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Satyapal Malik, who oversaw Article 370 abrogation in J&K, dies at 79

Satyapal Malik, the last Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. He was 79. Malik was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi. His death coincides with the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, a defining event during his tenure as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Roots in student politics Born on July 24, 1946 in Hisawada village in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, Malik came from a Jat family. He studied science and law at Meerut University and began his political journey as president of the Students' Union in 1968–69. That same year, he married Iqbal Kaur Sandhu. Political career Malik won his first Assembly seat in 1974 from Baghpat on the ticket of Bharatiya Kranti Dal -- a party aligned with Chaudhary Charan Singh. His early political years were rooted in the socialist movements of the 1960s and 70s. He later joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal and served as its general secretary before entering the Rajya Sabha as a Lok Dal MP in 1980. In 1984, Malik joined the Congress and returned to the Rajya Sabha two years later. He exited the party following the Bofors scandal and joined VP Singh's Janata Dal in 1987. In 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Aligarh and served as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism. Stints in BJP and key parliamentary roles Malik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004 and contested the Lok Sabha elections from Baghpat, but lost to Ajit Singh. In 2012, he became BJP National vice president and later headed a parliamentary committee during the Modi government that opposed the controversial land acquisition bill. Five-time Governor and a historic tenure in J&K Malik served as Governor in five states: • Bihar (2017–2018) • Odisha (additional charge, 2018) • Jammu and Kashmir (2018–2019) • Goa (2019–2020) • Meghalaya (2020–2022) He made history as the first politician appointed as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir after the insurgency began. During his tenure, Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019, revoking Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcating it into two Union territories. Controversial tenure Malik was often outspoken in his criticism of both state and central governments: • Kiru Hydropower case: Though he flagged corruption in the ₹2,200 crore Kiru project, Malik was named in a CBI chargesheet in 2025. He denied wrongdoing and claimed government agencies were misused to intimidate him. • On corruption: While governor of Bihar, he alleged that most politicians owned BEd colleges. In Goa, he criticised the state government's Covid-19 response and ration distribution. • On political influence: He claimed he was offered bribes of up to ?150 crore to approve two contracts involving powerful interests, including an Ambani-linked group and a senior RSS leader. • On Governors in Kashmir: 'Governors in Kashmir just drink and play golf… The Governor has no work,' he remarked in 2020. • On farmer protests: Malik criticised the Centre's handling of the farm laws agitation, warning of alienation among Sikhs. He publicly condemned the lack of condolences for farmer deaths. Satyapal Malik's political journey spanned more than five decades—from student leader to Union minister, and from socialist ideologue to governor in five states. Even in constitutional roles, he remained vocal and combative, often speaking against the governments that appointed him.