Tassaduq Hussain Mufti: His father's son

In most Indian political families, the son is considered heir to the father’s political legacy. In the case of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, late founder of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Jammu & Kashmir, and state chief minister, it was not so. Mehbooba Mufti, his daughter, plunged into politics although Sayeed had a son, Tassaduq. 

A cinematographer, Tassaduq made his first recent public appearance on January 10 last year, in his hometown of Bijbehara, lending emotional support to his elder sister when she broke down at the grave of her father.  At the time, there were many concerns. Would Mehbooba take up the chief ministership after her father and, if so, would she vacate her Lok Sabha seat of Anantnag, to contest the Assembly seat her father had held? That is what happened. The Anantnag parliamentary seat has been vacant since Mehbooba, after long cogitation, resigned to become CM and contested her father’s vacant assembly seat.

The question was who should fill it? Things in the PDP are not exactly hunky-dory. In September, leader Tariq Hamid Karra quit not only the party but his Lok Sabha seat (Srinagar). That was the height of the upheavals in the valley and things seemed to be slipping out of Mehbooba’s grasp. Both seats have been vacant since then. This month, Tassaduq announced he was relocating to his home state. Presumably, he will contest one of the two seats and we will see him in Parliament for the rest of the Lok Sabha’s tenure.

Tassaduq is a creative being. He left Kashmir in 1989 when 18 to study cinematography in America and then returned to earn a living in Mumbai. “I went to college and got busy but I always missed home. I would come to see my family regularly. Now, I am back; I will be spending a lot of time in Kashmir. So, in a way, my return hasn’t happened in one go, it has happened over a period of time,” he told an interviewer. 

In 2006, Tassaduq worked as a cinematographer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s film, Omkara, which earned him a place Bollywood. Since then, he has had a foot in Mumbai and a toe in Srinagar. 

He returned to Kashmir for an extended period while on the ‘Incredible India’ tourist promotion campaign. “It is around that time that I felt a strong urge to get involved and help in whatever little way I could. I would walk around Shah-e-Hamadan Sahib and wonder what would happen. There is such a rich heritage, wealth of architecture and so much history around that it would pain one to see how the city (Srinagar) was crumbling. Delhi is one of the worst polluted cities in the world. We are headed that way. We should learn from Bogota (Colombia), where a mayor radically changed the situation. Whatever I saw (in Kashmir) was a sad reflection on what we have become. This is why I got involved. I am a cinematographer and I look at things my own way. I also belong to a political family. I am aware that I am Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s son and whatever I do will have political overtones. I am not escaping that. But, there are things I am trying to do that could contribute to a positive change,” he said.

Tassaduq’s concerns are cultural and ecological. He has set up a trust, Aarasta, funded by some friends and himself. It addresses ecology and waste management. But, he seemed to be wary of jumping into full-time politics. Now, in the service of his sister, he seems likely to contest the Ananatnag seat and raise the voice of Kashmir in the Lok Sabha.