NEW DELHI: Satyapal Malik, a former governor of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, passed away on Tuesday following prolonged illness. He was 79.

He died, ironically, on the anniversary of the day in 2019 of suspension of civil liberties and break-up of the held state after Prime Minister Narendra Modi contrived a parliamentary vote to abrogate its autonomous status. 

Malik would later regret his role in the pain inflicted on the Kashmiri people and accused the opposition of missing opportunities to unite to remove Mr Modi from power.

With Malik as governor, the government of India revoked on Aug 5, 2019, the special status, or autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian constitution to occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In an interview, he contested Delhi’s account on 2019 Pulwama attack

Malik’s tenure in Srinagar from Aug 2018 to Oct 2019, was arguably the most defining period of his career. It coincided with two seismic events: the Pulwama attack in Feb 2019 which claimed the lives of 40 paramilitary soldiers, and the abrogation of Article 370 in Aug 2019.

Pulwama attack

In an explosive April 2023 interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Malik revealed shocking details about the Pulwama attack, alleging that Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had instructed him to remain silent about security lapses that contributed to the tragedy.

He claimed that the Central Reserve Police Force had requested aircraft to transport personnel, but it was denied by the Home Ministry under Rajnath Singh, forcing a large convoy to travel by road — a decision Malik called a “grave intelligence failure”.

He further alleged that a car carrying 300 kilograms of RDX explosives roamed undetected in the held state for 10 to 12 days, underscoring systemic incompetence. The former governor’s revelations painted a damning picture of the government’s response, accusing Modi of shifting blame to Pakistan for electoral gains.

“I realised that this entire onus is going to be put on Pakistan, so it’s better to be quiet on the subject now,” he told Thapar.

His candidness sparked widespread controversy, cementing his image as a whistleblower unafraid to challenge the highest echelons of power.

Satyapal Malik’s political career was marked by willingness to challenge the status quo. In 1984, he joined the Congress but resigned in 1987 over the Bofors scandal, co-founding the Jan Morcha, which later merged with the Janata Dal.

His election to the Lok Sabha from Aligarh in 1989 on a Janata Dal ticket solidified his reputation as a formidable politician. However, his 1996 Lok Sabha bid from Aligarh on a Samajwadi Party ticket was unsuccessful.

His appointment as governor of Bihar in 2017 marked the beginning of a series of gubernatorial roles, including Odisha (additional charge in 2018), Jammu and Kashmir (2018–2019), Goa (2019–2020), and Meghalaya (2020–2022). Each tenure was marked by his outspokenness, putting him at odds with New Delhi.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2025