Satya Pal Malik, the last Governor of Jammu and Kashmir before it was stripped of its statehood and special status in 2019, passed away in Delhi at the age of 79, following a prolonged kidney-related illness.
Coincidentally, he died on 5 August—the same day that, six years ago, Article 370 was abrogated. Malik was one of the key protagonists of that historical shift.
I last met him exactly a year ago, in his modest two-bedroom flat in RK Puram, Delhi. He was visibly unwell and could barely walk on his own. To see a seasoned politician with an experience of five decades, who had been a Member of Parliament for 40 years, held ministerial positions, and served as Governor in five states (Odisha, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, and Meghalaya), confined to a two-bedroom house, was quite unusual.
Despite being someone who had been central to one of India’s most critical decisions regarding the complete merger of Jammu and Kashmir with India, Malik had no security, and struggled to afford the best medical treatment in a private hospital. This troubled many of his close aides, including his friends and colleagues across political parties.