Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter Iltija Cries For Freedom But How Long Will Her 'Anti-India' Stance Last?

After the revocation of Article 370, Iltija Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti바카라�s daughter, was one of the first among Kashmir바카라�s political families to break the silence. A graduate in political science from Delhi University and postgraduate in international relations from Warwick University, Iltija, 33, declared in interviews and on Twitter that the average Kashmiri viewed India as an occupational force and termed statements of the Indian government vis-a-vis Kashmir a bald-faced lie. She also held forth on the 바카라�plight바카라� of former MLAs and ministers who have been detained in the MLA hostel in Srinagar. In her tweets, she described the condition of the hostel as inhuman and claimed that Sajjad Lone, chairman of J&K People바카라�s Conference, bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal, and PDP youth leader Waheed Parra were manhandled there.

바카라�I don바카라�t regret my statements. No, I don바카라�t regret anything at all,바카라� Iltija tells Outlook. 바카라�After the revocation of Article 370, I anticipated that they would arrest my mother. I even told her, but she claimed they wouldn바카라�t. I thought they would place her under house arrest, but I didn바카라�t think they would take her away. When I saw Farooq sahib breaking down on ­television during an interview, I ­became disturbed and angry. He is my grandfather바카라�s age and a giant among all Kashmiri leaders. To treat him like this is terrible.바카라�

In the week leading up to August 5, when Kashmir was flush with rumours, Iltija and her family had suspected that Article 370 would be revoked. She says Mehbooba panicked on August 2, when the government issued an order asking pilgrims and tourists to leave the state. 바카라�We realised the buildup was ­bigger and the siege was on a larger scale, but no one had imagined they would bifurcate the state바카라� she adds.

After Mehbooba was taken away, Iltija remained in their Fairview residence on Gupkar road with her grandmother. 바카라�I was a prisoner in my own house, I wanted to leave, but they didn바카라�t let me. On Eid, people tried to meet us, but they didn바카라�t allow anyone inside. They were all turned away. One day, I went to the gate and just screamed. I thought people across the gate on the road could hear me. It was very traumatic,바카라� she says.

On August 15, she wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister and leaked it to the press through her sources. After the letter was published, she was ­allowed to move out of her house. Later, on the ­orders from the Supreme Court, she met her mother, who is ­detained at Cheshmashahi sub-jail on the banks of the Dal Lake. There she discussed the necessity of using Mehbooba바카라�s Twitter account to send out messages. 바카라�I think it is an important platform. I can send out powerful messages through my mother바카라�s account,바카라� she explains.

With her Twitter foray and interviews, came threats. 바카라�I took a decision to speak out and these are the consequences. I got threats from verified ­accounts the prime minister and other ministers follow, but nothing will ­silence me,바카라� she says.

While some regard the ­arrests of mainstream leaders as 바카라�Delhi betraying its own people in the Valley바카라�, Iltija sees the situation differently: 바카라�My mother and others risked their lives so that democracy could take roots in Kashmir. Earlier, mainstream politicians would face people바카라�s anger, but now Delhi바카라�s face is visible to everyone.바카라� She believes that Delhi has ­always looked at the Kashmir problem through a security and military prism. 바카라�They never wanted to ­acknowledge it is a political problem with multiple stakeholders바카라�you need to engage everybody. The Centre keeps deploying the army and paramilitary. It creates an artificial sense of calm and then, all of sudden something happens that disrupts everything and we are back to square one. It바카라�s a vicious cycle,바카라� explains Iltija. 바카라�Blaming the mainstream for the Kashmir problem is a false narrative. Now they are building a narrative of religion, saying there is massive radicalisation and ­invoking migration of Kashmiri pandits. The issue is that the Centre has not recognised or treated Kashmir as political and human problem.바카라�

Her vociferous comments notwithstanding, Iltija insists she is neither the spokesperson of her party, nor a dynast. 바카라�My mother had told me to ask two PDP Rajya Sabha MPs to resign. I messaged them, but they didn바카라�t resign. But that was that바카라�it바카라�s not my job to interfere in party affairs. Whatever I say is my opinion; it is not necessary that my mother or her party endorses it.바카라� She emphasises that the Muftis were in power for five-and-a-half years only after being in politics for decades. 바카라�Please look at my grandfather바카라�s political trajectory. He never completed any tenure as a minister. I have no interest in politics, but ­nobody has the right to stop me from joining politics,바카라� she declares.

Many, however, regard Iltija바카라�s ­바카라�anti-India바카라� narrative as a temporary phase. 바카라�Delhi will rehabilitate ­mainstream leaders again and then, she too will make a U-turn. She ­already has started giving soft ­statements,바카라� says a former academic on condition of anonymity.