People's Princess and the Nowhere Prince
Many a fortress fell from the result box of J&K's Election 2002 - the fortress of Abdullah arrogance, the rule of apathy and, most importantly, the needle of mass suspicion against Delhi's perceived manipulative ways. No longer is there popular reason for Central Government-bashing and people, though very grudgingly, have come to accept that this time round, honesty of intention was not such a lonely word after all. This free and fair election has not only put to rest the ghost of 1987 which gave rise to a misguided missile called Salahuddin, but also achieved the difficult task of institutionalising the concept of elections in a region as thickly sceptical of Indian fairplay as the Amazonian rain forests. On a more popular level, the 2002 round proved that even paradise has to fall in line with the paramount law of nature - the law of change. And it was this change that swept away the dynasty's son Omar Abdullah, who lost by 3000 votes from Ganderbal, a defeat t