On his sleeve

Every time Kashmir is plunged into turmoil,the state can count on its chief minister to feel for it. Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah has mastered the anguished brow,the injured voice,the impassioned plea,even tears. So when violence broke out in Baramulla on Tuesday and a youth was reported to have been killed in firing by security forces,the CM did not disappoint. Speaking in the Jamp;K assembly the same day,Abdullah broke down,even as he vowed to seek answers and repeated his objections to AFSPA. Later,he offered to step down if it could bring a person back to life. Over the years,Abdullah seems to have cultivated almost a permanent air of earnestness under fire.

Abdullahs outburst comes towards the end of a difficult month for Kashmir,which has seen popular resentment being expressed against the hanging of Afzal Guru. The CM joined the people of the state in expressing anger and sadness,and foretold a resurgence of militancy. Abdullah may only be channelling popular sentiments,but his job is not just to reflect them,but also to address them,and to lead. His eloquence is not matched by measures on the ground. Every tense situation is greeted with the now familiar curfew and clamping down on information channels. Earlier,Abdullah had rashly promised to have AFSPA removed from the state by 2011 and was then forced to hedge on it. Meanwhile,a state police bill drafted by his own government appears to give the police discretionary and administrative powers of the kind afforded to the army under AFSPA.

Amid growing popular scepticism about the state government,Abdullah seems to have resorted to escalating expressions of grief and outrage. But the politics of emotion has its limits.