Mufti’s son may have been wet to politics, but trust him to know the ropes. A tiger never changes his stripes. A bit of grooming by sister, who has built the party brick by brick, would help too.
|| NOMAN ZAHID
With the stalemate over the formation of the new government continues in Jammu and Kashmir, there is one name who is emerging on Kashmir’s political spectrum- Tasaduq Mufti- the youngest of the four siblings, and only son among three daughters of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, As all attention at present is over the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, , but it could be her shy brother who could emerge as the dark-horse, a real scion of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. And the family, including the current heir apparent Mehbooba, would have no problem with the sonrise. Or would there be issues? Forty-four year old Tassaduq, , is home and sticking. He hasn’t moved an inch from Fairview since his father’s death; when he did briefly on two occasions, he hand held a tearyeyed Mehbooba to Mufti’s tombstone and again to wave at supporters in Bijbehara, family’s maiden political turf.
In that sense, Tassaduq isn’t a prodigal, he is not running away anywhere. He has just met young entrepreneurs, boys and girls with start-up projects, coffee shops, boutiques, Kashmir arts, giving them tips on funding, packaging and markets. This follows a few ‘political’ ones, including the all important – the core group meet of PDP too functionaries. The acclaimed cinematographer – he won an award for Omkara- remains very passionate about environment and the need to protect Kashmir’s tourist resorts. In a family outing to Pahalgam last summer, he rued the widespread construction at the health resort. “Don’t get surprised if he gives you 10 ideas about solid waste management or how to keep the Dal lake clean. It has been high on his priority list,” says one of his old friends. That way he has been his father’s son. Those virtues come not only through DNA but also on-field experience. Many of his media projects in fact have been on sensitising people about environment conservation and scientific disposal of waste. But it isn’t environment that the family and party are talking right now.
Political expediency and not choice has ensured that. Speculations are rife that Tassaduq would be fielded from Anantnag, if at all Mehbooba makes up her mind to become the first Muslim chief minister of the country.
Whether Mehbooba takes oath as Chief minister in next few weeks or not, the party weight could eventually fall on Tassaduq if not now but in the next 10 years. At 56, Mehbooba is getting no younger. She would be experienced enough but would require people – and those she can trust – to run its day-to-day affairs. Mufti’s son may have been wet to politics, but trust him to know the ropes. A tiger never changes his stripes. A bit of grooming by sister, who has built the party brick by brick, would help too. Political expediency and not choice has ensured that. Speculations are rife that Tassaduq would be fielded from Anantnag, if at all Mehbooba makes up her mind to become the first Muslim chief minister of the country.
Even if she won’t, Tassaduq has arrived. He is here. The spotlight may be on Mehbooba’s next move, but make no mistake, Tassaduq is the man of the house. He is no longer the kid he was many years ago. A pampered child fed on Tintin comics and movies watched on vintage VCR, Tassaduq was a good student, a bit shy, innovative but restless could be the thirst to explore beyond the routine and politics. He would evince interest in sport too, his passion hockey. Those who know him closely say he was nicknamed Nikki or Nixon perhaps after the popular American President. Senior Mufti always had a keen eye for talent and great retention. Doting dad made sure he got the pick-and-drop from his Tulsibagh government quarter to school though the son detested the ‘old battered ambassador’.
The girls would have to manage often in public transport. When Mufti was the union home minister, his youngest daughter Rubiya was brought down from a private matador and abducted while coming back from medical college by JKLF militants. Simply put, the boy was born with a silver spoon in mouth. In his friend circle, Tassaduq would never throw his weight around for being the son of a famous father. The outbreak of militancy during his formative years perhaps weighed heavy on young Tasaduq. It was then the family shifted to Delhi, around the same time when Mufti was tourism minister first and Union home minister later. College done in capital, he started the FORE – Film Oriented and Related Expressions, a media outlet that churned out promotional capsules and short films on social themes and environment. In between, he studied cinematography in US, returned to shoot for Omkara…
