Frankly speaking, I am not  going to assess the performance of the Omar Abdullah government over the past two years. It is quite unfair to judge a government that is not even half as empowered as the governments  I have seen since late 1970s. 

A government in Jammu and Kashmir was never a complete one, because it was always sought to be guided by forces other than those elected to govern. This has been true since the times of Sheikh Abdullah, even when he was regarded as the supreme leader and the state enjoyed the full autonomy that his descendants are yearning for today. Had the governments in J&K been given the authority to govern, Sheikh Abdullah would not have been deposed in 1953. Historians have the right to ask: if his government was dismissed for harbouring secessionist thoughts, why was he brought back to power? 

Congress owes this answer to the nation.Fast forward  this to 2026: as  Omar Abdullah the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory is about to complete two years in office in a couple of days, the complexities have multiplied. Today is the time to analyze things since October 8, 2024—the day the results of the Assembly polls made it clear that the National Conference, along with its allies, had won a majority of seats. Yet, it took eight days for his swearing-in ceremony. This is a rare period in the history of Jammu and Kashmir—not just because there are two overlapping centers of authority ordained by the UT status, but because of the kind of political, social, and cultural narratives it has engendered.

It felt like........

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