When the powers that be in Delhi think of Farooq Abdullah, they think of former R&AW chief A.S. Dulat, too. The Abdullah–Dulat connection – unlikely, even dangerous – has shaped Kashmir’s history in ways that few understand. One was India’s top intelligence officer, the other its most defiant Kashmiri leader. They should have been enemies. Instead, they built a quiet, complicated alliance that has outlasted governments, betrayals and shadow wars.