The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
Chitralekha Zutshi on the paradoxes and contradictions that trailed the political life of one of the tallest leaders of the Kashmir Valley
or even in the 1940s it was a difficult act. He spoke in the Islamic idiom to his constituency. He was also inspired by Nehru and his socialism. And he was very uncomfortable with the Pakistan movement.
Q:Do you think Abdullah was naive or tactless as a politician at crucial points?
For someone who had been in politics for so long, rubbed shoulders with people like
Sardar Patel, Nehru, Kripalani and Jinnah, he appears naive at times. At crucial moments
A:he was in prison, and away from the scene. When two nations were being born in 1947, he was in prison. During the 1964 IndiaChina war, he was in prison, and when he came out, he held a meeting with the Chinese premier, triggering a huge controversy. Being in prison during crucial periods of history prevented him from seeing the big picture at times.
Q:Would it be correct to say that Abdullah and Nehru had false expectations of each other visavis Kashmir?
Abdullah truly believed that Nehru would stand by him, but Nehru could only do so much. Discussions between both sides led to the Delhi Agreement of 1952, but both had different hopes
A:around the globe, it has to work closely with governments. The foundation needs political allies because the work it is doing, essentially, is political in nature, trying to influence public policy at the highest levels. I think this helps explain Gates’s public displays of affection for Modi, which are becoming increasingly bizarre, like the fourhourlong promotional video last month.
Q:Do you think Gates’s philanthropy ought to pivot away from ‘silver bullet’ approaches such as vaccines, and aim toward building public health infrastructure, especially in poorer countries?
The kind of work you’re describing — public health in poor nations — is, in my view, the job of the state. We should not allow billionaires to buy a seat at the democratic decisionmaking table, even if they present themselves as well meaning philanthropists. To me, the real debate is less about how to try to make the Gates Foundation kinder or gentler or less harmful, but rather how do we reorganise society and reimagine our economy so that we don’t allow people to become this grotesquely wealthy in the first place. My book focuses on Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, but it’s really a case study for the larger problem of extreme wealth and how it threatens democracy.
A:Q:The national parties, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, have always pushed for deeper integration, seen in the policies of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi...
Absolutely. What happened to Article 370 in 2019 was the culmination in some ways of Delhi’s relationship with Kashmir and the gradual dismantling of the State’s claims. It wasn’t something that came out of the blue. It was very much along the lines of what has been happening in Kashmir since 1947.
A:Read the full interview at www.thehindu.co.in