Mehbooba Mufti's visit to LG: Public conviction or personal convenience

Seven decades since independence, Kashmir's political power has largely remained between the two regional political parties National Conference and People’s Democratic Party spearheaded by family heirs as if it is their inheritance, paving the way for dynastic rule in Kashmir; these dynastic rulers are infamously referred to as the Muftis and the Abdullahs.

- ISRAAR SHAHID

Political power and authority in Kashmir have moved from pillar to post, where NC has been the pillar and PDP the post; these two political dynasties have manifested a narrative of regional representation while entrenching family rule, turning politics into an inheritance rather than a democratic enterprise. While both claim to have represented and worked for the aspirations of Kashmir, Kashmir and Kashmiris say otherwise, contradicting the claims of both dynastic political powers of the region; the decline in their credibility, public grudges, and resentment against them are the biggest testimonies of their fall in the political spectrum and their depleting public trust. Behind their rhetoric of political mainstreaming lies a pattern of calculated political opportunism, where loyalty to family legacy often trumps public accountability. Be it the Abdullah dynasty or the Mufti calculus, one thing is common between them, The betrayal of Representation. The NC, under the successive leadership of Sheikh Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah, and Omar Abdullah, and the PDP, under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti, did little to foster internal democracy, grassroots leadership, or institutional resilience. Instead, they built personalized political empires, aligning with Delhi when it served their interests and retreating into oppositional posturing when it did not.