news details |
|
|
| The man of the hour | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 30: At 38, the National Conference president Omar Abdullah breaks the record of his father Dr Farooq Abdullah by becoming youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir but he is not youngest yet in the country to reach highest position in any state.
With Omar donning the mettle, he becomes the third generation Abdullah to hold guard of state after his father Dr Farooq Abdullah and Grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Farooq had become Chief Minister first time in 1982 at the age of 45, youngest till then.
Born on March 10, 1970, Omar becomes the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir but not first in India. Present Defence Minister AK Antony was made a record by becoming youngest Chief Minister of any state in the country. He had taken over as Kerala Chief Minister in 1977 at the age of 37. Later, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta become Assam Chief Minister at the age of 31 in 1985 and Madhu Koda was sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister at 33 in 2006. His predecessor Arjun Munda was also in the age bracket of 30 to 40 years.
The eldest son of Molly and Farooq Abdullah, Omar inherited the political legacy from his father and grand father Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah; Early on he studied at the Burn Hall School Srinagar. He later studied at the exclusive institution, The Lawrence School, Sonawar. He is an alumnus of prestigious Sydenham College, Mumbai.
In 1998, Omar Abdullah was elected to 12th Lok Sabha. In 1998-99, he was Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Tourism. He was the youngest Minister at the age of 29. In 1999, he was re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (2nd term). On October 13, 1999 he took oath as Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry. On July 22, 2001, he was made Union Minister of State, External Affairs. Omar was re-elected as President of National Conference for a second term in 2006.
In March 2006, much to the disapproval of the centre, Omar Abdullah had a one-on-one meeting with Pakistan President, Pervez Musharaf in Islamabad. This was the first meeting of its kind between a mainstream politician from Kashmir and the Pakistani government thereby re-enforcing Omar's growing commitment to the solution of the Kashmir issue, no matter what the stakes might be; Omar received a rousing reception by thousands of Kashmir's upon his return from there.
On July 9, 2007, Omar escaped a bid on his life when suspected militants threw two rifle grenades targeted at him. The incident happened when Omar was interacting with party workers at a party leader's house.
On July 22, 2008, Omar gave a passionate speech during the Trust vote. His speech was praised by almost all quarters, and even won him fans on the net. A net savvy politician Omar also ran a blog on the official website of the party. Though he could not sustain it for long owing to severe criticism from various quarters.
A handsomely looking Omar was also seen on the silver screen. He was seen briefly, playing himself in director, Apoorva Lakhia's film, Mission Istanbul (2008), based on international terrorism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
