Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called on the President on 20th August and declared in front of the whole media that 'Kashmir unrest is a political issue [ news link ]. Given that his political opponent Ms. Mufti is the current chief minister and has very viciously managed to play her 'separatist' politics while teaming with the 'nationalist' BJP might definitely have irked him. The Abdullah's (Omar and his father Farookh), while have been as political but have never been able to do what Mufti has achieved. When the Senior Abdullah was in alliance with NDA-I led by Atal Behari Vajpayi, his stand on Kashmir's 'separation' had softened a lot; same as Omar's position while he was in a 'loose understanding' with the UPA-II led by the Congress. To be fair, the Abdullah's have been consistent with the Indira-Sheikh accord in their stance; the accord was agreed by Sheikh Abdullah's, Farookh's father and Oma
What does Bangladesh crisis, general election results in Kashmir, and regional politics in India have in common?
Photo courtesy - Reuters Bangladesh is undergoing a political crisis at the moment - the Prime Minister Sheikh Haseena, who was re-elected in an election which was boycotted by the main opposition party, has abdicated her position and the military has moved in to take reigns of the government. While the immediate development is clearly a jolt to democracy in Bangladesh, it hints towards a significant shift in the political landscape across South Asia, particularly in the Indian subcontinent. The ouster of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, the declining dominance of the National Conference party led by the Abdullah dynasty in Jammu and Kashmir, and the loss of power by the Congress party in India, all point to a common trend: the fall of dynastic politics and the emergence of leaders from non-elite backgrounds. Historically, during the British Raj, royals from princely states colluded with the British crown for continuance of the Raj and their own kingdoms, while oppressing their own popula