A possible meeting between Mehbooba Mufti, the natural heir to her father’s political legacy and a politician in her own right, and BJP’s Amit Shah had raised hope of a settlement, which would pave the way for formation of a government in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. The ‘Agenda of Alliance’ inked between the BJP and PDP held the two diametrically opposite political parties together and was viewed as a ray of hope for the State. But the death of Mufti Mohammed Sayed changed the equation and what he held together by the force of his personality and leadership seems to be coming apart. Mehbooba has gone on record to state that the agenda was unpopular in the Valley. She has made additional demands, which she placed as pre-requisites for government formation. The Central government has rejected them on grounds that the ‘Agenda’ should be the sole guiding light because the only thing that has changed is the death of Mufti. There has been no violation of the ‘Agenda’ and hence no reason to renegotiate. It is obvious, Mehbooba is finding it difficult to hold on to the agreement and pressure is mounting to walk out. At the same time a government which represents both, the Valley and Jammu is seen in the rest of the country as a unity government. The PDP and BJP must do all to save it.
The complexities of domestic violence
There is a charm about inter-dependency that can be enjoyed as long as we know what it means to respect each other. Tilt the balance and it becomes abuse on one hand and loneliness on the other. When we live in a way that the other gets more reverence than the self, we let others decide how we should behave, what opportunities we should pursue, who we should love and who should continue to abuse us. Family pride takes precedence over self-expression. Sometime this is where…
