Haseeb Drabu: The Treasurer
A nationally recognized economist who was actually re-discovered for his home state by the previous coalition government, Dr Haseeb A Drabu has remained the chief architect of the fiscal architecture that J&K has right now. Even though resigning as economic adviser after change of guard, upgrading or downgrading his legacy in planning and fiscal affairs is still a huge challenge for the two oldies who run state’s finance ministry. But Drabu’s real contribution to the state is the way he changed traditional practice of mopping up deposits from the state and investing those elsewhere in the country. In over three years of his leadership, J&K Bank has invested over Rs 8,000 crores in the state. This is changing the profile of people at the gross root level while fetching the bank the best of the profits in a recession hit era. He would continue to wield that influence, both within and outside the government, as custodian of over Rs. 30,000 crores of public money that makes the Bank much richer that its owner the state government. Even though out of the civil secretariat, Drabu can still influence the vital economic decisions of the government.
Faceless Kashmiri: The Victim
He is not the warrior, he is the victim. He is defenceless but not powerless. He is the only person who can face the militants without a weapon in his hand. Had he got the leadership to chanalize his power, Kashmir would not have come to such a pass. His real source of power is his endurance in the face of adversity. Like elsewhere in the world, he may have his political affiliations; he may be a Sher or a Bukra or even a Gouga (as Bakhshi’s followers were called). But underline all these distinctions there is one commitment that binds him – his ethno-nationalism. His ideology is his ethnicity. That is sacrosanct. Recall the Moi-e-Muqadas (holy relic) agitation in 1963 and Ragda Ragda of 2008. People power on both occasions was demonstrated when they perceived that there was an assault on their ethnicity. A relic restored, land reclaimed and elements of ethnicity protected. Within weeks the faceless Kashmiri gave a full exhibition of electoral power as he came out and voted in relatively large numbers across the state. This time the wrath was directed mainly towards the style of secessionist leadership.
