Political Parties In India

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference

Founded	11-Jun-39
Headquarters	Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Ideology	Kashmiri nationalism
	Moderate separatism
	Pro-India
	Re-unification of Kashmir

Introduction

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is one of the parties involved in politics of Jammu & Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah, who was leading the independence movement in the state in 1947, helped in the dominance of the party in various politicial movements for many years. During the time of the movement for independence, the party favoured Indian National Conference, and not the All India Muslim League, even though the party had a number of muslim leaders. The party was prominently identified with Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, its leader, who was also a close friend of Nehru and then in 1982, after his death, Farooq Abdullah, the son of Sheikh Abdullah, was the leader. Inspite of the friendship, when Nehru thought that Sheikh Abdullah might demand a separate state with independence of Kashmir, he imprisoned him. But, Sheikh Abdullah made a deal in 1975 with Indira Gandhi, according to which he was to be granted the chief ministership of Jammu Kashmir. Since then, the state has had Farooq Abdullah as chief minister from 1981 to 2002 and then from 2002 till 2009, Omar Abdullah, his son was the chief minister. Farooq Abdullah also went to become the party president in 2009.

History

The Pre-Independence Period

At the time of October, 1932, All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was founded by Sheikh Abdullah. Its name was changed to All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in 1939, June 11th and affiliation was to All India States People Conference. In 1947, Sheikh Abdullah became the president by election. It was in 1946 that a huge agitation was started in opposition to the government in the state, under National Conference, especially opposing the Maharaja, where the slogan was ‘Quit Kashmir’.

The Post-Independence Period

During the September of 1951, all of the 75 seats during the assembly elections were won by National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir. As Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah remained in power till 1953 August, when the part was dismissed on charges of conspiring against the country. After Abdullah’s arrest in August 1953, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was declared as the prime minister of the state.

During the year 1965, the party of National Conference was brought together with the Indian National Congress and it came to be known as Congress party branch of Jammu & Kashmir. Again in 1965, Sheikh Abdullah was arrested on the same charges of going against the state, till the year 1968. A splinter party known as Plebiscite Front was formed, which then took up the original name, when Abdullah came back to power in 1975, after he took up a compromising deal with the government at the centre. He led the National Conference in 1977 to win in elections for state assembly, and Sheikh Abdullah was announced as the chief minister. When he died in September 8th, 1982, his son Farooq Abdullah became the chief minister. Again in the electiosn of june 1983, the party of JKNC, with Farooq Abdullah as its leader, went for a majority win comfortably. Ghulam Mohammad Shah went separate with the party in 1984, who was the brother-in-law of Farooq and then the governor removed Farooq from the post of chief minister, under directions of the central government, bringing Ghulam Mohammad Shah into the chief minister’s seat. . in 1986, March, again the government under Ghulam Mohammad was dismissed, with imposition of president’s rule. In the elections for state assembly in 1987, the JKNC won with majority, albeit in coalition with Congress, with Farooq again becoming the chief minister. But then again in 1990, the central government dismissed the chief minister and declared president’s rule in Jammu & Kashmir. During the elections in 1996 for state assembly, Farooq led National Conference towards another comeback and won 57 out of 87 seats, while in 2002, he party could win only 28 seats. No party could gain a majority during the 2008 assembly elections, and Omar Abdullah, the son of Sheikh Abdullah led JKNC to get only 28 seats, being the party with majority of seats. After the elections were over, JKNC went for a coalition with Congress on 30th December 2008 and also got the 17 seats which this party had own. Then, Omar Abdullah was declared the Chief Minister of the government formed with coalition in 2009, 5th January.

Famous Members of the Party

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, also known as Sher-e-Kashmir, was born in 1905 on 5th December, in Soura district of Kashmir, and had his death on 8th September, 1982. He was the National Conference leader, which is the largest party in Kashmir’s politics. In the modern day J & K, he was among the most prominent figures in state politics. He was a strong oppose of Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule in Kashmir and wanted self rule in the state. He became the chief minister of the state, after it was included in India in 1947, and was twice exiled and jailed. After having an accord with Indira Gandhi in 1974, he was again the chief minister, and remained like that till 1982, 8th September when he breathed his last.

Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah was the son of Sheikh Abdullah, who was born in 1937 on 21st October in Jammu & Kashmir in Soura region and then went on to complete his doctorate in medicine. He has become the chief minister for many times, since 1982. His wife is Molly, who was a nurse with origin from England. Omar Abdullah was their son, who also has active participation in the national as well in the state politics, who is also a member of parliament as well as the current chief minister of the state.

Farooq Abdullah was elected from Jammu & Kashmir for the Rajya Sabha in 2002, for this first term and then in 2009, again went on to get reelected to this second term. He became a part of government by United Progressive Alliance in the cabinet minister rank.

Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah was born in 1970 on 10th March, who has established himself as a politician from Kashmir, active in state and national politics. He is also the scion of the Abdullah family, which is the most prominent political family of Jammu & Kashmir. He went on to become the youngest Chief Minister of any state in the north India, after his party entered into coalition on 5th January in 2009, with congress party.

He represented constituency of Srinagar in J & K for election into the 14th Lok Sabha. He was the external affairs minister of state in the union government under, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s prime ministership in the NDA government, from July 23rd of 2001 till 23rd December of 2002. Then in October 2002, he resigned to work for the party in the state.

In 1998, Omar entered into active politics, starting his career as a member of Lok Sabha, and went on getting elected for 3 consecutive terms. He also was a union minister and also took up the leadership of National Conference after his father in 2002. In 2002, state elections, he lost the seat from Ganderbal, and his party also lost elections under mandate of the people, but then after 4 years, he again fought from the same seat and won it in the elections of the state in 2008.