Srinagar, Sept. 14 -- Something unusual is happening inside the National Conference. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi is no longer behaving like a mildly disgruntled parliamentarian who occasionally disagrees with his leadership. He is challenging the political direction of his own party, questioning its leadership, accusing it of abandoning its promises and now preparing to resign both from the National Conference and from the Lok Sabha.

So an uncomfortable question deserves to be asked: Is Ruhullah merely an angry rebel-or has someone in New Delhi discovered in him the perfect instrument with which to fracture the National Conference?

Before conspiracy theorists begin celebrating, there is an important qualification. There is no publicly estab...