Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, came into the public eye when she first tweeted from her mother’s Twitter account after the Indian government detained her for 46 days and subsequently scrapped Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Since then, she has been managing her mother’s Twitter account and openly criticising the restrictions imposed on Kashmir.
Wiki/Biography
Iltija Mufti was born in Kashmir in 1987 (age 33 in 2020). She completed her schooling for two years in Kashmir and then moved to Delhi where she completed the second half of her formal education. She graduated in Political Science from Sri Venkateswara College (University of Delhi). After that, she moved to the UK and obtained a Masters in International Relations from the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK. As of 2020, she has returned from the UK and lives in Kashmir.
Family and caste
Iltija Mufti was born into an influential Muslim political family.
Parents and siblings
Her maternal grandfather, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was India’s home minister from December 1989 to November 1990 and served two terms as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He died in 2016 of multiple organ failure.
Photo with Iltija Mufti in December 2015
Her estranged father, Javed Iqbal Shah, was a writer, political analyst, businessman and animal rights activist. He also briefly served as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference. Her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, was a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Iltija Iqbal Mufti with his father and sister as a child
Javed Iqbal Shah and Mehbooba Mufti
Iltika Mufti
Her elder sister Irtiqa Mufti is an aspiring Bollywood actor who has acted in two Bollywood films, Omkara (2006) and Kaminey (2009).
relation
As of now, she has not revealed much information about her personal life and relationships.
Profession
After graduating with a postgraduate degree in International Relations, she worked as a senior administrative officer at the Indian High Commission in London. After that, she also worked at the Australian India Institute before returning to Kashmir. On August 30, 2023, she was appointed as the media advisor to Mehbooba Mufti, the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir; Iltija has been in charge of Mehbooba Mufti’s social media accounts since 2019; she started managing Mehbooba’s social media accounts when her mother and some prominent leaders of Jammu and Kashmir were arrested over the Centre’s abrogation of Article 370.
Facts/Trivia
- Her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, married her father, Javed Iqbal, in 1984, but due to some reasons, they separated soon after Iltija was born in 1987.
- Her father, Javed Iqbal Shah, is her mother’s cousin.
- She also has another name: Sana.
- Since being detained in August 2020 under the Public Security Act, Yiltija has been operating her mother’s Twitter account.
- Iltija had always wanted to stay away from politics and the public, but since her mother’s detention she has been actively speaking out against what she sees as injustices being done to the people of Kashmir.
- Despite being portrayed as the “new voice” of the “new Kashmir”, Iltija claims to be apolitical.
I don’t want to get involved in politics, but I will continue to speak out for Kashmir — even if it only brings about small changes.”
- After Article 370 was scrapped, she wrote to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah opposing the scrapping of Article 370 and questioned him about her house arrest and the restrictions imposed in Kashmir.
- Her opinion piece criticising the central government’s decision to scrap Article 370 was published in several news reports, winning her supporters and critics.
- She claimed that the Indian government restricted her access to her mother after she appeared on CNN’s show with Christiane Amanpour and the BBC’s Hard Talk.
former chief minister of kashmir @MehboobaMufti Detained in August, her daughter Iltija has now come forward to accuse India of “moving towards a dictatorship… This is not the country where I was born and grew up. It is turning into a cesspool of prejudice.” pic.twitter.com/zYX3eNvraJ
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) November 6, 2019
Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti said Kashmir “has become an open-air prison” after the Indian government revoked its special status. @MehboobaMuftiChairman of the People’s Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir pic.twitter.com/pWq3smx7D9
— BBC HARDtalk (@BBCHARDtalk) October 2, 2019
- She hoped to become an astronaut but ended up studying political science at a college in Delhi.
- She often appears on news channels for interviews and has an excellent eloquence.
- It is clear from her interaction with the media that Iltija said she got her gift for languages from her maternal grandfather, Mufti Mohammad Saeed. She said,
If my speech went well today, it’s because of him. He encouraged me to read, write, and travel.”
- When asked in an interview what else she plans to do besides participating in the politics of Kashmir Valley, she replied,
Maybe I’ll be a writer. I’m also fascinated by human behavior. Maybe I’ll be a psychologist”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education