Omar Abdullah (; born 10 March 1970) is an
Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
He became the 11th and the youngest
Chief Minister of the State of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
, after forming a government in coalition with the
Congress party, on 5 January 2009.
[Omar Abdullah takes oath as youngest J&K chief minister](_blank)
'' NDTV, Monday, 5 January 2009 2:01 PM.''
He was the last Leader of opposition in the erstwhile state
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Vidhan Sabha is the legislature of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved by the Governor on 21 N ...
(Member of the Legislative Assembly from Beerwah constituency of Budgam district) before the assembly was dissolved in 2018 and the state of Jammu & Kashmir ceased to exist as on 6 August 2019. On 6 February 2020 the Government of India booked him under the Public Safety Act (PSA) which was revoked on 24 March 2020.
He was a member of
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nationa ...
, representing
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
constituency of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
, India. He was the Union
Minister of State for External affairs in
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
's
NDA government, from 23 July 2001 to 23 December 2002. He resigned from
NDA government in October 2002 to concentrate on party work.
Omar joined politics in 1998, as a
Lok Sabha member, a feat he repeated in subsequent three elections and also remained the Union minister; he took on the mantle of National Conference from his father in 2002, though lost his own seat of
Ganderbal during the 2002 state assembly elections, and so did his party, the political mandate; four years later, he contested once again from the same seat and won in the
2008 Kashmir State Elections.
[Omar Abdullah not just another political scion]
'' CNN-IBN, 5 Jan 2009.
Personal life
Omar Abdullah was born on 10 March 1970 in
Rochford, Essex, United Kingdom. He is a grandson of
Sheikh Abdullah, and the only son of
Farooq Abdullah, a physician. All three men have held the position of
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. His mother, Mollie, an
Englishwoman
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
and a nurse by profession, has said that she was not in favor of him joining politics. He studied at the
Burn Hall School
“In Toil We Flourish”
, city = Srinagar Jammu and KashmirIndia
, coordinates =
, type = Missionary
, established = (originally in 1942)
, founder = Fat ...
located at
Sonwar Bagh,
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
and then at
Lawrence School, Sanawar. He is a B.Com. graduate of
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. He was employed with
ITC Limited and
The Oberoi Group till the age of 29 before entering politics. He did commence an MBA with the
University of Strathclyde, however due his election to the Lok Sabha, he dropped out from the course.
He married Payal Nath from Delhi. She is the daughter of a retired army officer, Ram Nath. In September 2011, Omar confirmed that he and his wife have separated.
His younger sister, Sara Pilot, is married to
Sachin Pilot, son of
Rajesh Pilot
Squadron Leader Rajeshwar Prasad Bidhuri (10 February 1945 – 11 June 2000), also known as Rajesh Pilot () was an Indian politician, a minister in the Government of India and a former Indian Air Force officer. He belonged to the Indian Nati ...
.
He had a role in director
Apoorva Lakhia’s film, ''
Mission Istanbul
''Mission Istanbul'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film starring Vivek Oberoi, Shriya Saran and Zayed Khan. The film, directed by Apoorva Lakhia, features Abhishek Bachchan in a special appearance.
The film is based on an org ...
'' (2008) playing himself.
Political career
In 1998, at the age of 28, Omar Abdullah was elected to the
12th Lok Sabha
This is the list of members of the 12th Lok Sabha, (10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999) after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that d ...
, becoming the youngest member. In 1998–99, he was a member of both the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism's Consultative Committee. In 1999, he was elected to
13th Lok Sabha
The 13th Lok Sabha (10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004) is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha (House of the People, or lower house in the Parliament of India). It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–Oc ...
(2nd term as a Member of Parliament). On 13 October 1999, he took oath as
Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry. On 22 July 2001, he became the youngest Union Minister, when he was made Union
Minister of State for External Affairs. He resigned from the post on 23 December 2002, to concentrate on party work.
On 23 June 2002, he became the President of the
National Conference party, replacing his father, Farooq Abdullah.
[Omar Abdullah–Profile](_blank)
''Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia'', by Peter Lyon. Published by ABC-CLIO, 2008. . ''Page 1.'' He lost his Ganderbal seat in the Kashmir assembly elections held in September–October 2002.
Abdullah was re-elected as the National Conference party's president in 2006.
In March 2006, much to the disapproval of the centre Omar Abdullah had a one-on-one meeting with Pakistan's president,
Pervez Musharraf, in
Islamabad. This was the first meeting of its kind between a mainstream politician from Jammu & Kashmir and the Pakistani government, thereby re-enforcing Omar's growing commitment to the solution of the Jammu & Kashmir cause.
On 22 July 2008, Omar gave a speech during the
2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the governing alliance in India elected in 2004, faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) on 22 July 2008 after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front ...
,
[Give us a voice, says NC’s Omar Abdullah, floors House with own](_blank)
'' Indian Express'', 23 July 2008. which was praised and won him fans on the internet.
After the
2008 Kashmir Elections, the
National Conference won the maximum number of seats, and formed a coalition government with the
Congress party, and Omar was sworn in as the 11th
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 January 2009 at the General Zoravar Singh Auditorium in the
University of Jammu,
Jammu, raising hope amongst the people of Jammu and Kashmir who had been reeling under
insurgency and violence caused by cross border terrorism since 1989.
In 2009, Omar Abdullah was accused of covering up the
rape and murder of two young women in
Shopian, which was allegedly perpetrated by
Indian Paramilitary Forces.
Many regarded this as Abdullah's first failure, as even moderates felt Abdullah had bowed to pressure from New Delhi.
Detention
On the intervening night of 4 and 5 August 2019, Omar Abdullah was placed under preventive detention by the Indian Government under Section 107 of the CRPC. This came as a backdrop to the government's decision of scrapping
Article 370 of the Constitution of India
Article 370 of the Indian constitution
gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pak ...
, which gave the state of Jammu & Kashmir semi-autonomous powers.
After the expiry of the six-month detention without any charges, Abdullah has been freshly charged and detained under the
Public Safety Act
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) is a preventive detention law under which a person is taken into custody to prevent them from acting harmfully against "the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order" in the ...
(PSA) which has been revoked on 24 March 2020.
"The capacity of the subject to influence people for any cause can be gauged from the fact that he was able to convince his electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during peak of militancy and poll boycotts," the government dossier continues.
Abdullah's sister, Sara Abdullah Pilot has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging Abdullah's detention calling it "wholly antithetical to a democratic polity and undermines the Indian Constitution" and asking that the SC secure Abdullah's release.
The petition also includes a habeas corpus for Abdullah to be produced before the Supreme Court.
On 10 February 2020 Senior advocate
Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner Sara Abdullah Pilot, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana.
On 14 February 2020 the Supreme Court issued notice to the Jammu & Kashmir administration and set the next date of hearing as 2 March 2020.
On 24 March 2020 Omar Abdullah was released from detention.
Following his release, he demanded other people held under detention be released as well.
References
External links
Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Omar
1970 births
Living people
People from Rochford
University of Mumbai alumni
Alumni of the University of Strathclyde
India MPs 1999–2004
India MPs 2004–2009
Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmiri people
Indian people of English descent
Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni
Omar
India MPs 1998–1999
Lok Sabha members from Jammu and Kashmir
Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council
Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2014–2018
Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2008–2014
Chief ministers from Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference politicians
Prisoners and detainees of India