Mehbooba Mufti Sayed (Kashmiri: محبوبہ مفتی سید)(Urdu: محبوبہ مفتی سید) (born 22 May 1959) is an Indian politician and leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP), who served as the 9th and last chief minister of the erstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir from 4 April 2016 to 19 June 2018. She was the first female chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. After the revocation of Article 370 of the constitution in August 2019, Mufti was detained without any charges at first and later under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act.[2]
Mehbooba Mufti Sayed | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mufti in 2022 | |
| President of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office January 2009 | |
| 9th Chief Minister of the state of Jammu & Kashmir | |
| In office 4 April 2016 – 19 June 2018 | |
| Governor | Narinder Nath Vohra Satyapal Malik |
| Preceded by | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed |
| Succeeded by | Governors rule Omar Abdullah (UT) |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 2014–2016 | |
| Preceded by | Mirza Mehboob Beg |
| Succeeded by | Hasnain Masoodi |
| Constituency | Anantnag |
| In office 16 May 2004 – 16 May 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Ali Muhammad Naik |
| Succeeded by | Mirza Mehboob Beg |
| Vice-chair of People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration | |
| In office 20 October 2020 – 2024 | |
| Chair | Farooq Abdullah |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 May 1959 Bijbehara, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Political party | Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Javed Iqbal Shah[1] |
| Children | Iltija Mufti, Irtiqa Mufti |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of Kashmir |
Mufti is the first woman to hold the office of chief minister in the Jammu and Kashmir.[3] She formed a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir jointly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She resigned in June 2018 after the BJP withdrew from the coalition.[4]
Mufti was the president of the PDP and was a member of the Indian parliament, representing Anantnag in the 16th Lok Sabha before she was sworn in as the chief minister of the Jammu and Kashmir. She also represented Anantnag in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004–09)[5] and has also been a Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Early life
editShe is the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Gulshan Ara,[6] born in 1959 in Akhran Nowpora, J&K, India. She graduated in English literature from Government College for Women in Jammu,[7] and has a law degree from the University of Kashmir.[8][9] Post 1989, she shifted to N. Delhi and joined the Bombay Mercantile Bank, after which she worked with East West Airlines, before moving back to J&K. Her ex-husband is a political analyst, an animal-rights activist, and was briefly with National Conference party.[1] She has two daughters, Iltija and Irtiqa.[10]
Political career
editWhen elections for the state assembly were held in 1996, Mehbooba became one of the most popular members elected from Bijbehara on an Indian National Congress ticket.[11] Her father had returned to the Congress, which he had left in 1987, angry at the alliance that party had formed with its traditional rival in the state, the National Conference.[12] She later served as the leader of the opposition in the assembly, taking on the government of chief minister Farooq Abdullah with asperity.[13]
She resigned her assembly seat and went on to contest the parliamentary elections in 1999 from Srinagar, where she lost to incumbent member Omar Abdullah. She won the Pahalgam seat in the state assembly from South Kashmir, defeating Rafi Ahmed Mir, when assembly elections were held again in 2002. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Anantnag seat in 2004 and 2014.[11] She defeated Mirza Mehboob Beg who was the incumbent MP in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
After her father's death in January 2016, when he was heading the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, she took forward the same alliance with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the second time the BJP and the PDP formed a government in Jammu and Kashmir.[14][15][16] On 4 April 2016, she took the oath and became the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
On 25 June 2016, she won an Assembly seat in a by-election in Anantnag with the highest margin in any recent elections there and thereafter focussed on settling of Rohingyas.[17]
On 19 June 2018, she resigned as chief minister of Kashmir.[18] Her government had been an alliance between the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP, but there was a rift in the alliance in February 2018, when two BJP ministers expressed public support for a man who was alleged to have raped and killed an eight-year-old girl in Kathua District.[18] The BJP's National General Secretary, Ram Madhav, announced the end of the alliance between the BJP and the PDP,[18] and said that it was because of the deteriorating security situation.[18][19] Mehbooba and the state government had tried suspending security operations for Ramadan, but the militants had not reciprocated,[19] and 30 people were killed during the ceasefire.[18] So the BJP withdrew from the alliance with the PDP so that the Indian government could get tough with the militants.[19] When the alliance between the PDP and the BJP ended, Mehbooba resigned as chief minister.[18] Mehbooba said "the muscular policy will not work in Kashmir".[18]
She contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag seat but lost it to Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference,[20] and later also lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Anantanag - Rajouri seat to Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi of National Conference [1] with 2.3 lakh votes.
Detention
editOn 5 August 2019, she was detained by the Central government.[2] Her daughter Iltija Mufti took over her mother's Twitter account on the 46th day of detention.[21] In November, Iltija Mufti wrote a letter to the Srinagar Deputy Commissioner to shift her mother to a place better equipped for the valley's winter.[22]
In February 2020 she was further detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act.[23] She was released on 13 October 2020.[24]
On 25 November 2020, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti was detained by Jammu and Kashmir Police and was not allowed to visit South Kashmir's Pulwama to meet the family of senior PDP leader Waheed Para, who was arrested by the National Investigating Agency earlier that week.[citation needed]
Mufti said that her daughter Iltija Mufti has also been placed under house arrest.[25][26]
See also
edit- Mehbooba Mufti ministry (2016–2018)
References
edit- ^ a b "Insider tears into Muftis and family party". Telegraph India. 2 March 2016.
- ^ a b Haq, Shuja-ul; Wani, Ashraf (15 November 2019). "After daughter's appeal, Mehbooba Mufti shifted to warmer location in Srinagar". India Today. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Mehbooba is J-K's first woman CM and India's 16th". Hindustan Times. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ Masoodi, Nazir and Tikku, Aloke (19 June 2018). "Dumped By BJP, Mehbooba Mufti Says Muscular Policy Won't Work In Kashmir". ndtv.com.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mufti, Mehbooba (1 March 2019). "Why is GoI so uncomfortable with Jamaat e Islami?..." Twitter. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ Gulshan Ara hugs her daughter Mehbooba Mufti after the oath ceremony at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday. -Excelsior/Rakesh – Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. Dailyexcelsior.com. Retrieved on 28 August 2019.
- ^ Raina, Anil (11 April 2016). "The queen of the valley". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ Mehbooba Mufti (JKPDP):Constituency – Anantnag (Jammu & Kashmir) – Affidavit Information of Candidate. Myneta.info. Retrieved on 28 August 2019.
- ^ Waldman, Amy (12 October 2002). "A new face signals political change in embattled Kashmir". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mehbooba Mufti: Profile, Husband and Family". ipious.blogspot.in.
- ^ a b "Mehbooba Mufti: Age, Biography, Education, Husband, Caste, Net Worth & More". www.oneindia.com. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "The life and career of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed". India Today. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Mehbooba Mufti re-elected as PDP's chief unopposed for sixth term in a row". The Indian Express. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Mehbooba Mufti sworn in as Jammu & Kashmir's first woman chief minister. Times of India (3 April 2016)
- ^ Mehbooba Mufti takes over Jammu & Kashmir reins. Indianexpress.com (4 April 2016). Retrieved on 2019-08-28.
- ^ Mehbooba Mufti To Take Oath As Chief Minister. Ndtv.com (31 March 2016). Retrieved on 2019-08-28.
- ^ Mehbooba Mufti wins Anantnag by elections by 12 thousand votes. Jagran.com (25 June 2016). Retrieved on 2019-08-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fareed, Rifat (19 June 2018). "Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti resigns after BJP withdraws support". al Jazeera.
- ^ a b c Jha, Prashant; Uttam, Kumar (21 June 2018). "Why BJP pulled the plug on PDP: Rainbow alliances are short lived, says Ram Madhav". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Mehbooba Mufti". CNBCTV18. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter Takes Over Her Twitter Account". NDTV. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Shift my mother to place equipped for winter: Mehbooba Mufti's daughter". India Today. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "Some Words Used In Mehbooba Mufti Dossier Were Avoidable: J&K Top Cop". NDTV. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ Masood, Bashaarat (14 October 2020). "Mehbooba released, says 'will take back what Delhi snatched'". indianexpress.com. Indian Express. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Mehbooba Mufti Alleges Detained Again, Daughter Under House Arrest".
- ^ "Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti, daughter allegedly put under house arrest". 27 November 2020.
External links
edit- Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
- State Assembly hall security remove opposition People's Democratic Party
- Jolly, Asit (15 May 2017). "Mehbooba Mufti under Siege. Can She Stem the Rot?". India Today. pp. 30–38. ("Buffeted by Insurgency and Dissent within Her Party, She Needs All the Help She Can Get from a Reluctant Centre.") indiatoday.intoday.on 4 May 2017