The Collaborator's Dark Lens

The journey of a militant turned Ikhwani counter-insurgent) turned mainstream politician

- Ubeer Naqushbandi

AS the sun rises over the Harmukh mountains in Bandipora, a cavalcade of cars arrives at the shrine of legendary Sufi saint Aham Sharief. A man in a white pathan suit wearing dark glasses steps out of his Pajero and enters the shrine. When he emerges, he zooms off to the block office at Bandipora main town. The crowd there goes ecstatic, chanting, “Teri jaan, meri jaan... Bandipora ki shaan, Usman, Usman”.

It is Usman Majeed’s nomination filing day for the Bandipora seat where he is contesting the assembly election as an Independent. He has won from Bandipora twice and earned voters’ trust by keeping most of his campaign promises of revitalising the region’s economy and providing infrastructure development. On the campaign trail, he stresses that Bandipora will reach “new heights of development” under his leadership. This is Majeed’s sixth electoral contest. The former militant turned Ikhwani (counter-insurgent) turned politician’s first electoral foray was in 1996 as a candidate of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami League, founded by counterinsurgent leader Kuka Parray. Majeed first became an MLA in 2002 as an Independent from Bandipora, and bagged the seat again in 2014 as a Congress candidate. He was also a Minister of State in the Congress-PDP J&K government in 2006.