Dr. D. Mukhopadhyay
The paradise on the Earth is under the control and influence of armed conflict during last three decades and during this period hundreds of precious lives have been lost. Besides this, there has been considerable loss of revenue to the State exchequer. Due to topographical reason, there is hardly any heavy industry in the State. Unemployment problem is enormous among the employable youths. Tourisms is the only suitable industry that can provide both employment and revenue to the State because of its natural beauty and landscape. The nature is bountiful to adore the State with snow capped mountains, wild forests, mighty rivers and sparkling lakes and water bodies throughout the length and breadth of the State. During last five months or more, State economy became standstill owing to civic violence which is a beggar’s description. Civilians are victims and killed besides the militants too. The State comprises of three distinct regions. Each Region of the State is attributed with distinct and different set of culture, social taboos and ethos. Due to civil disturbance and militancy in the State, no investor is willing to come forward for making any investment in any business avenue in the State. Almost every sphere of the State economy is under the eclipse of non economic activities. School, colleges and universities remain shut down years together in fragmented manner and this is having a direct bearing over the prospective careers of the future generations. There are two important tourists attractions shrines in the State and they are Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and Shri Amarnathji Shrine but number of pilgrims and tourists have drastically been declining over the years for visiting these famous Shrines.
More particularly, economy of the Kashmir valley is the worst sufferer. Tourists basically want safety, security and comfort while performing their religious rites and performance. During early 1980s, lacs of tourists used to visit to the Kashmir valley and now the same is considerably insignificant. Civic disturbance and militancy have not only affected the tourism but agriculture and handicraft industry too. Agriculture and handicraft industry are suffering because no skilled labor force is available. Skilled and unskilled labor used to continuously flow to the State from other parts of the country and now the same has withered to a significant extent. Because of armed conflict, many people from Kashmir have migrated to other parts of the country and as a consequence they and their future generation shall definitely suffer from the crises of their cultural routes. There is a totally close ended system in the State of Kashmir since she hardly have any cultural and economic interaction with rest of the country and perhaps this is the one of the bottlenecks for her low economic development. Jammu and Kashmir is one the States full of natural resources and they remain unutilized and unearthed for long. Here lies the lion’s role of the both the State Government as well as the Central Government.
Tourism is the principal source of living for the common people and it is the backbone of the state economy but armed conflict has drastically and significantly eclipsed it. Media has been playing a pragmatic role in showing what is actually going on in the State. Recently, Nagrota Military base and Samba have been attacked by the militants after Uri and these messages are constantly spread within no seconds across the country and cross the international borders too. It is an acceptable fact that whenever political instability is there, the State economy is bound to suffer. Kashmir armed conflict began in the year of 1989 and thereafter it was in low intensity for some time but now since July 2016, it is havoc. Due to militancy, the tourists resorts in the Kashmir valley could not be kept operational and maintained. It is worth mentioning that Government could not give much importance to the cause of maintenance of tourists’ resorts since Government’s priority concentrated on maintenance of civic law and order and internal security. Moreover, there has been curtailment of budget for beautification of tourists spots and the same is used for more prioritized sectors. Dal Lake is one of the most tourist attractions in the valley but it is not maintained properly. The fate of Manasbal Lake is hardly different from that of the current situations of the Dal Lake.
It may not be out of place to mention that there have been illegal encroachments with gardens, residential complexes and garbage dumps are found here and there in the valley. Valley is a dumping ground of wrappers, plastics, vegetables peelings and other pollutants that vitiate the environment of natural tourism. Earlier, the hoteliers used to maintain the gardens and infrastructures but now they cannot do so because of paucity in the flow of revenue generation. Nearly 1,100 houseboats are there in the Dal Lake, Nigeen Lake and Jhelum and almost those who were employed in this business are simply now living idle. There are more than 2,000 Shikarawalas who are among the worst sufferers. The average level of economic occupancy before terrorism was about 90% for the houseboat businessmen, 80% hoteliers and 75% for Shikaraowners and the same are hardly 5%, 5% and 10% respectively now. The most glaring incidence is that about 70% of houseboat businessmen, 40% hoteliers and 30% of Shikarawalas have migrated to other avenue of earning their livelihood. The unemployed youth have preferred to hold gun to having pen as a means of career development.
Moreover, out of frustration, young people are blocking the roads, pelting stones on police and causing unrest in the State of Jammu & Kashmir. The cost of this armed conflict is enormous and is not confined in a particular sector or industry. As it has been mentioned elsewhere, it is affecting the entire economy in general and horticulture, agriculture and handicrafts industry as well. It is by and large affecting every body of the State. The economic wheel of the State is stagnant and it has far reaching consequence if it is not handled with care right now. Kashmir is full of talent and it is high time to make optimum utilization of human resource of the State. It may not sound much to say that conflict retards economic development and no development give rise to conflict and it seems to be a vicious cycle. This has to be broken into meaningful and significant result generating mechanism. Economic sustainable development can hardly be accomplished in absence of civic peace and political stability. Peace and political stability is not possible without fulfilling the basic aspirations and needs of common people.
There has been noticeable quantum of human displacement from the valley and more particularly of Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs and Muslims are the worst affected. Education has taken a back seat in the State. Only educated manpower can bring about economic prosperity and development to the state. Those who migrated from the valley were busy in the cause of resettlement and they could hardly give attention to the cause of economic development of the State. Only progressive minded people with modern outlook can think as to how technology and modern technical know-how can be used as the mechanism for socio-economic development but today, there has been a void in the State more or less. It is the need of the hour to reinstate political stability, peace and communal harmony for bringing about reconstruction of the State of Jammu & Kashmir for both in the best interest of the State as well as the country as a whole. The State has tremendous potential for tourism industry. Vaishno Devi Temple, Raghunath Temple, Bahu Fort Amarnath Ji Temple and many more have enormous capacity to draw the tourists from India and abroad. Natural beauty, beautiful landscape and pleasant climate are the factors that attract tourists throughout the year. Tourists from all over the world have J&K as destination for enjoying pleasure. It is the source of eco-tourism, adventure tourism, pilgrimage tourism etc. People make a special budget to visit Gulmarg, Phalgam, Sonmarg, Dal Lake, Wular Lake, Amarnath Cave, Mughal Gardens. Ladakh is known as “Moon on the Earth” and a destination of adventure tourism.
Tourism in the State can provide employment to the unemployed, foreign exchange and development of handicrafts and handlooms industry. The mentionable advantage of tourism industry is that it generate liquid cash flow against the service it renders to the tourists and no payment in cash is associated or involved for paying back. The Government should without further delay concentrate on infrastructure development and bringing in the unemployed youth in the loop of economic development of the State. Militancy shall automatically be within control once the idle brains are employed for economic developmental cause. Militancy has ruined the state and now reconstruction both in economic sector, education sector and infrastructural sector is the need of the hour. Confidence building among the various civil societies is a must and it can yield immediate result in terms of peace. The Government is recommended to frame and formulate a tourism policy and guide the people interested in making investment in tourism sector of the State economy. Private sector entrepreneurs should be encouraged to make investment in this sector when Government would provide them basic infrastructural facilities. More and more tourist destinations need to be explored and the same are available in plenty in the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
(The author is the Professor of Management, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K)
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