One development that Rajiv Gandhi was keen to bring about was an end to the political squabbling and brinkmanship that had dogged the state...
One development that Rajiv Gandhi was keen to bring about was an end to the political squabbling and brinkmanship that had dogged the state of Jammu and Kashmir since Partition in 1947. He also had a personal reason for wishing to do so. The Nehrus originally hailed from Kashmir and, though the family had settled in Allahabad for the last few generations, the roots still tugged at the offshoots. Rajiv’s grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, had an abiding fascination with Kashmir, whose tallest leader Sheikh Abdullah was also his good friend. Indira Gandhi had also been similarly inclined.
Both Nehru and Indira, during their innings in power, had gone out of their way to appease Sheikh Abdullah by accommodating his demands for special status to the state. They had hoped the “nationalist” Sheikh would ensure the seamless integration of the region into mainstream polity. But on each occasion, their expectation had been belied. First Nehru, and then Indira, had to extern the Lion of Kashmir from his den to contain his anti-Centre tirade.
The family relationship though had persisted in fits and starts. Rajiv and Farooq had virtually grown up together. Whenever the Nehru–Gandhi family was in Kashmir, whether on vacation or a short tour, the...
