervez Musharraf, in which he underscored his country's commitment to fighting terrorism. While he vowed to act in concert with India and the international community in doing so, considering it his solemn duty as President, he also saw fit to state that as Commander of the Armed Forces, he would authorize his troops to maintain battle positions on their eastern front, and warned India against attempting to engage with it in battle.
The situation is further confounded with Pakistan adamantly refusing to releasing any of the accused to India, despite India's citing a 1989 Central Bureau of Investigation – Federal Investigative Agency agreement providing for the same. In the same coin, India has refused to release any evidence pertaining to the guilt of the accused. The Indian government's apprehensions towards jointly working with the Pakistani government can be appreciated, given the history of actions taken by Pakistan. Indeed, this is hardly the first time that India has asked for these organizations/individuals to be banned, nor the first time that Pakistan has agreed to do so. Following the attacks on the Indian Parliament in 2001, and accusations leveled by the Indian government, Pakistan had taken
Epilogue Ă˜ 133 Ă— January 2009
However, Saeed was released in November 2002 by the Lahore High Court, without formal charges having been pressed on him, and a month later, Azhar was released as well, by the same court, having passed a year in preventive detention [the maximum allowed under Pakistani law]. Though the ban on their organizations continued, no effort was taken by the Pakistani government to shut down the camps run by the same. Soon, Azhar had resumed his work, re-naming his organization Khudam-ul-Islam, as did Saeed, under the new banner of 'Jamaat-ud-Dawa'. Both individuals were again placed under house arrest in 2006, following Indian allegations of their involvement in
Annual Reviews bombings in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai. However, both were soon released, due to lack of evidence. This second round of arrests revealed a pattern: India alleges, and Pakistan arrests. However, despite Pakistani assurances to the contrary, any arrests and investigations carried out by them were purely cursory in nature, not helped by the fact that India did not release any evidence pertaining to the same. It was presumed that the pattern would be broken this time around. After all, it wasn't just Indian citizens who perished in these attacks, but American as well, and the US is definitely a country that Pakistan would like to maintain good relations with, or at a minimum, cordial ones, given the situations on its border with Afghanistan. Also, sanctions by the UN Security Council, which had been vetoed in previous year by China, have been unanimously secured this time around, further strengthening the case against the accused. Yet, if initial reports are to be believed, the pattern holds. While not much is known of Azhar's whereabouts, The New York Times reported on Friday, that not only were Saeed's relatives and friends being allowed freely into his house, Saeed himself was spotted attending services at a mosque close to his home. Given that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency has been previously accused of sharing intel and providing protection to LeT, not to mention the JuD's popularity as a charitable organization, the behavior of the Pakistani administration is not unsurprising. However, given its current international credibility, or lack thereof, it is certainly worrisome that it is willing to be seen taking such a lackadaisical approach. While it is too early to predict if the Pakistani government will treat these arrests and bans in the same fashion as they did in 2002, early signs are not encouraging. Accordingly, the Indian government as also the international community would be well advised to maintain a close watch on events as they proceed and be prepared to take suitable action to prevent a miscarriage, or worse, a mockery of justice.
India's Most Wanted Tanya Saira George
Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed Location: Muridke, Pakistan. Marital status: Married Engineer-turned-fanatic preacher is the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba and the head of the Markaz Dawa wa'alIrshad/Jama'at-ud-Da'wah. Sayeed's rise was in large measure the outcome of patronage by the Pakistani military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, who granted the Markaz its sprawling campus. He is blamed in the attack on parliament in New Delhi and 26/11, and was placed under house arrest since the UN sanctions.
Maulana Mohd. Masood Azhar Location: Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Born as the third of 11 children, Azhar comes from a rich landowning family in Pakistan. In 1989 he was forced to drop out of his first, and only, arms training course with the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen because he was overweight. But by 1993, he was second only to the Harkat chief Fazlur Rehman Khalil, having established himself as a fund-raiser and ideologue. Upon his release in the IC-814 for hostages-forprisoners swap in December 1999, the maulana-cum-mercenary founded Jaish-e-Mohammad that led an attack on India's Parliament on December 13, 2001. He is also wanted for an attack on the J&K Assembly on October 1, 2001 in which 38 people were killed. Azhar has close links with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.
Epilogue Ă˜ 134 Ă— January 2009
Annual Reviews Mohammad Yusuf Shah Location: Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
B
etter known by his nom de guerre Syed Salahuddin, Shah has led the Hizbul Mujahideen since 1991 and is a long standing member of the Jamaati-Islami Kashmir. He unsuccessfully contested the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir assembly election on a Muslim United Front ticket. Before taking over the Hizb's Muzaffarabad-based command, he acted as its Amir-i-Zila (district commander) from late 1989.
Abdul Karim (Tunda) Location: Lahore Marital status: Married he top 'bomber' of the Lashkar-eToiba and nick-named Tunda for a handicap in his left arm, Abdul Karim's association with the Islamic Right predates his association with Lashkar. It is known that in the early '80s Tunda was initiated into terrorism by the ISI and he crossed over to Pakistan where he underwent training in making improvised explosive devices. Tunda is in his late sixties, is wanted in India for 33 criminal cases, 40 blasts in Delhi and neighbouring states that left 21 dead and over 400 injured. The hunt for Tunda died down in 2000 when Intelligence agencies believed a news item that Tunda had been killed in a blast in Bangladesh. Tunda returned to the surveillance radar in August 2005 when Abdul Razzak Masood, an alleged LeT chief coordinator in Dubai arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi police, disclosed that Tunda was alive and he had met him in Lahore in December 2003. Abdul also disclosed that Tunda had two wives and two sons. Karim's key success was in discovering young recruits to do his work.
T
Shahid Akhtar Sayed Location: Karachi Pakistani national wanted for the IC-814 hijacking and for kidnapping and murder. Not much is known about him except the fact that his co-hijackers in the plane addressed him
A
as 'doctor'. Dawood Ibrahim Location: Karachi Marital status: Married e is one of the most fascinating figures in the world of international terrorism, a criminal mastermind linked to everyone from al Qaeda to Bollywood starlets to East African drug cartels. The underworld don, head of the 'D-Company' and the mastermind of the Mumbai blasts of 1993, is wanted in connection with cases of arms supply, counterfeiting, drugs trade, funding alleged criminals, murder and smuggling. Shortly before the blasts, Dawood fled to Karachi from Dubai and settled there, with a little help from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Designated as a 'global terrorist' by the US in 2003, he is No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals list of 2008. He is accused of providing the logistical support for the 26/11 attacks.
H
Mohammad Ibrahim Athar Alvi Location: Bahawalpur Pakistani national and an associate of Maulana Azhar Masood, he was the head of the group that hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814. He was called 'Chief' by the other hijackers. He is a member of Jaish-i-Mohammad and is wanted for hijacking, kidnapping and murder.
A
Zahoor Ibrahim Mistri Location: Karachi Pakistani national and a key member of Harkat-ul-Ansar, which later changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.. Mistri was one the five hijackers of IC-814and was addressed as 'Bhola' by his co-hijackers. Apart from the hijacking, he is wanted in cases of kidnapping and murder
A
Azhar Yusuf Location: Karachi rother of the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana masood Azhar, Azhar Yusuf hijacked and took the Indian Airline flight IC 814 to Kandahar. He freed his brother and two other dreaded terrorists from Indian jails. Since then he's on the run with cases of cases of kidnapping and murder registered against him in India.
B
Epilogue Ă˜ 135 Ă— January 2009
Annual Reviews Ibrahim Abdul Razak Memon Location: Karachi Marital status: Married etter known as Tiger Memon, the 48 year-old gangster-turned businessman is the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case. The recovered explosives, which proved crucial to cracking the Mumbai blast case, were made from Tiger's home. Tiger's younger brother Yakub Memon is in custody of the Mumbai police. Tiger's wife and mother, who are among the accused in the Mumbai blasts case, are out on bail. His father Abdul Razzak, also one of the accused, died a few years ago.
B
Chhota Shakeel Location: Karachi Marital status: Married key associate of Dawood Ibrahim, Shakeel 'Bhai' too has dabbled in a l l t h i n g s n e f a r i o u s — m u r d e r, extortion, gunrunning—but 'specialises' in extortion, Bollywood being his favourite hunting ground. Indian intelligence agencies say Shakeel is an ISI agent. Shakeel has been charged with trying to kill Shiv Sena leader Milind Vaidya and planning assaults on film producer Ramesh Sharma and art director Sushankar Manjekar. In an interview with a news magazine in January 2001, Shakeel had said, "Today we are involved in everything—from extorting money to financing films and helping whoever comes to us with genuine requests."
A
Ayub Memon Location: Karachi n accused of executing the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He is alleged to have helped his brother Ibrahim Memon carry out the blasts. He is wanted in cases of terrorism and smuggling.
A
Abdul Razzak Location: Karachi key henchmen of the D-company, he is accused of involvement in the Mumbai blasts. He is wanted in cases of terrorism and arms smuggling.
A
Abdul Karim Location: Lahore Kashmiri terrorist blamed for more than 30 bomb blasts in New Delhi and parts of northern India in 1996-97.
A
Ishaaq Atta Hussain Location: Karachi close associate of Dawood Ibrahim, is wanted in connection with a conspiracy to kill Indian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister L.K. Advani. Atta is the key accused in various cases of extortion and money laundering.
A
Sagir Sabir Ali Shaikh Location: Karachi known associate of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Sabir Shaikh is wanted in Mumbai for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and also the conspiracy to kill L.K. Advani in a number of blasts rocked an election rally in Coimbatore in 1998.
A
Wadhawa Singh Babbar Location: Lahore adhawa Singh, resident of Sadhu Chattha village near Kapurthala, started his political life as a member of Punjab's naxalite movement. Like some members of the ultra-left movement, its defeat led him to lurch to the far-right. He is the chief of the Babbar Khalsa International, which was a major terrorist group during the decadelong militancy in Punjab. Hailing from Kapurthala district, Wadhawa is wanted in a string of terrorist crimes including the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in August 1995. The BKI has shown greater resilience than any other terrorist groups in Punjab, owing mainly to its support among non-resident Indians and its contact with the ISI.
W
Epilogue Ø 136 × January 2009
Annual Reviews Ranjit Singh Neeta Location: Lahore
N
eeta, hailing from Jammu, is the only Khalistan terrorist to be still active among the five whom India has demanded from Pakistan. A leader of the Sikh separatist group, the Khalistan Zindabad Force, he started his career as a small-time criminal and developed contacts with smugglers in the R.S. Pora and Samba areas. Neeta's Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) has close links with the ISI, and is committed to joint action with Jammu and Kashmir terrorist groups, notably the Hizbul Mujahideen. He is wanted in cases of murder, bomb blasts and smuggling of arms in India—the most recent one being the FIR filed by the Kathua police in October 2001, for the assassination of Deputy Superintendent of Police Devinder Sharma.
B
Paramjit Singh Panjwar Location: Lahore Marital status: Married
elonging to Tarn Taran area, Panjwar is one of the longest surviving Punjab terrorists. He is chief of the dreaded Khalistan Commando Force and is wanted in more than a dozen cases of murder, treason, conspiracy and arms smuggling. He is also wanted for the murder of former army chief General A S Vaidya and for the country's biggest bank robbery in Ludhiana. Panjwar is believed to be about 40 years old and belongs to the village of Panjwar, near Tarn Taran. His wife and children relocated themselves in Germany. With his close links to top Punjab smugglers like Bhola Thanthian and Pargat Singh Narli, Panjwar has worked to keep the KCF alive using revenues raised from cross-border heroin traffic.
Lakhbir Singh Rode Location: Lahore
A
close relative of the militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, Rode heads the pro-Khalistan International Sikh Youth Federation, is wanted in cases of arms smuggling, conspiracy to attack government leaders in Delhi and inciting religious hatred in Punjab.. Punjab Police's dossier describes Rode as a 'hardcore terrorist'. Rode is a nephew of the feared preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who plunged Punjab into the Khalistan movement. Rode continues to be something of a cult figure—and successful fundraiser—among Khalistan supporters in the US, the UK and Canada.
Gajinder Singh Location: Lahore
H
ead of the pro-Khalistan outfit, Dal Khalsa. Gajinder's most significant activity and the reason he first came into public notice was after he hijacked an Indian Airlines flight to Lahore in 1981. The hijacking was carried out to protest against the arrest of Bhindranwale earlier that year for his alleged role in the assassination of 'Hind Samachar' editor Lala Jagat Narain. The hijacker was given a life sentence but served only a few years in jail before being granted asylum in Pakistan. The Dal Khalsa, was banned in 1982, but was allowed to restart overground activity a decade later and on August 11, 2001 Gajinder Singh was elected as the chairman of the organization while being in asylum in
Epilogue Ø 137 × January 2009
Annual Reviews Perform JKPDC
‘Fortify JKPDC Instead of NHPC’ Bilal Hussain
I
t is high time for the J&K government to think of fortifying the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation by getting it listed in the India's stock market exchanges viz. National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, which not only would ensure better management but would give it a much needed huge financial resources to tap the huge hydro potential of the state. In this regard the corporation has taken a maiden step by seeking the consultancy services from the Ernst and Young, one of the world's leading professional services organizations to help companies across the globe to identify and capitalize on business opportunities, to reform the JKPDC and get it listed on the stock exchanges. Managing Director, JKPDC, Shant Manu on record has recently told that the corporation has sought the services of the Ernst and Young for its financial and organizational reforms. "Ernst and Young would be submitting its report in coming fiscal," said Shant Manu. At present the state government directly controls the corporation. However, after the corporation would get listed there would least interference by the government but at the same time state government should have major stake in the corporation. This would ensure that the state has a control on it but to a lesser extent and at the same time the corporation would not be in total power of the private players.
The listing would make it sure that JKPDC would be run on professional lines and in accordance the companies act. Like National Power National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd, JKPDC too can raise funds from the open market after it is listed on the stock exchanges, financial experts here said. This could enable the state to cut down on production costs as well as set a stage for it to sell extra power to other states. Business organisations, industrialists, and economists here too asserted the need for reorganizing JKPDC, for its financial sustenance and harnessing hydro potential of the state at fullest. President, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Dr Mubeen Shah said that the state government had plans of reforming the JKPDC. "I don't understand, why government delayed it," he said. There were fear among the business circles that this time too the plan of getting the corporation listed could get shelved off and the recommendation by the consultancies would not be taken into action. Many experts here believe that the state has enormous water resources, which are yet to be exploited to fullest. The government should entrust the development of all hydro electrical projects to JKPDC, they said.
Epilogue Ø 138 × January 2009
While transforming the corporation into a listed company major stakeholder should be of the state government, rest of the shares should be issued to the general public through Initial Public Offering. "If you have better management and resources it is good for the corporation and for state as well," said an expert. "Our state is energy starved, listing JKPDC would allow PDC to raise finances and harness water resources and transform the state into energy surplus," Dr Mubeen added. JKPDC was earlier built-in as an independent authority to harness enormous potential of water resources, which according an estimate is over 20000 MWs. Dr Mubeen while sighting an example said that JK Bank is the successful model in front of us. "We need to develop PDC on the same lines," he added. The state has identified power generation capacity of over 20000 MWs. Registering PDC as a company, subsequently issuance of IPO (Initial Public Offer) would transform the economic situation of the state, believes Dr Shah. Noted economist of the state, Prof Nissar Ali told that it would be in favour of the state to strengthen the JKPDC. There are few small power development projects with them and
Annual Reviews only bigger one among it is Baglihar. He stressed on fortifying PDC instead of NHPC, which at present is developing the projects in the state. By registering PDC as a company it would put it in generating more profits for the state, he adds. "Don't encourage NHPC, we must fortify PDC and it could generate huge revenue for the sate," he said. The company could raise huge capital from the public here as well outside, but the major stakeholder should be the state government on patter of JK Bank. "The company could acquire loans from international financial institutes," said he said. According to Prof Nissar the company could have surplus energy and could sell electricity to other states and can generate huge revenue for the state. "We should set objective for PDC for the period of 20 years should be 10000 MWs of power," he added. Earlier there were reports that The National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) would soon be in the management team of the state government flagship project, Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project. According to well placed sources the state government was planning to handover management of the 450 MW run of the river project on river Chenab in Doda district of J&K Baglihar, to NHPC. Nothing more wrong could go against the project by transferring the management in the hands of the NHPC. "Local are better capable of handling such projects," he claims. By transferring the administration to NHPC the state government is
establishing that in J&K "We don't have competent human resource available in the state," he said. There are some mischievous elements in the administration who are trying to shift powers to NHPC, he said. To mention, state's has water resources which can generate around 20,000 MWs of energy, out of existing 13 power stations, NHPC possess three major power generation stations in the state by the Corporation. These include Salal Power Project with 690 MWs generation capacity, Uri-I with 480 MWs capacity and Dulhasti with 390 MWs. The Baglihar Power Project was taken up for execution in May 1999 and as per the agreement between the state government and the Jaiprakash Industries, signed on March 11, 1999, the project was to be completed by December 2004 at a cost of Rs 3,800 crore. However, neither the deadline for its execution and nor the costs were adhered to by the executing agency. The project was finally completed in October 2008 at a cost of Rs 5,600 crore. While J&K is selling Baglihar power to PTC at Rs 3.25 per unit, the state is purchasing power for its own use from the Northern Grid at the rates ranging between Rs 6 to Rs 8 per unit. "If the government would transfer the management we oppose it," he said. During the commissioning of the project recently, the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had said that J&K would earn Rs 900 crore annually by selling the power generated from Baglihar. By giving the projects in hands of NHPC the state would not be able to pay off their debts," economists here believe.
Epilogue Ă˜ 139 Ă— January 2009
Epilogue because there is more to know
Monthly Magazine Extensively Researched Written with Clarity and Insight Covers Four Key Issues Politics Economy Culture Strategic Affairs
Unlike the General run of the News
Magazines
Epilogue Has a self life That Extends For Beyond the News Period Covered For subscription enquiries
Annual Reviews Movies that Made Difference
Deep Contractor
A
nother year has flown by and what a year it has been! This has been a year of surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. History was made, moments were made unforgettable and the unexpected stole the show. Bollywood has been no different. Where mega budgets and star casts failed, simplicity and substance appealed the audience, whose taste in movies seems to be maturing further with each passing year. Movies like A Wednesday , Jane Tu Ya Jane Na and Rock on, all diverse and uniquely styled, did well emphasizing the fact that film makers do not need to depend on a particular 'formula' to make a movie successful and well received by the audience.
the mediocre123, mindless Raffoo Chakkar, dull and predictable Ugly aur Pagli or the disgraceful Man Gaye Mughal – E – Azam, all of them failed to touch the audience's funny bone and bombed at the box office. Film makers need to realize that although comedies are still hugely popular but the earlier David Dhavanish comedies of the 90's have been replaced by the MunnaBhais and Circuits of today. A new trend seems to be targeting the smaller but the youngest percentage of the audience – kids. This year kids had their pick from a series of
Moreover the so called sure shots seemed to have fallen flat this year, what with bigwigs like Subhash Ghai's Yuvraaj and the much anticipated Sarkar Raj failing to meet the expectations of the movie goers. Filmmakers definitely believed in the variety being the spice of (if not life) success. Ventures were made into horror films with 1920 and Phoonk, where one lacked originality but was high on the “scare “factor and the other was simply boring. This year again we were bombarded with a plethora of no brain comedies. Be it
Epilogue Ø 140 × January 2009
animated movies, Roadside Romeo and Jumbo being the biggest followed by Dashavtar, Ghatothkach and Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Thoda life Thoda Magic had nothing but loose storylines, bad special effects and predictable, indifferent performances which even the younger lot refused to accept. Amitabh Bacchan as the friendly ghost Bhootnath was not too entertaining either. Drona disappointed and that too, heavily. I guess the kids will have to wait a little longer till another Indian superhero takes over from Krrishh.
Annual Reviews As terrorism replaced politics and cricket in the headlines all over the nation, Bollywood echoed the sentiment through movies like Black and White, Mumbai Meri Jaan, A Wednesday, Hijack, Contract and the Naseeruddin Shah starrer crossover film Shoot on Sight. Only a few managed to appeal to the public and fewer made big bucks. Worth your time and money were only Mumbai Meri Jaan and A Wednesday. Shoot on sight was realistic but somewhere the thread of the script gets entangled making the audience confused. Ramchand Pakistani and Khuda Ke Liye made it abundantly clear what the common man feels about the long standing disagreement between the two neighbours -India and Pakistan. The clear reflection of the common man of both nations was presumably the reason for the acclaim both movies received. Speaking of adaptations (which is a euphemism for Hollywood rip offs) it still seems to be a very very bad idea. Bruce almighty remade as God Tussi Great Ho with Salman Khan playing Jim Carrey's role was utter torture. Next came Hari Puttar. Don't let the title mislead you as the movie has not a drop of J.K.Rowling's legendary Harry Potter but is sadly a rip off of Home Alone, again grossly disappointing. The only saving grace was Shaurya which was inspired from (read loosely based on) Tom Cruise and Demi Moore starrer A Few Good Men. Failures were way too many to count. Formulas failed and so did the “hat ke” movies. Hulla which was made in the style of Bheja Fry left without anyone noticing. Oh my God! Didn't do
well either. Regular comedies too came and left with nothing to smile about. One Two Three, Mr. Black Mr. White, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and even Govinda starrer Money Hai to Honey Hai left the audiences with a bad taste in their mouths. Oye Lucky Lucky Oye limped on due to Abhay Deol's performance and foot thumping tracks. EMI although had a nice theme but was poorly executed and Sanjay Dutt's character reminded the audiences too much of beloved Munnabhai. Mission Istanbul and Super Star were not even worth wasting your opinion. Dil Kabaddi, Saas Bahu aur Sensex, Dasvidanaya as well as Shyam Benegal's Welcome to Sajjanpur tried to appeal to the so called intellectual moviegoer and were better received in metros among select audiences than with the masses. Realistic films like Sorry Bhai and Fashion received mixed responses. Fashion, although had moving performances, was bit of overkill. Good watch for the curious and avoidable for people involved in the fashion industry. Ashutosh Gowariker's period film Jodhaa Akbar, despite the controversies and the beautiful light-eyed lead actors, managed a lukewarm response. Many other films got away with warm responses but made it big through their soundtracks, Bachna e Haseeno, Jannat and Tashan to name a few. 2008 saw successful debuts of Imran Khan and Genelia in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na which had same old confused best friend being in love but not knowing it story line but was full of refreshing youthful energy and amazing music to go with it. Director Farhaan Akhtar's debut as an actor in Rock On can be
Epilogue Ø 141 × January 2009
called successful. He may have received criticism for technical glitches in the movie but he has established himself as a good story teller and now as an emerging actor. Rock On too had some great music and Javed Akhtar's lyrics were both youthfully apt for rock and still retained his signature meaningfulness. End of the year saw two more fresh faces Anushka Sharma of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Asin of Ghajini. The girls are on seventh heaven and why shouldn't they be! Not every girl gets to debut with the big daddies of Bollywood! The year was good for the leading ladies on the silver screen. Kareena Kapoor reinvented “thin is in” through Tashan and her controversial size zero figure she flaunted in the movie. Her Golmaal Returns, the sequel to the hit comedy Golmaal, failed miserably to earn returns at the box office. Preity Zinta shone brightly alongside Big B in The Last Lear and seems to be delusional about Heroes which according to her was well received but we know better! Kajol's comeback with You Me Aur Hum alongside hubby Ajay Devgan failed to reach the blockbuster target but stood out with its strong story line of love surviving dementia. At the losing end are Ayesha Takia's with Sunday where she being forgettable, same goes for her De Taali. Similarly Vidya Balan had Hulla Bol and Kismat Konnection with bad reviews and worse performance at the box office. Priyanka Chopra emerged from just being another pretty face to being a superstar and the new queen of Bollywood. Chamku, Drona and
Annual Reviews Lovestory 2050 alongside beau Herman Baweja may have bombed at the box office but the end of the year release of Fashion and Dostana shot her to superstardom overnight. But the real show stealer is Katrina Kaif who is being touted has the surprise hit of 2008 by Vogue magazine, and rightly so. Singh is Kingg with handsome hunk Akshay Kumar and the multistarrer Race both did well at the box office and her next New York with John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh is also something to look out for. Just like last year, where veteran heavy weights Aamir Khan with Taare Zamein Par and Shah Rukh Khan with Om Shaanti Om collided at the box office with simultaneous release dates, we are in for another clash of the titans. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Ghajini and even Akshay Kumar's Jumbo have released next to each other and the audience is letting them know where their loyalties lie - not with the star but with the story. Hollywood brought some fantastic visual treats. Among the best were Kung Fu Panda and Wall E with their beautiful animation and feel good storylines, they captures the minds of both young and old. However, 2008 was also a year of sequels like Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Indiana Jones 4: Kindom of the Crystal Skull, High School Musical 3, National Treasure 2, Madagascar 2, Transporter 3 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor were all disappointments compared to the previous movies. The only sequel which outshone majority of the movies was The Dark Knight, sequel to Batman Begins which left the audience gasping and still hoping for more.
Heath Ledger's performance as 'the joker' has lead to series of online forums and opinion polls asking to award him a posthumous Oscar. M. Knight Shyamalan's The Happening had the tone of impending doom of mankind through ecological catastrophe due to man's own greed as did The Day the Earth Stood Still. The Happening does not disappoint Shyamalan fans, but the The Day the Earth Stood Still fails to impress completely. Fantasies like The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian were good only if you want to use them to tide over till something like The Lord of the Rings returns. Quantum of Solace disappointed not only the general audience but also the die hard James Bond fans. Craig Daniels is sad and depressed, the gadgets are nothing to die for and the usual charm and wit are missing altogether. Hitman and Max Payne are better left as computer games. The superheroes Hancock, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were merely passable. The year's best apart from the animated delights is August Rush, the story of a boy who hopes against hope to be reunited with his parents and that too, through music. All music lovers no matter what genre you prefer, August Rush you shouldn't miss. Movies in 2008 took us a rollercoaster ride. Diverse, fantastic films with simple but strong story lines ruled the hearts of the audience. Even if only a few glimmered, they did brilliantly. The rest gave us an excuse to forget the burdens of everyday and gave us reasons to laugh, to cry, and even to be silly. Let's see what is in store in 2009. Till then keep watching.
Epilogue Ă˜ 142 Ă— January 2009
Now Telling The J&K Stories
Epilogue because there is more to know
Contact ABDULLAH NEWS AGENCY Lal Chowk, Srinagar 9419074859
RAINA NEWS AGENCY Residency Road, Jammu
ABC STATIONERS AND DISTRIBUTORS Leh
CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY New Delhi
OXFORD BOOK STORE New Delhi, Mumbai,
Calcutta, Bangalore, Chennai & Goa
Anniversary Special Epilogue's Writers 2007-08 MS SWAMINATHAN Agriculture Scientist, Father of Green Revolution, Member of Parliament (April, 2008)
Columnist, Analyst, former Professor Kashmir University (October, 2007)
WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH Chief Information Commissioner, Government of India; renowned expert on Kashmir (October, 2007)
Media educationist, Assistant Professor, Kashmir University (Regular Columnist)
BALRAJ PURI Veteran author, human rights activist; Padma Bushan (Regular Columnist) TARIQ HAMEED KARRA Finance Minister, Jammu and Kashmir (January, February, 2008) ABDUL RAHIM RATHER Former Finance Minister, Jammu and Kashmir (January, February, 2008) ABDUL AZIZ ZARGAR Agriculture Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, (April, 2008) PROF NISAR ALI Economist, Professor of Economics at Kashmir University (February, April 2007; January, February, 2008)
KN PANDITA
SYEDA AFSHANA
JIGAR MOHAMMAD Professor of History, Jammu University, (Regular Columnist) NOOR AHMED BABA Professor of Political Science, Kashmir University (Regular Columnist) IFTIKHAR GEELANI Senior Journalist, Kashmir Times, Jammu; The Nation, Pakistan (October, 2007) AJAZ A BABA Practicing doctor (Regular Columnist) DIPANKER SENGUPTA Professor of Economic, University of Jammu (January, February, 2008)
REKHA CHOUDHARY Professor of Political Science at University of Jammu (January, 2007, November 2008)
Columnist (September, 2008)
GAUTAM NAVLAKHA Consulting Editor, Economic and Political Weekly (September, 2008 )
Journalist, Politician, Ladakh expert (Regular contributor, incharge of Ladakh affairs)
SYED ALI SHAH GEELANI Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) (October, 2007)
Lawyer, writer (September, 2008)
MASUD CHAUDHARY Vice Chancellor, BGSB University (October, 2007)
Lawyer, columnist (Regular contributor)
MY TARIGAMI MLA, State Secretary CPI(M) J&K (October, 2007)
ZAFAR MEHDI SAFVI Journalist (September, 2008)
SYED ABID RASHID SHAH
TSEWANG RIGZIN
SUNIDER KAUR
ANMOL SHARMA
Epilogue Ø 143 × January 2009
Anniversary Special BILAL HUSSAIN Business journalist (regular writer)
ROOP AVTAR KAUR IFS Officer, J&K (November, 2007)
MOHITA BHATIA Scholar, Political Science (February, 2007)
SAMIR SURYAKANT PATIL Scholar, Jawahar Lal Nehru University (Occasional Contributor)
APRAJITA MAZUMDAR Researcher, IPCS (Regular Contributor)
RAM SAHAI President, Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (January, 2008)
DEVYANI SRIVASTAV Researcher, IPCS (Regular Contributor)
ANNIL SURI REKHA CHAKRAVARTHI Researcher, IPCS (Regular Contributor)
Industrialist, Jammu (January, 2008) Dr SHAHID CHOUDHARY
Priyashree Andely Researcher (May, June, July, August, 2007)
IFS Officer, J&K (December, 2008)
MUBIN SHAH President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (June, 2008) ZABHIA YUSUF Researcher, Kings College, London (June, 2008)
KD MAINI Historian, Poonch (Occasional Contributor) AHMED ALI FAYYAZ Journalist, Daily Excelsior (January, 2007) PUSHP SARAF Journalist, Border Affairs (January, 2007)
MADIHA TALLAT Lahore University of Managements Sciences, Lahore (March, 2008)
Scholar, Jammu University (January, 2007)
KAVITA SAURI Journalist, the Statesman (November, 2007)
Scholar, Jammu University (January, 2007)
PAWAN VIVEK
VIVEYATA Sharma
MAZHAR IQBAL MAZHAR Sub Editor, The News, Pakistan (Occasional Columnist)
ARUN Manhas KAS Officer, JK (Occasional Contributor)
PAWAN BALI Journalist, CNN-IBN (December, 2007, March 2008)
KAS Officer, J&K (Occasional Contributor)
RANJIT KALRA Assistant Professor, Jammu University (May, 2008)
Journalist, Greater Kashmir (Occasional Contributor)
SDS JAMWAL IPS Officer, J&K (November, 2007)
Sonam CHOSJAR
SHAFIQ MIR
PROF ANWAR ALAM Vice Chancellor, SKUAST Kashmir (April, 2008)
Epilogue Ø 144 × January 2009