Farooq Abdullah and the predicament of Kashmir

ON THE ONE HAND, FAROOQ ABDULLAH WANTS TO REACH OUT TO NEW DELHI BUT THE RESPONSE IS LESS THAN FULSOME. ON THE OTHER, HIS OWN PEOPLE ARE NOT CONVINCED OF WHAT HE'S ATTEMPTING. INSTEAD OF FULL SUPPORT, HE OFTEN FACES THEIR WRATH

- Karan Thapar

It is the strangest of paradoxes that Amarjit Singh Dulat's book, The Chief Minister and The Spy, should have so deeply offended Farooq Abdullah. Described in the preface as "my story of my knowledge of Farooq Abdullah," the book was written with his support. "We spoke about it umpteen times," Dulat writes. "'Karo na,' he said. (Go ahead)."

The truth is the book is a paean of praise. It first claims: "I have come to believe that Farooq is the National Conference. It is difficult to imagine what would remain of the NC if Farooq was not around."

But it goes further. "I'd come to realise...that Doctor Sahib was not just a Chief Minister. He was Kashmir." In interviews, Dulat said Farooq is greater than his father, Sheikh Abdullah, and "probably the tallest leader in the country today." That's exaggerated praise but Dulat means every word of it.