Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician and chairman of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister for New and Renewable Energy between 2009 and 2014. He is the father of former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah.

Farooq Abdullah
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
16 April 2017
Preceded byTariq Hameed Karra
ConstituencySrinagar
4th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
In office
8 September 1982  2 July 1984
Preceded bySheikh Abdullah
Succeeded byGhulam Mohammad Shah
In office
7 November 1986  19 January 1990
Preceded byGovernor's Rule
Succeeded byGovernor's Rule
In office
9 October 1996  18 October 2002
Preceded byPresident's Rule
Succeeded byMufti Mohammad Sayeed
President Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Assumed office
1981
Minister of New and Renewable Energy Govt of India
In office
28 May 2009  26 May 2014
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byVilas Muttemwar
Personal details
Born (1937-10-21) 21 October 1937
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), British India (present-day Jammu and Kashmir, India)
NationalityIndian
Political partyJammu & Kashmir National Conference
Spouse(s)Mollie Abdullah[1]
RelationsSachin Pilot (son-in-law)
ChildrenOmar Abdullah
Safia Abdullah
Hinna Abdullah
Sara Pilot
ResidenceGupkar Road Srinagar, Kashmir
Alma materTyndale Biscoe School

Early life and education

Farooq Abdullah was born to the veteran statesman and National Conference leader Sheikh Abdullah and Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah. He studied at Tyndale Biscoe School, and subsequently received his MBBS degree from SMS Medical College, Jaipur. He subsequently travelled to the UK to practice medicine.[2]

Family

He is married to Molly, a nurse of British origin. They have a son, Omar, and three daughters, Safia, Hinna, and Sara. Their son Omar Abdullah is also involved in state and national politics, who was a member of the Lok Sabha and was the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Sara is married to Congress politician Sachin Pilot.

Political career

Entry into politics

Abdullah was elected to the Lok Sabha unopposed [3] from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in the 1980 General Election.

Chief Minister, 1982–1984

Abdullah was a novice in the political arena of Jammu and Kashmir when he was appointed president of the National Conference in August 1981. His main qualification was that he was the son and heir of Sheikh Abdullah. After his father's death in 1982, Farooq Abdullah became the chief minister of the state. In 1984, a faction of the National conference led by his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah broke away, leading to the collapse of his government and his dismissal. Shah subsequently became the Chief Minister with the support of the Congress.

1984–1996

In 1986, G.M. Shah's government was dismissed after communal riots in South Kashmir, and a new National Conference–Congress government was sworn in with Abdullah as the chief minister, after the Rajiv-Farooq accord.

A new election was held in 1987 and the National Conference–Congress alliance won the election amid allegations of fraud. This period saw a rise in militancy in the state, with the return of trained militants in J&K and incidents that included the kidnapping of the daughter of the Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Subsequently, Farooq Abdullah resigned in protest after Jagmohan was appointed as the governor, and the state was brought under Governor's Rule.[4] He subsequently moved to the United Kingdom.[5]

Chief Minister, 1996–2002

After returning to India, and winning the Legislative Assembly elections in 1996, Abdullah was once again sworn in as chief minister of the state, his fifth time. His government lasted for a full six-year term. In 1999, the National Conference joined the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led National Democratic Alliance, and his son Omar Abdullah was subsequently appointed a union minister of state.

Subsequent political career

In the 2002 Legislative Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah was chosen to lead the National Conference, while Farooq Abdullah intended to continue his political career at the Central level. The National Conference lost the election a coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took office.

Farooq Abdullah was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 from Jammu and Kashmir and re-elected in 2009. He resigned from the Rajya Sabha in May 2009 and won a seat in the Lok Sabha from Srinagar.[6] Abdullah joined the United Progressive Alliance government as a Cabinet Minister of New and Renewable Energy.

Abdullah contested the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat again in the 2014 General Election, but was defeated by the People's Democratic Party candidate Tariq Hameed Karra. In 2017, Tariq Hameed Karra resigned from the position, leading to a by-election for the Srinagar parliamentary seat. Abdullah got 48,555 Votes and defeated PDP candidate Nazir Ahmed Khan by 10,700 Votes.[7]

On 16 September 2019, Abdullah became the first mainstream politician to be detained under the Public Safety Act. Prior to this, Abdullah was under house arrest since the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution of India.[8] He was released from house detention under the PSA after seven and a half months on 13 March 2020.[9]

References

  1. "Members : Lok Sabha".
  2. "Farooq Abdullah Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history". elections.in. 21 October 1937. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. "TitlePage-VolI_LS99.PDF" (PDF). Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. Koithara, Verghese (2004). Crafting peace in Kashmir : through a realist lens. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-7619-3262-8. OCLC 237902298.
  5. Dulat, Amarjeet Singh (2015). Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-9-3517-7066-4.
  6. "Alphabetical List Of Former Members Of Rajya Sabha Since 1952". 164.100.47.5. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  7. "Srinagar By-Election: Farooq Abdullah Beats PDP Candidate In Key Contest". Ndtv.com. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  8. "Farooq Abdullah, 83, Detained Under Tough Public Safety Act". Ndtv.com. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  9. "Farooq Abdullah's detention order revoked after seven-and-half months of captivity; 82-yr-old Srinagar MP was under house arrest". Firstpost. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Sheikh Abdullah
President of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
1981– 2002
Succeeded by
Omar Abdullah
Preceded by
Omar Abdullah
President of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
2009 – Present
Incumbent
Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah
Member of Parliament
for Srinagar

1980–1982(?)
Succeeded by
Abdul Rashid Kabuli
Preceded by
Omar Abdullah
Member of Parliament
for Srinagar

2009–2014
Succeeded by
Tariq Hameed Karra
Preceded by
Tariq Hameed Karra
Member of Parliament
for Srinagar

2017 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Sheikh Abdullah
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
1982–1984
Succeeded by
Ghulam Mohammad Shah
Preceded by
Vacant
(Governor's Rule)
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
1986–1990
Succeeded by
Vacant
(Governor's Rule)
Preceded by
Vacant
(Governor's Rule)
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
1996–2002
Succeeded by
Vacant
(Governor's Rule)
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