The Grand old man of  Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstream politics 

The Grand old man of  Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstream politics 

IANSUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 07:19 PM IST
article-image
RPT:Srinagar: People carrying the body of Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during his funeral procession, in Srinagar on Thursday. PTI Photo (PTI1_7_2016_000200B) |

Jammu/Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who died in a Delhi hospital on Thursday morning just four days shy of his 80th birthday, was a shrewd negotiator and undoubtedly one of the last of Kashmir’s old guard leaders. Mufti was also a rationalist who never lost sight of the past as well as the future. However, at a personal level, he was a generous friend who liked a game of bridge with his friends. One of the best dressed politicians in Jammu and Kashmir, his respect and reach was beyond political affiliations. Those close to him often said one never knew what was going on in his mind as he spoke. He often praised the late Sheikh Abdullah – whose political supremacy he sought to challenge at the beginning of his political career – and credited ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ for creating political awakening among the Kashmiris.

“He was a friend you could always depend on. He would ask me to visit an ailing friend of his not keeping good health. He never used people and later dumped them,” said Dr. Sushil Razdan, a renowned neurologist, of the state. One thing Sayeed never allowed was somebody taking him for granted. That perhaps was the reason he decided to tour Srinagar in sub-zero temperature on December 23 to attend official functions at 14 venues. Nobody could tell him that it was something a 79-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary distress shouldn’t be doing. He caught pneumonia the same evening and had to be airlifted to New Delhi in the state-owned plane for treatment. A chain smoker since his early days, he quit smoking after doctors put a pacemaker three years ago.

He is survived by his wife Gulshan Ara, son Mufti Tasaduq Sayeed, three daughters – Mehbooba Mufti, Mehmooda Mufti and Rubiaya Sayeed – and two granddaughters Illtija Iqbal and Irtika Iqbal. Born on January 12, 1936, to a family of ‘Peers’ who earn their livelihood by preaching and teaching religious practices and attending prayer meetings organised by locals to seek penance or as thanksgiving, Sayeed began his political career with the Congress from his south Kashmir’s Bijbehara town in Anantnag district. “I wanted to become the district president of the Congress after joining it, but the post was given to a party colleague senior to me,” he once he once told IANS.

Those were the times when the Kashmiris were in awe of the legendary Kashmiri leader and founder of the regional National Conference (NC), late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. Sayeed took upon himself the Herculean task of challenging the political writ of Sheikh. “It was something you didn’t do because Sheikh was much more than a political leader for the Kashmiris. There was an aura around the NC founder. Anybody trying to challenge his supremacy did so at his own peril,” said a friend of Mufti Sayeed. Whatever his political adversaries may say, nobody can take away the credit from Sayeed – a young man hailing from a lower middle class family in south Kashmir – for standing up to challenge the otherwise unassailable political foes who hated and loved him at the same time.

Mufti laid to rest

Bijbehara (J&K): Hundreds of people bid a tearful farewell to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who died at a hospital in Delhi today, as he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard here in Anantnag district with full state honours. Former chief ministers of the state Omar Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad were among those who attended the funeral prayers which were led by Sayeed’s trusted aide, Education Minister Naeem Akhtar. Sayeed was given a 21-gun salute and a police band played the ceremonial Last Post.

RECENT STORIES

'Vasooli Titans': Woman Cricketer Pooja Vastrakar Shares Post Mocking PM Modi, Amit Shah, Deletes It...

'Vasooli Titans': Woman Cricketer Pooja Vastrakar Shares Post Mocking PM Modi, Amit Shah, Deletes It...

Chhattisgarh Murder: Minor Girl Strangulates Boyfriend To Death After He Forces Her To Establish...

Chhattisgarh Murder: Minor Girl Strangulates Boyfriend To Death After He Forces Her To Establish...

Manaskhand Express: All You Need To Know About Special Tourist Train From Pune To Tanakpur,...

Manaskhand Express: All You Need To Know About Special Tourist Train From Pune To Tanakpur,...

Gujarat: Security Beefed Up For Union Minister Parshottam Rupala Amidst Kshatriya Community Protests

Gujarat: Security Beefed Up For Union Minister Parshottam Rupala Amidst Kshatriya Community Protests

Video: Varanasi Airport Staffer Uses Sponge Board To Prevent Luggage Damage On Conveyor Belt;...

Video: Varanasi Airport Staffer Uses Sponge Board To Prevent Luggage Damage On Conveyor Belt;...