Farooq Abdullah told state-run Doordarshan television the Nobel Peace laureate was "roundly acceptable" and could resolve the dispute, which has led India and Pakistan to war twice since 1947.
"One man who has proved beyond doubt, a good man, is Nelson Mandela. A man who fought for his country and got freedom for his country. A friend of India, a friend of Pakistan, a friend of free world," Abdullah said.
The comments from Abdullah, now a MP in national parliament's nominated upper house, are a reversal of his earlier stand that there was no scope for mediators on the issue of Kashmir.
India administers the southern third of Kashmir while the northern tip of the divided Himalayan territory is under Pakistani control.
More than 38 000 people have died in separatist violence in Indian Kashmir since 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Islamic guerrillas.
Islamabad denies the charge but offers moral and diplomatic support to what it calls the Kashmiris' struggle for self-rule.
The two nuclear rivals in recent weeks have tried to mend their ties. - Sapa-AFP.
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