00:00 Outlook brings to you excerpts from its latest issue titled "Farewell Ideology".
00:06 India's tryst with ideology has been more complex than the West's.
00:10 We have caste and region, language and socialism.
00:14 All these are forces in their own right.
00:17 In different times and in different contexts within our country, one has trumped the other.
00:23 Outlook's latest issue looks at some of the regional and national political parties
00:28 and the shifts in their ideological stance as they strive to navigate political power,
00:33 coalition politics and opportunism.
00:36 It is a reminder for us and for them about what they stood for once, lest we forget.
00:43 The Political Aroma of Vazwan by Nasir Ganai from Outlook
00:48 At a rare feast organized for the local journalist at the NC headquarters,
00:52 Omar Abdullah was optimistic about the resurgence of political discourse in Jammu and Kashmir.
00:58 Conventionally, a tarami holds centre stage at an elaborate Vazwan feast.
01:03 It's a big, shiny copper dish heaped with fragrant rice, topped with spinach cooked in spices,
01:09 Kashmiri seekh kebab and lamb in plum sauce.
01:13 Ritualistically speaking, yes, it was the tarami that was the object of focus recently
01:19 at the Nawai Subh National Conference Party's headquarters near Srinagar's Zero Bridge,
01:25 the venue for former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's rare but sumptuous Vazwan feast for local journalists.
01:32 But at this particular Vazwan, what also shared the limelight apart from the tarami
01:38 was signs of resurgence of political discourse in Jammu and Kashmir,
01:42 which had faded into the backdrop ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
01:49 After serving journalist in attendance, Abdullah elaborated on his party's stance ahead of the general elections,
01:56 particularly the Rajouri Anant Nag seat.
01:59 He highlighted the Congress Party's reluctance to allocate it to the People's Democratic Party
02:04 as a part of the India's Alliance seat-sharing in Jammu and Kashmir.
02:09 Abdullah, however, expressed confidence in winning the polls
02:13 and reiterated the government's hesitance to hold assembly elections.
02:17 Now let's rewind to October 2004,
02:20 when a 16-member delegation of the South Asian Free Media Association,
02:25 comprising journalists and activists, visited Jammu and Kashmir as part of a government-guided trip.
02:32 The visit was aimed at fostering understanding and confidence-building measures.
02:37 The then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Saeed, NC leader Abdullah,
02:41 and Kashmiri separatists hosted the delegation.
02:45 Abdullah addressed the delegation at the Nawaz Subh,
02:48 explaining his party's stance on autonomy and taking questions from journalists,
02:53 while reiterating that internal autonomy is the solution to the Kashmir issue.
02:58 Additionally, he hosted the Pakistani guests to a Wazwan feast.
03:03 For this and more, read the latest issue of Outlook.
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