Who is Mufti Mohammad Sayeed?

As the nation remembers the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, veterans in the political

field remember him as a great leader and a great negotiator in the Kashmir issue. Here is a brief account of his life till date.

Birth and politics

Born on January 12, 1936 in Bijbehara, he was the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He also served as the chief minister from Nov 2, 2002 to Nov 2, 2005. He also held office of the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

In July 1999, he founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party to "perusade the Government of India to initiate an unconditional dialogue with Kashmiris for resolution of the Kashmir problem."

He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on March 1, 2015, for the second time and served in that position until his death on Jan 7, 2016.

Affiliations

Sayeed was a member of the Indian National Congress party until 1987. He is said to have brought about the downfall of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference government, which was led by Farooq Abdullah in 1984. He, however, quit the Congress party in 1987 and joined V.P Singh's Jan Morcha.

Thus, he became the first Muslim Minister of Home Affairs in the Union Cabinet of India in 1989.