Internationalising Kashmir

There is always a continuous refrain from the Government as well as other political luminaries in India that the problem of Kashmir is a bi-lateral problem between India and Pakistan. This is slightly better than the other streams which claim Kashmir to be an inseparable and integral part of India? Any attempt by the other party or even by some leaders in Kashmir to persuade International players including some watch dog agencies to intervene is always termed as “Internationalising” Kashmir! Everybody seems to forget that Kashmir became an International problem in 1947 itself. It was born along with the birth of the two separate countries in the sub-continent. It is India itself which internationalised the problem by taking it to the Global Police Station of the UN, the Security Council. They filed a complaint which amounts to lodging an FIR (First Information Report) about an offence having been committed by Pakistan by sending tribesmen to Kashmir and thereby endangering the World Peace. Once an FIR about a cognisable offence is lodged with a law enforcing agency, it automatically becomes a case of the state versus the alleged offender. The person or the agency lodging the complaint cannot withdraw it. The law enforcing agency of the state, in this case, the Security Council has to investigate the complaint and take appropriate action under the law. The Security Council did the same and asked both the parties to ascertain the wishes of the people for deciding their future dispensation. However, till date the neither side has done it and the Security Council has not taken any action to enforce its decision as it is given out that the case was not disposed under the relevant chapter giving the Security Council mandatory powers to enforce its decision.
Whether Kashmir is an international dispute or not can be judged from the UN website giving a fact sheet about the UNMOGIP (UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) which forms part of its worldwide peace keeping operations. This Military Observer Group was set up in January, 1949 to oversee the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. This group is headquartered in Srinagar and Islamabad for summer and winter respectively. It has strength of 113. There are 42 Military Personnel who act as Military Observers. There are 71 civilians including 25 foreigners. There are 46 locals working with the mission. There have been 11 fatalities among its personnel. The budget for the year 2012-13 has been pegged at more than $ 21 million. Even though the Indian Government does not allow access to the Observers, they continue to report the violations to UN Headquarter in New York. In fact, the UNMOGIP Headquarter both in Srinagar and Islamabad has been a popular spot for protestors to convey memoranda to UN Secretary General. Incidentally, some years back during a conducted tour of the UN Headquarter in New York, the UN tour guide while going through the chamber of the Security Council mentioned that one of the oldest disputes on the agenda of the Council is Kashmir dispute. On being told that one was from Kashmir she gave a smile!
Srinagar is supposed to have an International Airport but there are no International flights as most of airlines refuse to fly here because of the area being a disputed territory. Chinese have been issuing stapled visas to Kashmiris because of being residents of a disputed place. In fact, a number of International treaties including the famous Indus Water Treaty stipulate that the treaty does not alter the basic rights/claims of the various parties regarding the territory. The maps of Kashmir issued by many countries and international organisations show Kashmir as a disputed territory. Some people attach the label of “Pak Administered” or “Indian Administered” Kashmir to the two parts of the state.
Even if one would close eyes to all these facts and claim Kashmir to be bi-lateral dispute, the problem will not end there. It is not in reality the dispute over the ownership of a piece of land. It involves the fate of the millions of people inhabiting that piece of land. This makes it a tri-lateral problem. The principal party are the Kashmiri people. In the present context, internationalizing the dispute is of no consequence. The Global Peace Keeper, Security Council has miserably failed to enforce its decisions in regard to Kashmir. The UN is held hostage by USA and its allies. This was very starkly demonstrated by the Saudi refusal to take up the rotational membership of the Council. There is no need for the Indian Government and others to get worked up if Pakistan and others within and outside Kashmir try to internationalise it. Indians have tried their utmost to domesticize it but have miserably failed. They have to maintain a colossal security set up to keep the peace. The Line of Control is again getting heated up. Ultimately, the Security Council may have to step in again if the heat goes beyond control.
International, bi-lateral or domestic, Kashmir is a problem which cannot be wished away. The only solution is to accept the existence of the problem and to address it for an early solution. It has been observed by some that there are other covert stake holders like the security apparatuses including the armies on two sides of the divide. A viable solution can be found only if all the stake holders are on board. Otherwise, we will continue to have many Kargils, Kerans, and continuously heated up Line of Control. How will all the stake holders come together to address the issue? That is the million dollar question!

A MESSY SITUATION!

The noted constitutional expert A G Noorani in a recent article commented that the main problem in Kashmir was the disunity of its leadership of all shades. He called it “Kashmir’s Tragic Divide”. In the mainstream as well as in the separatist camps. According to him the “Unionist” leadership is preparing to fight elections while as the “Separatist” leadership is not even on talking terms with each other! But, the moot point is whether there is any genuine, honest, sincere, and steadfast leadership in Kashmir at all? In fact, Kashmir’s main tragedy has been the absence of a sincere, honest and upright leadership right from 1947. Their tallest charismatic leader instead of setting an example of honesty and uprightness for the future generations ditched them in a whirlpool of corruption and dishonesty out of which they are unable to come out. They had dreamt of someone like the “Lion of the desert”, Omar Mukhtar but they very unfortunately got a “Lion without a tail”!
 The recent disclosures about pay offs to various people including Cabinet Ministers by the Army right from 1947 shows how the political leadership has been manipulated to wean people away from their cherished discourse of freedom which they had been yearning for centuries. The other side instead of supporting the popular narrative engineered it to suit their own goal again primarily with the supply of unlimited and unaccounted funds. Everything seems to have been commercialised in Kashmir. The materialism rules the roost! Kashmir’s two neighbours ensured the growth of only that kind of leadership which would further their own vested interests designated by them as strategic or national interests. Kashmiris figure nowhere except as pawns in the games played by these two perennial antagonists. This atmosphere of commercialisation built upon deceit, dishonesty and greed of materialistic goals has turned the whole situation murky.
 A leader is a person of convictions who has a definite goal, a future vision and a definite road map to reach that goal. He shows the way and tries to honestly and sincerely lead his people to that goal which sometimes he may not reach in his own lifetime. Have we so far had such a leader? Firstly, none of the leaders have a definite and clear cut goal. Some want Kashmir to become part of Pakistan. Some want Kashmir to be totally merged with the Indian Union. Others want Kashmir to be totally independent. The people wanting independence also fail to clearly designate which part of Kashmir should be independent? The valley only? The part of the state with India? The entire undivided erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, of course, with a number of unwilling parts? Some want status quo as it suits them. The first thing for a genuine leader would be to define in real practical terms what would be beneficial to Kashmiris in the long run. Ultimately, they want to live with honour and dignity in a peaceful environment. The leader has also to be sure that the people he is trying to lead accept the goal and are willing to follow him to reach it.
 Next to defining of a clear and practical goal and the path to reach it, the leader himself has to be steadfast and not waver on the way. Unfortunately, most of the Kashmiri leaders have been wavering both in defining the goal and leading the people on the path to reach it. The so called mainstream leaders have always been wavering from Bijli, Panni, Saddak to Autonomy, Self-rule and so on. Had they been honest, sincere, and true Indians by conviction, they might have at least given good governance and made the living conditions of the common people better. Incidentally, even Delhi did not allow such a genuine mainstream leadership to grow. As a result, these leaders have neither given good governance to the people to improve their daily lives nor have they been able to contribute anything to the solution of the basic political problem. Their one point programme has been to somehow usurp power and gather as much money and material things as they could till their “Sun” shines! In the other camp, there have been sincere, steadfast, and honest leaders of conviction but most of these have been liquidated by one or the other side to safeguard their own discourses. A columnist recently mentioned that the leaders won’t fall from the sky but they have to grow here from the ground. Of course, the leaders grow among the people. However, when there are two antagonists with diametrically opposite ideologies trying to promote their own discourses it is very hard for the genuine and honest leadership to grow unless there is some Divine intervention! The Israelites during their bondage in Egypt had been pinning for a “Deliverer” and finally God sent the “Deliver”, Moses, who grew up in the lap of the Pharaoh. Moses brought the Israelites out of the Egyptian bondage to Mount Sinai. While he was on top getting the Ten Commandments, these people sinned in the sight of the Lord because of which they were made to wander in the desert for 40 years till the sinning generation was removed. In the case of Kashmiris, the “Moses” himself committed the sin which may make them wander in the desert for 400 years!
 This vagueness in the goals and the wavering of the leadership has totally confused the people. They do not know whom to follow to get relief in their daily lives and to reach the ultimate goal of total emancipation. They are churning in the whirlpool of corruption. There is free for all in every sphere of the society. The “Truth” has been banished from Kashmir! Some of the leaders whom they trust are not going beyond shut down calls and pointless marches. The only hope is the new generation which does not carry the baggage of the earlier leadership. There are innumerable attempts targeted even at this new generation to push them into the same mud and filth which has destroyed the earlier leadership. The confused and paralysed people have genuine hopes for the “Deliverer” rising out of the new generation and the Almighty God won’t disappoint them provided they change their basic character by speaking the “Truth” and standing by it regardless of the consequences.

Kargil to Keran!

“Keran Ops: ‘An Operation that never was’ goes the headline of a news. The quote was attributed to General H.S.Panag, the former Northern Army Commander. The way the so called operation was started and concluded and a host of contradictory media statements issued during its running definitely created a doubt in its veracity! The operation coincided with the Samba attack which happened three days after the Keran operation. Both the events took place at the crucial time of the planned Indo-Pak Premiers’ meeting. Even the Union Home Minister has demanded explanation of the circumstances surrounding both the incidents. This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. It has been quite often observed that whenever there is a possibility of Indo-Pak détente taking place, some untoward incident takes place either on this side or the other side and as a result the whole process of patching up the differences gets derailed. The recent disclosures by the former Army Chief General V K Singh have shown how the top brass in the Army can operate independently to achieve its own motives regardless of the overall consequences to the political and democratic set up. This behind the scenes role of the Army and other security agencies has been growing slowly and is now assuming alarming proportions. The political set up appears totally unable to either really probe it or in fact to stem it. In Kashmir, the Army has put all the mainstream politicians in the dock and has totally negated all claims of fair and democratic elections held since 1947.
On the other side, the Army has always been having a decisive say in all matters. They have practically taken over the reins whenever they felt like doing so ostensibly in the so called “National Interest” or what they always claim “for the safety and protection of their country”. Kargil was a stark example of the Army taking unilateral steps for the derailing of the peace process of Indo-Pak détente. It had probably a twin purpose. The first was negating the loss of the Hathi Matha feature above Kargil town in 1971 war. That strategic location above the Kargil town was always a nightmare for the Indian Army. All the convoys going to Ladakh were in the direct line of fire from the Pakistanis. In fact, the Kargil town itself used to get a bombardment of shells quite often. The taking over of heights in Drass was another bid to cut off Indian link to Ladakh by keeping the route in the line of fire from the Tiger Hill and other high-altitude features. It was a meticulously planned operation by the SSG (Special Services Group) of the Pakistan Army once headed by General Musharraf. Normally, one would not expect the sharp Commando General to be so dull as not to consider the possibility that the occupation of these posts can’t be permanent and the operation would result in a bigger conflagration.  However, the other purpose which seemed more convincing and the real aim of the operation was to derail the Vajpayee’s bus ride to Lahore. While Nawaz Sharief was hugging Vajpayee, Musharraf was infiltrating his group across to take over the posts usually abandoned in winter by the Indian Army. The resultant conflict could only be sorted out by the American and Chinese joint intervention as these powers were wary of things going out of control and leading to a full-fledged war. The net result for the sub-continent was the end of the efforts for a rapprochement!
Thus, the real stumbling blocks for peace in the sub-continent are the two Armies. On this side they operate covertly while on the other side they are totally overt. Everything needs a nod from the Army whether overt or covert! The worst thing is that both the Armies have got communalised over the years with the Hindutva infiltration on this side and the Jihadi suicidal influx on the other side. The outsiders who are the real authors of the sub-continental divide engineered by them to keep their fingers in the pie, instead of bringing the two sides together try their utmost to keep the pot boiling. They are the real beneficiaries of the conflict. Their armament industries survive on the sub-continental and other conflicts in different parts of the world. USA is the largest manufacturer of arms and India is the largest importer from USA and other countries.
In these circumstances, peace has a very little chance if left to the intervention of outsiders. The only practical and real chance of peace in the sub-continent depends upon the leadership both political and military in the two countries. It would be worthwhile if the Army Chiefs of the countries start a dialogue whether overt or covert through back channels for coming to a gentleman’s agreement. If the military commands on two sides decide to call it a day in the larger interests of their countries and for the well-being of future generations, the political leadership will embrace each other! In the alternative, we will continue to see many more Kargils and Kerans.

Tearing the “Secular” mask!

Attack on Babri Masjid	Narendra Modi Crowned!	Operation demolition

The most touted slogan of the Indian National Congress has been the “Secularism” of the Indian Union. Right from 1947 they have been taking the Muslim population of India along on their bandwagon of secularism. Had the top most leadership during the freedom struggle been truly secular, they would have never agreed for the partition of the country on the basis of religion. In fact, Joseph Stalin in one of his articles about the Indian Independence wrote that the Indian freedom movement leaders were not honest and sincere. According to him if they had been true nationalists, they would have never agreed for the partition of the country leaving the Western Imperialists an open window to come back in one or the other form.

The very idea of a state claiming to be “Secular” after accepting the division of the country on the basis of religion is totally hypocritical. Even the constitution given by these people to govern the country reflects Hindu bias. The article 25 (2-B) empowers the state to throw open religious institutions of a Hindu character. How was the state so sure that it would always be of Hindu character that it armed itself with the powers to throw open only Hindu institutions? In fact, when one talks of two nation theory it strikes one that on both sides except religion nothing is common among the people inhabiting these countries. Both do not qualify as nations in terms of the definition of a nation given in the books on political science. A nation is a group of people living in a specific geographical area having common language, history and culture. On this basis Pakistan comprises of almost half a dozen nations and India, more than a dozen! However, if the religion of the majority is the basis, then these are two nations. A Hindu nation and a Muslim nation. But it is debatable whether religion can be the basis of a nation as it is understood in terms of the definitions given by the political scientists.

Across the border, Pakistan, the land of the pure is no longer so. The violence has overtaken everything. Some people allege that Pakistan was created by the Muslim feudal landlords to safe guard their vested interests as they were apprehensive about their fate in a united India. However, Pakistan was dominated from the very beginning and even now continues to be so, by the Punjabis. In fact, the people who migrated from India still call themselves refugees or Mohajir! In contrast, the migrants from Pakistan not only dominated Indian political and economic scene but totally amalgamated with the local people. There is no doubt that on both sides it is the rich who rule the roost. While as the Brahmins hold the upper hand here which has prompted Arundhiti Roy to call India an “Upper caste Hindu Corporate Republic?”; the other side is neither a Republic nor truly Islamic but again a feudocracy of the landlords with the most fashionable women!

Farmer kissing Landlord’s feet	Tehmina, a fashionable woman!	Pakistani Taliban ready for action

In 1947, the Kashmiri leadership was confused and the people were uncertain and unsure of the future of two newly created countries. Moreover, they had their own long history of suffering and oppression at the hands of the outsiders. Majority of Kashmiri Muslims felt some sort of emotional attachment with the newly created Pakistan. However, some of the leaders including the charismatic Lion of Kashmir were sceptical and had a prejudice because of the degrading treatment meted out by the Muslim Punjabis to Kashmiris going for work outside Kashmir especially during winters. They were taken in by the “Secular” and “Progressive” façade of the newly created Union of India. They were not moved even by the massacres of Muslims in Jammu and India’s unilateral action in annexing Hyderabad and Junagarh. They realised their mistake only when it was too late.

During all these years, Kashmiris have suffered because of the ideological conflict between these two newly created states. They have been used by both the sides as guinea pigs. None of them were sincere about the wellbeing of Kashmiris but always spoke about Kashmir. If Pakistanis considered Kashmir as their “Jugular vein”, the Indians projected it as the Crown of their so called “Secular” country. However, the last two decades have torn down both these facades and masks. Pakistanis have forgotten about their “Jugular vein” and continue to live even though in the worst kind of a mess. Kashmiris have to a great extent lost that emotional and sentimental attachment to Pakistan even though they still have a soft corner for them because of their extensive support in the past. Some people still feel that in the absence of Pakistan, the Indians may have completely overwhelmed and wiped out Kashmiris.

RSS Shahkha in action	Face of Hindutva	Bajrang Dal private army

On the other hand, the Indians have been coming out in the open as a country of Hindus, the Hindu Rashtra, and the Bharat Varsh! The process has now been perfected without any qualms by Narendra Modi, the future Prime Ministerial candidate of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Now there can be no doubt that India is a country of Hindus who will always have an upper hand. The Muslims have already been shown by the Justice Sachar in his report to be worse than the Dalits, the lowest caste among the Hindus. So far they were living as second class citizens without being projected as such but in the new dispensation, if it comes in, they will have to live as third class citizens and would not be expected to complain.

It is time that the Kashmiris should not now let themselves be deceived by the so called “Secular” mask of the pretenders. The mainstream leaders would also lose their steam of being nationalist and progressive, pretending to be part of a “Secular” and a progressive state. It would be in a way confirmation of the two nation theory. At the same time it affords Kashmiris an opportunity to call off the bluff of both the neighbouring countries and tell them to get lost and leave them alone to their fate! Historically speaking, Kashmiris have nothing in common with the Jihadi Pakistan or the Hindutva India! Thus, the Moditva wave which has already shown itself to be bloody and destructive as is evident from U.P riots may be in a way beneficial to Kashmiris by enabling them to see the reality clearly and prepare themselves mentally and physically for living in an ostensibly Hindu India of the future!

“Nuclear Flashpoint”, myth or reality?

There is hardly any occasion in international gatherings where the problem of Kashmir comes up for discussion, when one or other representatives especially from the western countries do not fail to mention that Kashmir is a “Nuclear Flashpoint”! Over the years hype has been built up around this dispute to create very severe and grave apprehensions about its being a threat to world peace and a possible trigger for a nuclear exchange between these two Asian neighbours. One would have thought that this grave threat perception would help in its quick resolution but on the contrary this idea of a possible mad nuclear exchange reinforced by western powers in reality acts as a delaying tactic in its final settlement. This idea actually crept in the discourse from the time the two countries exploded half a dozen nuclear devices some years back. Till that time they had already fought three conventional wars.

There are many theories about the background to this now very well known label of Kashmir, the “Asia’s Nuclear Flashpoint”. In fact, in February, 2000 Dr. Subash Kapila wrote an article about this contention being a myth floated by USA and Pakistan since early eighties for their vested interests. According to Dr.Kapila, the USA fully knows that no one except them have used nuclear weapons physically or as a blackmail (Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Cuba). They also know that they can hold back Pakistan if necessary by pre-empting their strike capability. India has already declared no first strike. Dr. Kapila concludes that the myth is only to contain Indian influence in South Asia and prevent any attempt at a limited Indian conventional strike in Pakistan Administered Kashmir. Dr.Kapila says that the Pakistan’s bogey about the nuclear flashpoint is to pressurise international community to intervene in settling Kashmir dispute.

As per Dr.Kapila the myth can turn into reality only if an irrational fundamentalist dictator decides to use the nuclear weapon to force India to give up Kashmir. However, in this scenario also China may not allow this or the Pakistanis themselves would have to take into account the Indian retaliation of second strike which would completely wipe out Pakistan. On all counts, the possibility of a nuclear conflagration over Kashmir seems very rare as was evident from the Kargil war where Bill Clinton intervened after consulting his Chinese counterpart to call a halt to the hostilities. The recent development in Pakistan where violence has assumed alarming proportions especially the unstoppable suicide attacks does create a disturbing scenario. A suicide bomber running away with a nuke to teach India a lesson can trigger an Armageddon! Apart from that rare suicidal eventuality, a full-fledged nuclear war breaking out in the sub-continent is not a possibility in the present international scenario. USA and other western powers will not allow that to happen.

Thus one could say that the hype about Kashmir being a nuclear flashpoint or an Asian hot-spot is a myth which is in fact being used by one and all to forestall any progress towards its resolution. Even very recently, the Pakistani Prime Minister has called Kashmir a nuclear flashpoint. Apart from these international players even the local leaders in Kashmir have also been very conveniently repeating these lines of his master’s voice! One would have expected the local leaders not to get swayed by this mythical hype that Kashmir is a nuclear or non-nuclear Asian or global flashpoint. They should have at least been able to guess that the worn out slogan is just to keep Kashmiris hanging till eternity. Normally if it was such a dangerous flashpoint then everyone should have been rushing to get it settled at the earliest in the interests of the world peace! On the contrary the western powers especially the global policeman (USA) which normally intervenes everywhere on the tiniest grounds keeps on telling India and Pakistan to sort out the problem bi-laterally. Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya and now Syria need American intervention but not Kashmir which has been hanging fire for more than half a century. It is the common Kashmiris who are in the line of fire and have been facing the consequences of a proxy war between the two irreconcilable neighbours of the sub-continent.

The recent startling disclosures by the former Army Chief General V K Singh are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg and show to what length these people are ready to go to keep the pot boiling in Kashmir. The other side is doing the same thing to get relief from the uncontrollable local militants bent upon destroying their feudal set up. This uncertain situation fuelled and maintained by both the sides is slowly creating a dangerous situation for the local people who may get completely annihilated in this mindless terror war if it continues unabated without anyone willing to stop it on the mythical excuse of it being a “Nuclear” Flashpoint”!

The Missing High-End Tourism!

In spite of the tall claims regarding tourist figures, the real high end tourism from domestic markets as well as abroad still shies away from Kashmir

For last couple of years we have been repeatedly bombarded with tourist figures exceeding a million or even a million and a half. In fact, projections for the next year are aimed at over 2 million tourists. However, no one has been talking about the real status of the people visiting the valley! Mere figures do not convey the real story. Tourist arrivals which incidentally may include people working here do not make the difference. In reality, the class of tourists and the number of nights they stay in hotels and other accommodation tell the true story. There are many other myths about tourism touted by the very strong lobby it represents as well as by almost all the politicians from all the sides using it as the barometer of political normalcy. In real economic terms it is not at all the backbone of Kashmir’s economy but represents less than 10% of the GDP. The three most important sectors of Kashmir’s economy are agriculture, horticulture, and handicrafts exported all over the world. Tourism is an additional resource, basically an employment generator. Because of being a service oriented industry it generates thousands of seasonal jobs. The basic requirement for the development of tourism anywhere in the world is the “Peace”. Unfortunately, our part of the world has been in continuous turmoil and one never knows when the fuse will blow out? In spite of million or so tourists visiting Kashmir, the unsafe image of the destination refuses to go away especially because of the biased travel advisories of some western countries.
Even if we concede that due to somewhat settled conditions of last couple of years the tourism industry is booming, there is one important catch. The really paying high end tourism is still shying away from Kashmir. By high end tourism one does not mean the top class very rich tourists. It would mean the upper middle class. The really high end tourism of Monaco type will never come to Kashmir. Apart from the political situation, there are many other handicaps. For the domestic high end market it is the lack of high class infrastructure and the present day ease to travel abroad to better managed peaceful destinations. In fact right now more Indians travel abroad for holiday than the foreign visitors coming here! In the case of foreign high end tourism, the main handicap apart from the image of an unsafe destination is the lack of direct connectivity to international air routes. To visit Kashmir foreigners from all over the world have to pay an add-on fare from Delhi to Srinagar and back. The so called International airport at Srinagar is a practical joke played on Kashmiris by Sonia Gandhi and her government. If Srinagar had a real international air connection, the western travel advisories would be off in a matter of days as the people from all over could come and go easily and see for themselves the present safe travel situation. One of the most frequently asked questions in the foreign travel marts is about the accommodations where one can stay, the availability of luxury transport, and recreation and entertainment facilities apart from the natural beauty. At present we hardly have a couple of places which may somewhat compare with the high class staying facilities available in some of the top global tourism destinations. Regarding recreation and entertainment we are confused. People do not look for the things they get in Las Vegas or Bangkok in Kashmir. However, they need recreational facilities like clubs, golf courses, bowling alleys, restaurants, and so on. Even if we have some of these, but unfortunately the management and maintenance of these is very poor. The only saleable entertainment in Gulmarg we have is a gondola ride to the top of the mountain. Rest of the time, the poor tourists are held to ransom by the ponywallas and others! In addition, we have somehow become totally unconcerned about our own living environment. Srinagar is probably one of the dirtiest cities in the sub-continent. The same is the condition of our water bodies and the historical lifeline, the River Jhelum. No one wants to visit a filthy tourism destination!
If we sincerely and honestly want to promote high end tourism which will have an impact on the economy, we have to follow a three pronged strategy. Firstly we have to clean up our own act both physically and literally. We cannot invite tourists to filthy cities, over-crowded concrete jungle resorts teeming with all sorts of people tearing the visitor’s apparels! Kashmir is touted as “Paradise on Earth”. We have to at least make it look like a clean Paradise if nothing more! We need to clean up our environment not only for tourists but our own selves. Then we have to change the attitude of people coming in contact with the tourists. No doubt there are black sheep in almost all tourist destinations who spoil the reputation of the entire population but in our case the number is becoming uncontrollable in spite of the best legislation for the protection of the interests of the tourists. Both the government and the private players in the industry have to strictly adhere to basic ethics in dealing with the tourists. The violators need to be dealt with severely by both the sides.
Next comes the infrastructure. This would involve not only the super structure in the form of accommodation, eating places, recreational avenues but also the basic infrastructure of roads, electricity, communications and so on. As already stated in the beginning, we should not expect high end or the up market foreign traffic without an international air connection. We should also not expect high end tourists to visit a destination beset with erratic power supply, strewn with dumps of garbage, pot-holed access roads to the resorts, and above everything else menaced by packs of ferocious stray dogs! The least one could do is to offer clean and hygienic places for stay and eating equal to similar places in different popular tourist destinations around the world. They could stay in comfort and enjoy the beauty of nature. The high end tourist will pay for these services but these should be worth paying for! People are now used to international chains of hotels for accommodation. They know the facilities and standards available in these. Unfortunately, we do not have in Kashmir any properties owned by various popular international hospitality chains. Some attempts were made in the past to improve the infrastructure for accommodation but the approach was flawed. The land is a sensitive issue in Kashmir. Instead of making local land available on lease to outsiders, it would be better to encourage collaborations between locals and the international chains. The joint venture, in which the land is owned by Kashmiri partners, is the best option. In fact, one can also stipulate about employees that 70% would be local and 30% outside experts in various fields. The same can hold good for restaurants and food outlets. Similarly, we need to have management contracts for our prestigious high end projects like the Golf Circuits, Cable Cars and so on. Quite a few of these after being set up with massive investments are in shambles because of mismanagent.There are many other options available to bring the infrastructure to the acceptable global level provided we have the political will to do so!
The third most important prong of the strategy is intensive marketing in the source markets both at the official level and at the industry level itself. Marketing does not mean only printing brochures, posters and calendars. It involves mounting print and electronic media campaigns not only for acquainting potential tourists in source markets about the destinations, and the facilities available there but also motivating them to travel to these destinations. Media campaigns are expensive and tourism marketing needs sizeable budgets. It is a pity that the Kashmir Tourism has the lowest budget earmarked for marketing. Chhattisgarh not a very well-known destination spends over 7 crores on advertising and marketing. They even got an award for that. The Kerala Tourism budget is 105 crores. They have earmarked 1 crore just for participation in travel marts! The J & K budget has been almost static for last few years at 5 crores or so. In mid-nineties when we restarted tourism campaigns we spent more than two crores on just Ladakh and Jammu campaigns called, “Ladakh, the land of endless discovery” and “Jammu, you won’t believe your eyes”. Recently the media had adversely reacted to the visit of a delegation of tourism officials led by the Minister to Europe and America. It seems they were not able to project and explain the purpose of their visit. In fact, they should be making a dozen such visits to foreign source markets not by themselves alone but should sponsor travel industry delegations to these areas if they are really interested in removing the adverse image of Kashmir. In reverse there should be dozens of visits by the foreign travel agents and travel media to correct the image which has been badly damaged due to turmoil of the nineties. The department should invariably participate in all the travel marts and conventions held from time to time within the country and abroad. Mere presence of a strong travel delegation from Kashmir reinforces the belief that it is safe to travel to Kashmir which is the first question asked everywhere. Instead of spending crores of rupees on a couple of dozen Tourism Development Authorities in every nook and corner of the state and creating environment destroying infrastructure, the money should be utilized in improving the basic infrastructure in existing resorts and on aggressive marketing. No doubt there is need to open new tourist areas to lessen pressure on the existing ones but these have to be taken up in a phased manner depending upon the basic criteria of tourism development, “potential, accessibility (political as well as physical), and infrastructure”. The worst handicap for high end foreign tourism has been the adverse travel advisories. Some of these may be genuine but some are also based on bias and prejudice. However, the removal of these needs intensive follow up at the consular level in Delhi and even with foreign offices of the countries issuing these in the first instance. Some years back 65 Britons were massacred in the Luxor area of Egypt. The British Foreign Office issued a very strong adverse travel advisory to its nationals regarding travel to Egypt. However, the Egyptian Foreign and Tourism Ministers camped in London for a week to assure the British Government about the safety of its nationals. The advisory was lifted only after 10 days or so. In order to avoid adverse reactions during some incidents, the Tourism Authorities have to be very active in damage control by feeding the correct information to the media. They should be having regular interaction with the media.
Thus, we should not be asking why we are missing the high end foreign and domestic traffic to Kashmir but rather whether we are doing enough to make these people feel it worth coming and be comfortable and at home in the so called “Paradise on Earth”!   
The author is former Director General Tourism, J & K.

The Covert Operations!

The revelations about a covert operation to overthrow Omar Abdullah Government in 2010 seem to have come out straight from Kautilya’s Arthashastra.

 

 These days the whole media is abuzz with the revelations in a national newspaper about a plot having been hatched by the former Army Chief to overthrow the State Government in 2010 by bribing a cabinet minister. Allegations and counter allegations are galore in this controversy. However, covert operations in Kashmir are not a big surprise or a new discovery. For the last 65 years or so, Kashmir has been turned into a hotbed of conspiracies and covert operations. In fact, the very first covert operation has been the conversion of Muslim Conference into National Conference in 1938 and the subsequent motivating of the Lion of Kashmir to follow the Indian line of action by supporting the signing of the instrument of accession by the erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh. Many books have been written on the subject and some even deny the very existence of the said document!
The next most important covert operation has been the dethroning of the Lion and his long incarceration. B.N. Mullick, the then Director of the Intelligence Bureau says in his book that it took him two years to convince Pandit Nehru that it was essential to remove Sheikh Abdullah from the scene to allow complete integration of the State of Jammu & Kashmir in the Indian Union! The starting of the Parija Parishad agitation in Jammu called, “Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan”, for total integration of the state which turned Sheikh Abdullah against India giving the Indian Government an opportunity to detain him, was part of the same covert operation. Then happened what can be called the mystery of the century which no one has been able to unearth so far. That was the removal of the holy relic from the Hazratbal mosque in December, 1963. This operation not only removed Bakhshi Ghulam Muhammad and his entire dynasty who had completely overshadowed everything in Kashmir for almost 11 years, from the scene but also revived Kashmir’s movement for the right of self-determination. Kashmir suddenly popped up on the international radar once again. How and by whom the holy relic was removed and how it came back is the greatest puzzle of our times. Will this mystery be ever solved? That is a million dollar question! The other side too had started their covert operations right from 1947 with the first one being the tribal raid to thwart the Indian annexation of Kashmir. In fifties after the dethroning of the Lion of Kashmir, their covert operations were mostly confined to sending sacks full of currency notes to the leaders of the Kashmir’s popular movement and their families. One Jehangir used to be their king pin for these operations.
After the turmoil of nineties, such operations became a routine. In fact, everything turned murky and one could not distinguish between the real freedom fighters and the imposters roaming all over the valley. The security forces floated their own clandestine outfits and there were so many violent incidents and no one has been so far able to pin point the real perpetrators of these. The skeletons have now started tumbling from the Army cupboard and there must be dozens of such cupboards! One of the most talked about and notorious operation has been the “Al Farhan” story described in detail in the book “Meadows”! Tom Clancy has even written a novel about these covert operations in Kashmir. It is called the “Line of Control”! In this very interesting and exciting novel, an Indian agent of the paramilitary forces exposes the conspiracy to start an Indo-Pak war by attacking the Amarnath Pilgrims near the Tourist Centre in Srinagar! The possible Armageddon is averted by American intervention.
One is reminded about some interesting quotes of Kautilya in his treatise the Arthashastra. “A king shall have his agents in the courts of the enemy, the ally, the Middle and the Neutral kings to spy on the kings as well as their eighteen types of high officials”. “Miraculous results can be achieved by practising the methods of subversion”. “A single assassin can achieve, with weapons, fire or poison, more than a fully mobilised army”. In fact, it is said that Pandit Nehru used to keep a copy of this famous treatise, which is an equivalent of the Machiavelli’s Prince, by his bedside! His Kashmir strategy appears definitely to have been influenced by his minute study of the Arthashastra!
The Arthashastra is used as a text book in the Indian Military Academy from which General V.K.Singh has graduated. Thus, the covert operation conducted by the Technical Services Division of the Military Intelligence in 2010 is only the tip of the iceberg in regard to dozens of such clandestine activities being conducted in Kashmir by various agencies and outfits including the Armies from both the countries. In fact, the timing of the exposure of this operation itself may be another sophisticated operation to benefit certain quarters in view of the forthcoming elections?