National Conference should learn from history: Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi
In the second episode of The Kashmir Notebook, senior journalist and host Gowhar Geelani speaks to Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, a senior National Conference leader and an outspoken voice from Kashmir.
Ruhullah speaks with unflinching honesty about the growing sense of mistrust among Kashmiris, the disconnect between election-time promises and his party's political conduct, abrogation of Article 370, restoration of statehood, and how mainstream politics is again at risk of alienating the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He calls out his own party for failing to allow a resolution or discussion on the Waqf Act in the Assembly and voices his disappointment at the absence of a strong response to the abrogation of Article 370.
He also responds to revelations from former RAW chief A.S. Dulat's new book and addresses pressures from his constituency about balancing long-term struggles like statehood and autonomy with everyday governance.
Since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in 2019, the Kashmir Valley has witnessed widespread disillusionment. In the recent State Assembly election, the National Conference secured a public mandate on the plank of dignity, assured rights to the citizens, and a pledge to restore statehood, but contradictions in party conduct, especially around the Waqf Act, are now raising questions of credibility.
Gowhar Geelani is a senior journalist and author of Kashmir: Rage and Reason.
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