Iltija Mufti on Dynastic Politics, Life After Article 370 Abrogation, and Creating Narratives in Kashmir

Following the repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, Mehbooba Mufti, the party president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has emerged as a powerful voice. Iltija Mufti says she will do everything she can to support her mother in this endeavor.

Iltija disputes the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) assertion that she is another dynast, asserting that both her mother Mehbooba and her grandfather Mufti Mohammad Sayeed held the position of Chief Minister of J&K for no longer than five years, and that “if you look at Ms. Mufti’s career trajectory, she is not the quintessential dynast handed things on a silver platter.”

Iltija describes her story since 2019, stating that “by a stroke of luck, our Wi-Fi was still functional despite a ruthless communication crackdown” for a few hours after her mother’s incarceration on August 5, 2019. The Narendra Modi administration repealed Article 370, which gave J&K its unique status, on August 5, 2019. Additionally, the state was divided into two Union Territories (UTs) by the Modi administration.

“From that point on, I talked to the media because they were having a hard time understanding the reality in Kashmir immediately after the illegitimate repeal of Article 370. That led to my taking up Ms. Mufti’s handle. I thought it was critical to shed light on what was truly happening for the people of J&K, who were all at once degraded and rendered powerless, says Iltija.

Iltija claims that Mehbooba advised her from utilizing her social media on her behalf in 2020, while her mother was being held in detention. Iltija was selected by PDP on August 30 to serve as the Party President’s media advisor. Since taking over Mehbooba’s social media accounts in 2019, Iltija, according to the PDP, has established herself as a prominent voice and a vehement opponent of the Indian government’s decision to “illegally abrogate Article 370 at a time when J&K’s mainstream leaders were put behind bars.”

Iltija emphasizes the importance of the media, saying that four years after Article 370 was repealed, “we have seen how, even after demonizing the mainstream, the Government of India prevents mainstream parties from carrying out their duties by routinely placing them under house arrest.”

The media is one of the few places remaining where political leaders from J&K may draw attention to and explain the predicament of the common people in such trying times. Despite the fact that this place is also congested, Iltija argues that it is crucial for portraying the genuine conditions in Jammu and Kashmir.

Four years after the repeal of Article 370, according to Iltija, the people of J&K are still experiencing communal suffering.

The facts are there for you to see, she argues. The rate of unemployment has increased to the highest in India for a state that was among the top five in terms of development metrics. Even the simplest of our fundamental rights, like the freedom of expression, are nevertheless routinely violated without consequence. They claim that all Kashmiris have equal rights, but in reality, we do not. Despite the Government of India’s assertions that J&K has been effectively integrated into the nation, we are refused even something as basic and easy as a passport. What kind of integration paradigm is this, where you insist that Kashmiris are just as Indian as everyone else while purposefully making even their freedom to travel a crime? On the one side, you assert their Indianness, yet you withhold something so fundamental from them? It is blatant hypocrisy.

Iltija had to go to court after originally being refused a passport. She pursued the matter in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, and in April of this year, the Srinagar passport office gave her a conditional passport. She was given a conditional passport on the understanding that she would be continuing her education overseas. The Regional Passport Office in Srinagar gave her a normal passport on Friday after she filed an appeal against the issuing of the conditional passport.

According to lltija, “for a state riven by conflict for decades, its political mainstream’s middle path is deliberately being vilified.” Iltija argues that eliminating all opportunities for nonviolent protest and the middle ground would only make things worse.

Iltija was referred to as another dynast by the BJP shortly after her appointment. The PDP’s selection of Iltija was described by the BJP as “usual dynastic politics practice.” Iltija asserts that the BJP, however, creates false narratives in each state and then uses “a predominantly pliable media” to spread those narratives.

“In J&K, family rule has been blamed for every state problem. For a combined total of barely more than five years, Mufti Sahab (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) and Ms. Mufti (Mehbooba Mufti) both held the position of Chief Minister. In 2002, Mufti Sahab’s first term as CM is still seen as having had a healing effect and giving people a much-needed feeling of security and dignity. If you also consider Ms. Mufti’s professional path, you will see that she is not the stereotypical dynast who receives everything on a silver platter. She put forth a lot of effort to build a party from scratch that eventually became a regional power. Unfortunately, this story is BJP propaganda that is spread constantly around the nation, according to Iltija.

Iltija has a political science degree from the University of Delhi and a postgraduate degree in international relations from the University of Warwick in England.
expressing about the PDP, Iltija claims that expressing the truth came at a high price when Article 370 was repealed, from the time it first emerged as the only party in J&K in 2014 to its current predicament where the majority of its top officials have switched parties.

“Everyone is aware that Delhi ordered the PDP to divide. Several agencies in this country collaborated to pressurize PDP leaders in order to carry out their filthy task. They apparently made the instinctive decision to choose their own survival when given the unpleasant option of quitting PDP or withering in prison, which is a fundamental human impulse. Even still, Ms. Mufti has established herself as a powerful voice that won’t be muffled, and this has plainly unsettled Delhi. I’m here to provide support to that voice in whatever manner I can, declares Iltija.