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Omar Abdullah

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Omar Abdullah[a] (born 10 March 1970) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the chief minister of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He had previously served as the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir between 2009 and 2014, and is the current vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, a position he has held since 2009. Abdullah also served as a member of parliament in the Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2009, representing the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, and was a union minister of State for External Affairs.

Omar Abdullah
Abdullah at Goa Arts & Literary Festival 2012
1st Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 October 2024[1]
Lieutenant GovernorManoj Sinha
DeputySurinder Kumar Choudhary
Preceded byPresident's rule[a]
8th Chief Minister of the State of Jammu & Kashmir
In office
5 January 2009 – 8 January 2015
GovernorNarinder Nath Vohra
DeputyTara Chand
Preceded byGovernor's rule[b]
Succeeded byGovernor's rule[c]
Union Minister of State
In office
13 October 1999 – 23 December 2002
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
1999 – 2001Commerce and Industry
2001 – 2002External Affairs
Roles in Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
2008 – 2014Member from Ganderbal
2015 – 2018Leader of the Opposition
2014 – 2018Member from Beerwah
2024 – 2024Member from Budgam
2024 – presentMember from Ganderbal
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
10 March 1998 – 18 May 2009
Preceded byGhulam Mohammad Mir Magami
Succeeded byFarooq Abdullah
ConstituencySrinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Vice President of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 January 2009
PresidentFarooq Abdullah
Preceded byposition established
Personal details
Born (1970-03-10) 10 March 1970 (age 54)
Rochford, Essex, England
Political partyJammu and Kashmir National Conference
Spouse
Payal Nath
​
​
(m. 1994; div. 2011)​
Children2
Parent(s)Farooq Abdullah (father)
Mollie Abdullah (mother)
Residence40, Gupkar Road, Srinagar
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
  1. ^ Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Assembly was dissolved in 2018 followed by the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, which made the state into a UT and elections conducted in 2024.
  2. ^ Gulam Nabi Azad as Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
  3. ^ Mufti Mohammad Sayed as Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The son of former Jammu and Kashmir state chief minister Farooq Abdullah, he joined politics in 1998 after being elected as the youngest member of the Lok Sabha, a feat he repeated in subsequent three elections. He was the union minister of State for External Affairs in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government, from 23 July 2001 to 23 December 2002. He resigned from NDA government in October 2002 to concentrate on party work.[2] During this time, he took a larger role in state politics. However, his party faced defeat in the 2002 state elections. However, him and his party were later elected in the 2008 state elections.[3]

He became the youngest, and 11th chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after forming a government in coalition with the Indian National Congress, on 5 January 2009.[4][5] He would serve in that position until 2015, after being defeated in the 2014 state elections. He was the last leader of opposition in the erstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, serving as an MLA from Beerwah constituency, before the assembly was dissolved in 2018 and the state of Jammu & Kashmir ceased to exist as on 6 August 2019 and became a union territory following the revocation of Article 370, which Abdullah fiercely opposed.

Following being arrested and detained in 2020, Abdullah returned to politics first in the 2024 Indian general election, where he was defeated for a seat. Despite initially refusing to run for a seat, Abdullah was elected as an MLA following the 2024 union territory elections, being elected the first chief minister of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in alliance with the INDIA bloc. He took office in October 2024.

Personal life

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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 and former Chief Minister of J&K. All three men have held the position of Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.[6] His mother, Mollie, an Englishwoman and a nurse by profession, has said that she was not in favor of him joining politics.[7] He studied at the Burn Hall School located at Sonwar Bagh, Srinagar and then at Lawrence School, Sanawar.[8] He is a B.Com. graduate of Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.[9] He was employed with ITC Limited and The Oberoi Group till the age of 29 before entering politics.[10][11] He did commence an MBA with the University of Strathclyde, however due his election to the Lok Sabha, he dropped out from the course.[12]

He is married to Payal Nath[13][14][15] She is the daughter of a retired army officer, Ram Nath.[16] In September 2011, Omar confirmed that he and his wife have separated.[17][18][19] His younger sister, Sara, was married to Sachin Pilot, son of Rajesh Pilot whose divorced news has come recently.[20]

He had a role in director Apoorva Lakhia’s film, Mission Istanbul (2008) playing himself.[21][22]

Political career

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In 1998, at the age of 28, Omar Abdullah was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha, 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 (2nd term as a Member of Parliament).[citation needed] 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.[2]

On 23 June 2002, he became the President of the National Conference party, replacing his father, Farooq Abdullah.[23] He lost his Ganderbal seat in the Kashmir assembly elections held in September–October 2002.[24] Abdullah was re-elected as the National Conference party's president in 2006.

In March 2006, much to the disapproval of the centre[25] 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,[26] which was praised and won him fans on the internet.[27][28] "I am a Muslim and I am an Indian, and I see no distinction between the two. I don't know why should I fear the nuclear deal. It is a deal between two countries which, I hope, will become two equals in the future. The enemies of Indian Muslims are not America or deals like these. The enemies are the same as the enemies of all those who are poor—poverty, hunger, lack of development and the absence of a voice".[29] On 6 February 2020 the government of India booked him under the Public Safety Act (PSA) which was revoked on 24 March 2020.[30]

Mr. Abdullah has been appointed a member of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at its Mumbai convention on 1 September 2023.[31][32] The coordination committee will decide the national agenda, common campaign issues and common program of the country's main opposition alliance (I.N.D.I.A.).

In the 2024 Lok Sabha Election Omar Abdullah was defeated by Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid.[33][34] In run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Omar Abdullah showed unwillingness to go for a seat sharing agreement with other political parties under the INDIA alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, and insisted on NC contesting all seats in Kashmir region.[35][36]He won both of his assembly seats from Budgam Assembly constituency and Ganderbal Assembly constituency and later withdrew his Budgam seat and retained Ganderbal seat.[37]

Chief Ministership

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For more, see First Omar Abdullah ministry.

After the 2008 Kashmir Elections, the National Conference won the largest 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.[38]

In 2009, Omar Abdullah was accused of covering up the rape and murder of two young women in Shopian.[39] Many regarded this as Abdullah's first failure, as even moderates felt Abdullah had bowed to pressure from New Delhi.[40]

For more, see Second Omar Abdullah ministry.

At the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Abdullah's Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and its allies alliance secured 49 seats allowing him to be nominated to be the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.[41][42] Omar Abdullah met with the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, on 11 October was sworn in as Chief Minister on 16 October 2024.[43]

Detention

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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, which gave the state of Jammu & Kashmir semi-autonomous powers.[45]

After the expiry of the six-month detention without any charges, Abdullah was again charged and detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) which was later revoked on 24 March 2020.[46]

"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.[47][48][49][50]

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.[51]

The petition also includes a habeas corpus for Abdullah to be produced before the Supreme Court.[52]

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.[53][54]

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.[55][56]

On 24 March 2020, Omar Abdullah was released from detention.[57] Following his release, he demanded other people held under detention be released as well.[57]

References

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  1. ^ "Omar Abdullah To Take Oath As Jammu And Kashmir Chief Minister On October 16". Zee News.
  2. ^ a b "Omar Abdullah resigns from Union Cabinet". rediff.com. 14 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  3. ^ Omar Abdullah not just another political scion CNN-IBN, 5 Jan 2009.
  4. ^ Omar Abdullah takes oath as youngest J&K chief minister Archived 30 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine NDTV, Monday, 5 January 2009 2:01 PM.
  5. ^ Omar Abdullah to be sworn in as J&K CM today Times of India, 5 January 2009.
  6. ^ Omar Abdullah www.the-south-asian.com, November, 2001
  7. ^ NEWSMAKER: Omar Abdullah Business Standard, New Delhi, 2 January 2009.
  8. ^ "CEC, Omar Abdullah attend Sanawar school celebrations". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009.
  9. ^ "Members : Lok Sabha". Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  10. ^ Nelson, Dean (26 October 2013). "The only way is Kashmir for Essex boy ruling world's most volatile state". The Telegraph. Srinagar.
  11. ^ Bhandare, Namita (9 January 2009). "Omar Abdullah: a new son over the valley". Live Mint.
  12. ^ "Living on his own terms". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  13. ^ "After 17 years, Omar Abdullah, wife part for good". DNA India. 15 February 2011.
  14. ^ Raina, Muzaffar (15 September 2011). "Omar confirms split from wife". The Telegraph (Kolkata).
  15. ^ Ganai, Naseer (16 September 2011). "Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announces separation from wife Payal Nath". India Today.
  16. ^ "In pics: The Omar and Payal Abdullah years". News18. 27 February 2015.
  17. ^ Nairita (15 September 2011). "JK CM Omar Abdullah confirms Divorce but not Marriage". News Oneindia. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Omar Abdullah divorcing wife after 17 years". The Times of India. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Omar Abdullah divorcing wife after 17 years". Indian Express. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah 'divorced', reveals poll affidavit". The Week. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Apoorva gets lookalikes!". The Times of India. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
  22. ^ "Director Apoorva Lakhia on Mission Istanbul". Rediff.com. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  23. ^ Omar Abdullah–Profile Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia, by Peter Lyon. Published by ABC-CLIO, 2008. ISBN 1-57607-712-8. Page 1.
  24. ^ "Omar loses Ganderbal, NC prepares to sit in Opposition". ExpressIndia.com. 10 October 2002. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  25. ^ "Omar Abdullah's visit to Pakistan". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  26. ^ Give us a voice, says NC’s Omar Abdullah, floors House with own Archived 4 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Indian Express, 23 July 2008.
  27. ^ Omar Abdullah wins many fans on YouTube Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine News, 24 July 2008.
  28. ^ Omar Abdullah to go Kalam way on internet Live Mint, 5 January 2009.
  29. ^ 22 July 2008, Lok Sabha Give us a voice, says NC’s Omar Abdullah, floors House with own Indian Express, 23 July 2008.
  30. ^ "MLA Beerwah, Omar Abdullah during his visit to Beerwah on Wednesday". 29 July 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  31. ^ "Opposition alliance named 'INDIA', 11-member coordination committee to decide on all important issues". The Times of India. 19 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  32. ^ Singh, Mritunjay (September 2023). "Sharad Pawar, Tejashwi, Raghav Chadha Named In I.N.D.I.A's 13-Member Coordination Panel". ABP Live. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  33. ^ "2024 Election Results for Jammu and Kashmir". Bru Times News.
  34. ^ "Jammu and Kashmir Election Results 2024 Highlights: National Conference, BJP win two seats each". The Hindu. 4 June 2024.
  35. ^ "NC will go solo in Lok Sabha elections, says Farooq; Omar later clarifies remark". Hindustan Times. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Omar Abdullah clarifies: National Conference in talks with Cong for three Lok Sabha seats, is part of INDIA bloc". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Omar Abdullah Retains Ganderbal Assembly Seat, Resigns from Budgam Segment". Greater Kashmir. 21 October 2024.
  38. ^ Kashmir pins hopes on young, energetic Omar Abdullah The Hindu, Tuesday, 6 January 2009: 1515 Hrs.
  39. ^ By Altaf Hussain (7 July 2009). "Another woman 'killed' in Kashmir". BBC News, Srinagar. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  40. ^ S Murari (22 June 2009). "Kashmir in turmoil over suspected rape and murder". Asiantribune.com. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  41. ^ "Omar Abdullah to be CM of Jammu and Kashmir as NC alliance crosses halfway mark". The South First. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Omar Abdullah to become new Jammu and Kashmir CM". www.india.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  43. ^ "NC-Congress alliance stakes claim to form govt; Omar Abdullah likely to take oath on Oct 16". The Tribune.
  44. ^ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/j-k-chief-minister-omar-abdullah-meets-pm-narendra-modi-in-delhi-6864545/amp/1
  45. ^ Bhat, Sunil (5 December 2019). "NC demands immediate release of Farooq and Omar Abdullah". India Today. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  46. ^ Masoodi, Nazir (7 February 2020). "Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti Charged Under Public Safety Act". NDTV. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  47. ^ Masoodi, Nazir (9 February 2020). "Omar Abdullah's Twitter Clout Behind Tough New Charge: Government Dossier". NDTV. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  48. ^ Raina, Muzaffar (10 February 2020). "Charge: Omar got voters to defy boycotts". The Telegraph (Kolkata). Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  49. ^ Masood, Bashaarat (10 February 2020). "PSA file indicts Omar Abdullah for getting people to vote, refers to Mehbooba Mufti as 'Daddy's girl'". Indian Express. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  50. ^ Ashiq, Peerzada (10 February 2020). "Omar Abdullah used politics to cover his radical ideology: Public Safety Act dossier". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  51. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (10 February 2020). "Omar Abdullah's sister moves SC challenging his detention under PSA". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  52. ^ "Omar Abdullah's Sister Files Petition in Supreme Court Against His Detention Under PSA". The Wire. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  53. ^ Emmanuel, Meera (10 February 2020). "[Breaking] Detention of Omar Abdullah under Public Safety Act challenged in Supreme Court by sister, Sara Pilot". BarandBench.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  54. ^ "Omar Abdullah's sister moves SC challenging his detention under PSA". Livemint. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  55. ^ "J-K leader Shah Faesal booked under Public Safety Act". NDTV. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  56. ^ Krishnan, Murali (14 February 2020). "Supreme Court issues notice to Jammu and Kashmir to respond to Sara Abdullah's plea challenging brother Omar's detention". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  57. ^ a b Ashiq, Peerzada (24 March 2020). "Omar Abdullah calls for immediate release of others in preventive detention". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  1. ^ Urdu: عمر عبداللہ; pronunciationⓘ
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Lok Sabha
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Srinagar
1998–2009 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
2009–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
2024– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Vice President of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
2009– 		Incumbent
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