Inclusive politics in an age of division

HEPolarizing narratives have dominated headlines in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) recently. Last month, the National Medical Commission had withdrawn the MBBS course from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu following protests over the fact that the majority of students qualifying through NEET were Muslims rather than Hindus. Last week, BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa described Kashmir Valley residents as “land grabbers” who were illegally occupying land in Jammu. Students took to the streets demanding that the National Law University be established in Jammu instead of Kashmir.

But amidst this noise, the stories of Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Shammi Oberio, both National Conference (NC) MPs, offer a glimpse into a less discussed story, that of J&K’s inclusive politics.

For the first time since the 1990s, none of the Abdullahs who have long ruled J&K have managed to enter Parliament in the 2024 general elections. Other important changes also occurred during the elections. Shammi Oberoi, an eloquent Sikh from Srinagar, became the first person from the community in the Kashmir Valley to enter the Rajya Sabha in 2025. His two speeches in Parliament earned him praise even from Opposition leaders in Kashmir; This is a rare gesture in today’s politics.

In the 2024 elections, Shiite cleric Sayyid Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, who comes from an influential family, also became the first person to win the parliamentary elections with a huge margin of 1.88 lakh votes. Earlier too, Kashmiri Shia leaders represented the community, but only in the Rajya Sabha. Notably, it was the majority of Sunni Muslim votes that put Mr Mahdi in the post, enabling him to represent the Kashmir Valley in the face of the dilution of Article 370 and the downgrading of J&K to Union Territory status in 2019.

Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi became the first Gujjar leader from J&K in the Lok Sabha. The only region not represented was the Chenab Valley. However, with Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo from Kishtwar winning the Rajya Sabha elections, this gap was also filled.

Representation was also the defining feature of the 2024 Assembly elections. Having increased in numbers, the 90-member J&K Assembly went to polls after a decade. It was a moment that all political parties will embrace. JKNC won 42 seats, 35 from Kashmir Valley, including two Hindu representatives, and seven from Pir Panjal and Chenab Valleys. None of them came from the Jammu plains.

The strength of the NC increased to 54 with the support of the Independents and the Congress (6 seats each) in the process of forming the government. But it wasn’t just numbers that defined governance. In a careful balancing act, the region’s smallest Cabinet consists of six members, Prime Minister Omar Abdullah from Central Kashmir; Sakeena Itto from South Kashmir; Javid Ahmad Dar from North Kashmir; Javed Rana, a Pahari from Poonch in the Pir Panjal Valley; Satish Sharma of Jammu’s Chhamb; and Surinder Kumar Choudhary from Pir Panjal Valley.

There were many firsts. Mr. Choudhary became the first Hindu Deputy Prime Minister from the Pir Panjal Valley and also the first without a coalition government. In the past, J&K had Hindu Deputy Chief Ministers only when political parties allied with the Congress or the BJP. Although not the numerical imperative, it was the imperative of inclusive policies that led the government to allocate two cabinet berths to the Pir Panjal Valley. Had Mr. Sharma not been inducted, Jammu would have been left out of this model. He became the first Independent MLA to serve as a Cabinet Minister.

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 helped define the architecture of the modern nation-state and the idea of ​​sovereign geography. But beyond sovereignty, the agreements also underlined the principles of balance of power and collective security that continue to shape democratic systems.

Voting in modern democracies does not simply mean approving or opposing a political idea; it is also about ensuring that different communities and regions are represented within this dominant framework. At a time when exclusionary policies are gaining ground everywhere, J&K’s political landscape is a reminder that inclusivity is central to the legitimacy of governance.