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July 2, 1984: Dismissal of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
BY: JAGMOHAN
Time to Speak
The publications of this letter had an electrifying effect. Almost all other leading newspapers published its contents in the form of a news story. A number of people, including my erstwhile critics, recognized the force of my arguments, and started talking about the other side of the picture. They pressed me to come out with all the details. But I did not want to get into controversies while holding office. My reply was: 'For everything there is a time-a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.' Now, I think, is the time to speak, and speak clearly and comprehensively, dealing with al the insinuations, innuendoes and points of criticism, including those relating to the replacement of B.K. Nehru by me.
Appointment
On March 25, 1984, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique announced my appointment as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Different interests reacted in different ways. I was myself caught in two minds-happy at being elevated to Governorship and unhappy at the prospect of leaving Delhi in the service of which I found a great deal of creative satisfaction and whose poetry, pain and pathos had occupied a special corner in my heart. The people of Delhi, too, had generally identified me with the life and development of the city and were somewhat dismayed. In its lead story of the day, The Times of India correctly described the mood. It said:
"Many in Delhi will miss Lt. Governor Jagmohan who will himself miss Delhi, his first love. He has served Delhi for long-for seven years as the chairman of the DDA and two terms as the Lt. Governor of Delhi and of Goa, Daman and Diu. During all these challenging years he built for himself the reputation of being a man who gets things done in the face of heavy odds. He appeared to take his assignment in Srinagar in his characteristic spirit that a job worth doing is worth doing well. He is the only civil servant who, is recent times, has left an indelible mark in the life and landscape of the capital."
The Hindustan Times editorial of March 28, 1984, commented:
"Jagmohan is not a politician although he is conversant with nuances of politics. He has a mind of his own and that is precisely the reason why a few Congress-I leaders in the Union Territory are happy at his departure."
In its editorial of the same day, the Patriot said:
"The threat from across the border is no more a 'figment of imagination' of India, as General Zia-il-Huq would like the world to believe. The morale of the people in Jammu & Kashmir is the first line of defence and this must not be allowed to become weak due to indecisiveness of confusion. Under the given circumstances Jagmohan with his well-known administrative efficiency shown in his handling of the affairs of Delhi, cutting through bureaucratic red tapism, eminently fits the requirements of that office in Srinagar."
The editorial comments of The Times of India of March 28 were:
"It would appear that the Prime Minister feels that in the country's troubled security environment which inevitably impinges on Jammu & Kashmir and the revival of pro-secessionist elements there, the State needs a Governor with a more activist temperament. In that she has made a good choice. Jagmohan us a doer. In the circumstances of Jammu & Kashmir, his role cannot realistically be merely titular. Dr. Farooq would himself recognize this to be the case."
"While it remains to be seen whether the former Lt. Governor of Delhi will be ready to break with his predecessor's principled precedent and oblige the KPCC (I) at Dr. Farooq Abdullah's expense, Congressman are entitled to entertain high hopes of his cooperation. After all, Mrs. Gandhi was sufficiently impressed to promote him immediately after being re-elected in 1980, and later to recall him to Delhi's Raj Niwas in time for Asiad."
One Urdu newspaper humorously remarked that people had been commenting that, after extraordinary hard work connected with CHOGM, ASIAD and NAM, Jagmohan was being sent to recoup his health in Kashmir and also make in the process Dr. Farooq Abdullah more healthy.
Insinuations
The insinuation of some politicians and political commentators that I was being sent to Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's "overall designs" in the State somewhat saddened me. I, therefore, told the Prime Minister's office that, if the idea was to assign higher responsibilities to me, as had been mentioned to me, I could be sent to Punjab-a posting which, in my opinion, involved higher responsibilities than those concerning Kashmir. I was politely told that, whereas the Prime Minister was appreciative of the gesture, she was not willing to accede to my request partly because I was a Punjabi and partly because she thought Kashmir was equally important. She believed that it was of crucial importance to ensure that Jammu and Kashmir did not become another thorn in the soft flesh of India.
Briefing
When I called upon Mrs. Gandhi, she was at pains to emphasis that there were strong forces, both within and outside the country, which were bent upon 'encircling' India and creating permanent headache for her in Punjab, Kashmir, North-East and in Tamil Nadu-Sri Lanka area. She spoke about the recent happenings in Kashmir and commented briefly about the various parties and personalities involved. She thought that B.K. Nehru had become rather old, and certain forces of destabilisation were taking full advantage of the fact. About Dr. Farooq Abdullah, she was both bitter and light-hearted. She talked of his boyish, inconsistent and erratic ways. She thought that he was under the influence of some crafty men and, whenever it suited him, he would whip up communal and parochial emotions and promote 'hate-Centre' feelings. She was particularly worried about his extraordinary friendship with Sikh fundamentalists in Punjab.
Presumably it was at her instance that M.K. Rasgotra, the then Foreign Secretary, invited me for a cup of tea at his house and briefed me about the possible developments around the Indian border, particularly in regard to Kashmir's border with China and Pakistan. Our position regard to the Siachen Glacier was explained in detail.
After four days of the announcement of the appointments and transfers, B.K. Nehru came to Delhi. He invited me to have breakfast with him at the Kashmir House in New Delhi. Earlier I had met him twice.
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