After the assembly elections, the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav had even sought to lead the coalition by insisting for the chief minister’s post to his party first. Only after dangers inherent in political marginalization 0f the valley dawned to him that he relented. The BJP was in no position to seek revision of terms and Mehbooba had her own assessment. She showed no hurry thus made the BJP leadership nervous to accept her terms.

Her taking over as the chief minister is a new feather in the Indian cap and it can proudly tell that India is a much more modern society than the West tends to believe. Mehbooba is not the first Muslim woman to head the state government. Anwara Taimur had done so in Assam. Dr. Najma Heptullah managed the most turbulent Upper House for 16 long years and saw through seven prime ministers as the deputy chairman. However she reached the pinnacle of her political career by winning the election of the Inter Parliamentary Union to become its chair person. However significance on Mehbooba taking over is that she has done so with support of the party with reputation as a male dominant political institutions. She has again proved that Indian women can dictate their terms when they rise in power corridors on their own. Jaylalithaa as Amma, Mamta Bannerji famed as didi and Mayavati as bahenji have had their offices at their terms. Now one more Baji as Mehbooba often called has added to the count of women politicians who fought the male domination not only in their state but also in the country.

The women began to assert their right since 1969 when Indira Gandhi took up fight with the right wingers in her party in order to protect her position. However she emerged as the tall leader after the Indian electorate certified so with a massive mandate to her against opposition of the consolidated all right and left wingers in the 1971 elections. She consolidated her position after the decisive victory even in war with Pakistan that ended up in fragmentation of Pakistan in two nations.

The concept of political morality was different in her lexicon. She did not resign after her defeat in the Party Parliamentary Board over selection of the candidate for presidential election in July 1969. Instead she ensured defeat of the official candidate. Instead of stepping down from the office after her election to the Lok Sabha was declared illegal in June 1975, she used constitutional leverage to impose emergency, a step bordering on end of democracy. However after 21 months she restored democracy by holding the elections even when defeat was staring her in her face. Despite pressures from various quarters, she refused to cancel elections.

She remains condemned for resorting to emergency rule to retain her position but not appreciated for restoring democracy even in the face of defeat and in spite of fights with her son Sanjay Gandhi who insisted on no elections. Nor is she praised for for inviting her own death with Operation Blue Star to end the Sikh insurgency in June 1984.It was courageous action for a person who knew the Indian history.

Jaylalithaa has also suffered similar political humiliations with denial of her right to succeed MG Ramchandra, the main who brought her to politics. She had to wait for failure and dispersal of her opponents within her party to take over. But her rivals outside were not of forgiving nature. She had to suffer physical attacks and even judicial processes that culminated in her imprisonment. She sprang out of persecutions to head the government again. Sword is still kept hanging over her head with investigations into disproportionate assets.

Mayavati was ridiculed for her attire. Not a word for her steps that delivered social justice to larger number of the Dalit families in her state. A Dalit woman can get her minimum wage by walking into police station with her complaint against non-payment. In her regime a Dalit youth could stand in the village square to call for Tilak Tarajoo or talwar, inko maaro jute char. It may sound to be a prescription of violence. But it was more of imparting courage to a Dalit young to regain his ego.

Mamta Bannerji, young woman emerging from a lower middle class family with her strict code of personal austerity had to struggle for nearly 25 years against the left parties. She had to suffer every kind of personal abuse but finally found her way into reducing the left parties to dust by proving that they did not deliver anything substantial except high platitudes.

Sucheta Kripalani, Shashikala Bandodkar, Anwara Taimur or Anandiben Patel do not fall in same category of women politicians as four other women did. They did not have to earn names as mercurial, volatile or unpredictable politicians. However these women politicians have proved that they can match their wits to outwit their male detractors as easily. All four women had to dehumanize themselves and overlook their roles as women. The Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even Pakistan have had women as heads of their governments but none had to play similar roles that four women politicians of India have had to. Mehbooba holds a potential of becoming a powerful woman politician her patience for wearing out her detractors and supporters provides enough indication.

The Indian sub continent has thus established that it is far advanced and modern society than the West. They cannot ferret out examples that can be compared to women politicians of India. Elevation of Mehbooba in the Kashmir power politics and that too on her own terms is a matter for rejoicing by Indians as they celebrate one more year of their being the Republicans.