Policy in mourning

The death of J N Dixit leaves a yawning policy,  planning and implementation void in theatres as different as Jammu and Kashmir and the factious Union home ministry

Shamim Meraj Srinagar

The sudden demise of National Security Advisor J N Dixit may have been mourned by Delhi and Islamabad alike but Dixit had also won over a few hearts in Kashmir. The biggest setback from Dixit's death has probably come to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Sources close to the Mufti say it was Dixit who had convinced Congress President Sonia Gandhi to let the Mufti's Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) run an alliance government in the state after the 2002 Assembly elections. Dixit had apparently also told Sonia that it would be best for J&K and the Congress party to let the Mufti rule the state for a full six-year term rather than making him to relinquish office in favour of the coalition partner, the Congress. According to the poll agreement, a PDP leader was to hold the office of chief minister for the first three years of the six-year term and then hand the mantle over to the Congress.

Dixit's role had become even more important for the Mufti as the state Congress had already started spreading the word that they would under no circumstances let the PDP lead the alliance government after the completion of the first three years. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Peerzada Mohammad Syed, had made it clear that the PDP should honour the agreement. Under these circumstances, the Mufti was relying heavily on Dixit for an outside chance to continue for six years. The PDP's term expires in November this year. There have already

been rumours that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad may have succumbed to inside pressure to take over from the Mufti in November 2005. That will be a tough choice for Azad, as going to Kashmir would mean losing proximity with 10 Janpath, while not going would annoy state Congress leaders who are waiting with bated breath for November to arrive.

To add to Mufti's worries, the Centre has once again initiated the "autonomy issue". It is worth mentioning that the opposition National Conference (NC) considers the autonomy issue as something they have exclusive rights to. The PDP will try hard to make sure the NC does not take the credit.

As far as relations with Pakistan are concerned, "things were never better", to put it in the words of a senior home ministry official. "Dixit had gone way ahead of anything we had imagined," he says. People close to Dixit swear that India and Pakistan had agreed in principle to grant autonomy to both sides of Kashmir and these "secret" negotiations were held up over a slight issue of two Jammu districts.

"He did not want the media to come to any whimsical conclusion," says a close associate of Dixit. With the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Opposition, any possible solution to the Kashmir problem could be termed a sell-out.

It is also believed that it was, once again, Dixit who supported Sonia Gandhi's decision not to become the prime minister after leading the Congress to victory at the 2004 Assembly elections.

Insiders say that in his quest to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Valley, Dixit had already initiated discussions on the issue of returning the remains of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front  founder Mohammad Maqbool Butt, who was buried in the premises of Tihar Jail after his execution. Pakistan foreign secretary Tariq Aziz's frequent visits to India in recent months can also be seen in this context of secrecy.

Dixit's death has not only affected mainstream politicians but also separatists. Sources inside the All-Party Hurriyat Conference Kashmir's main separatist amalgam, say discussions were going on between the Centre and the Hurriyat although at a very discreet and unofficial level. "It was a good beginning. Things had just begun to warm a little," said a Hurriyat leader who did not want to be named.

Many feel Dixit's death may have weakened the home ministry as well. Considering the all-too-evident shortcomings of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, it is widely believed that it was Dixit who was actually calling the shots there. With crucial phases of dialogue being initiated in Kashmir as well as in the Northeast, his absence has already created a desperate void.

According to a former editor of a national daily, "With as weak a home minister as Patil, the home department had started functioning like an autonomous body. With Dixit no longer around, things might well go out of hand."