The World Comes to the Valley

FOR VISITORS HABITUATED with curfews and secu­rity checks, the scenes in Srinagar were unusual by most counts. The renovated Polo View Market in the heart of the city was buzzing by mid-morning. There were sports events in the downtown parts of the city and the Jhelum riverfront was crowded with walkers and cyclists taking in the cafés and green spaces that have come up over the past year. The admin­istration’s plans do not stop at plazas and sitting areas, local officials told visiting G20 delegates, pointing out that restoration of dozens of ghats and introduction of water transport are also on the anvil. Historic sites, shrines and temples in the area will be refurbished in an effort to dust off decades of neglect. The older monopoly of the Boulevard Road along the scenic Dal Lake as the hangout zone is under challenge from the new riverfront and its attractions.

The meeting of the “Third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting” that concluded this week was the biggest international event to be held in Kashmir in several years and certainly the most significant after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 with regard to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and its recasting as a Union territory. Barring China, all G20 nations were represented and while Saudi Arabia and Türkiye did not send officials, they were well represented by the private sector, which is primarily involved in the promotion of tourism. Importantly, the US, Germany, France, the UK, and the European Union (EU), who have often enough failed to resist the temptation to lecture India on Kashmir, were present in strength as were the emerging economies in G20. The presence of stars like RRR’s Ram Charan, who shook a leg at ‘Naatu, Naatu’ with the South Korean delegate, added a spark to the event. It would not have escaped the delegates that volunteers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre and elsewhere were locals as were the friendly boatmen on the shikara rides. For a city that thrives on tourism, the opportunity to promote Srinagar’s cool weather, delectable cuisine and bustling markets was not to be missed.

The hundreds of G20 events planned for India’s presidency that culminates with a leaders’ summit in September are intended to showcase the country’s cultural and economic strengths apart from presenting a platform for discussions on global concerns, such as terrorism and terror financing, food security and, of course, the deep geopolitical uncertainties caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of the razzmatazz might appear like curated weekend picnics or high-end tours, but the idea is to let India’s diversity and the richness of its traditions speak for themselves. Kashmir-based parties like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference were quick to criticise the event. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said the Valley has been turned into a prison and Omar Abdullah called the meeting a “tamasha”. Abdullah’s sister Safia took a dig at the security arrange­ments, posting an image of a member of the security forces behind a G20 board, a tweet that was quickly picked up by a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot. The security arrangements for the event and the delegates were indeed elaborate but the spontaneity of the welcome and the ob­vious signs of normalcy, such as traffic, commuters and busy markets, stood in contrast to the gloomy statements of some political leaders.

“The G20 meeting was a major international event to be held in Srinagar. What was remarkable is that the people of Kashmir made it their event by supporting it in every way. The people realise that this is the way forward. You could see it in the man­ner in which local businesses and volunteers came forward and interacted with the delegations. It is a positive development,” Lt Governor Manoj Sinha told Open. In his address to the delegates, Sinha said Jammu and Kashmir was on the mend and offered many opportunities to tourists and investors. In response to me­dia queries about Pakistan’s protests about the G20 meeting being held in Srinagar, he said Islamabad had no locus as it was not a member of the grouping. “It might be useful for Pakistan’s leaders to concentrate on resolving the troubles of common citizens in their country,” he said. Barring China, which stayed away, every other G20 member was represented by either officials or private businesses. Regular visitors to Srinagar say that there is a visible difference with the city spruced up and new infrastructure is in place while attention has been paid to issues like traffic man­agement. The beautification of the city’s popular spots has been taken up as well. Sinha often inspects the progress of projects and also goes to areas where administrators have been deterred by security concerns besides travelling to other parts of the Union territory. The lieutenant governor responded to questions about detentions of journalists by pointing out that there were very few such cases and no one has been denied legal remedy. Freedom of speech was provided by the Constitution but individuals charged with serious offences related to national security must face an investigation and a trial in court.

The G20 meeting’s success is an important political marker in J&K’s post-Article 370 journey as it strengthens global acceptance of the decision. Despite attempts to whip up trouble, the scrap­ping of Article 370 did not lead to serious or sustained violence in the Valley. There was a long period of curtailed internet—a harsh but unavoidable step given the attempts to circulate videos of unrelated violence as incidents in Kashmir. The detentions of political activists and supporters of separatists were reviewed over a period of time and media reports of instances of alleged violence and disappearances were investigated in detail by the high court. Thereafter, there has been a concerted effort to ensure that the Union territory’s development lags are narrowed and a political culture that encouraged sloth, corruption and separatism is re­placed by a more accountable administration, even one under a lieutenant governor. The absence of hartals or strikes is a striking contrast to what used to be the norm. There is a strong view that representative government needs to be restored in J&K which has a legislative Assembly. The promise of restoration of statehood is to be considered after elections are held. The notification of the J&K Assembly delimitation and the Supreme Court’s dismissal of challenges to the process have added to the finality of the remov­al of Article 370 with regard to the Union territory. The Article’s clauses preventing the application of several Central laws to J&K were intended to protect the ‘identity’ of the region but ended up sowing divisions among Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh (which is now a separate Union territory). It promoted separatism and created a barrier between J&K and the rest of the country and was adroitly used by Pakistan to keep alive its claims to Kashmir being a ‘disputed’ region. With the Line of Control (LoC) substituting a regular international boundary between India and Pakistan, Article 370 helped Islamabad’s cause while creating political rifts within India. The G20 show is more evidence of international acceptance that the abrogation of Article 370’s provisions is irre­versible. Ironically enough, the ambiguities created by the Article in the past might have proved a bigger hurdle to staging such an event in Srinagar.

There were attempts to raise the levels of violence ahead of the Srinagar meet with attacks on security forces and detentions of overground workers (OGWs) of terror organisations revealing plans to attack hotels or stage incidents in and around the city. Secu­rity was stepped up and the administration remained alert till the last of the delegates left on May 25. Aware that even a small incident, such as grenade lobbed from a passing two-wheeler, would create panic and be promptly seized on by political opponents and terror sympathisers to criticise India, the security establishment coupled a heavy deployment with intensive intelligence operations. India has shut down much of its engagement with Pakistan over issues relating to J&K and has indicated this through several measures that include a desire to renegotiate the Indus Waters Treaty. In the past, Pakistan has opposed development projects like water trans­port channels or run-of-the-river dams on the specious plea that it is an affected party. The idea was to stall development projects in J&K and keep inserting itself in India’s affairs, thereby raising Kashmir as a dispute. Aware that it has lost traction on Kashmir, Pakistan has resorted to backing terror strikes on Kashmiri Pandits who remain in J&K or have returned there. These high-profile acts of violence against a soft target raise the communal temperature and cause anguish in the Hindu community. Indian security agen­cies have responded by tracking and eliminating the perpetrators who usually belong to terror organisations active in the Valley. The well-attended G20 meeting proved to be a diplomatic failure for Pakistan and, despite its singular capacity for self-delusion, offered no straws that could be clutched at.

While elections and restoration of statehood lie in the future, and their effects are hard to predict, the current administration un­der the guidance of the Centre is working towards modernising the state and bringing in new investment and opportunities in a bid to change a stale political discourse ridden with pessimism, resentment, and hopelessness. Events like the G20 show can be turning points in this journey as they demonstrate vividly what is to be gained by breaking with the past. For decades, peace has never stood a chance in Kashmir. Any voice that defied the separatist-ter­rorist discourse was swiftly silenced by the gun. The recent arrest of two absconding killers wanted for the May 1990 assassination of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq (father of Umar Farooq) did not attract much attention but signals the change in Kashmir. Perhaps em­boldened by a belief that they had been forgotten, the killers, who belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen, entered the Valley thinking they were safe from detection. It was a mistake. Their presence was tipped off to the security establishment, which acted with alacrity. A particularly bloody chapter in Kashmir’s history has been closed and reflects a determination to radically alter the script in J&K. The healing of hearts and minds is in many ways a greater challenge, and neither alienation nor the effect of religious fundamentalism is likely to recede soon. Yet, there is no alternative to doing the hard yards and hoping that the benefits of peace and economic progress present a more viable picture of the future.

G20 meetinggeopoliticsJhelumKashmirManoj SinhaSrinagar