Jan 7, 2009 00:13
Jammu and Kashmir is making a fresh beginning, and the youthful new chief minister of the state, Mr Omar Abdullah, personifies it. Even without Mr Farooq Abdullah's Bollywood references, the drama that has surrounded the appointment of Mr Omar Abdullah to the chair should have been obvious. It follows a curious turn of fortune for the separatists, whose call for a boycott of the elections was overturned by popular mandate. There is also a rather bitter history of political marriages between the National Conference and the Congress in the state. The new chief minister has to answer a tough call. With the People's Democratic Party in opposition its sympathy for the separatists intact, the Hurriyat Conference bent on proving the polls dubious, and a renewed interest across the border to destroy peace in Kashmir, he will have to watch every step he takes. The determination to rise to the challenge was evident from the choice of the cabinet, which has sought to give equal representation to the three regions of Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu. But his policies and their implementation have to be equally wise. This is an altogether different ball game.
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