My Travelogue On The Not-All-Heavenly Kashmir

I and my family had brought in the year 2021 in Kashmir. We spent around a week soaking in the much-talked-and-sung-about beauty of the place. This was my second visit to Kashmir, but the first in peak Kashmiri winter. The snow did renew the scenery. Most remarkably for me, it made some of Gulzar’s movies and lyrics come alive! Like when I was strolling by the Lidder river, the water flowed quietly between rocks covered with snow. As if on cue, I had started humming the song ‘Paani Paani Re’ from the movie Maachis.

Beyond The Beauty Of Kashmir

But except when we were marveling at the landscape, we spent our trip being ill-at-ease. I attributed the uneasiness to the not-so-hospitable treatment we received there as tourists. We faced quite a bit of harassment by local guides at several points of our travel. They would accost us in hordes and push us unrelentingly to hire them. Even after we hired them, and paid them the agreed amount for their service, they would push for some more.

It was not that I hadn’t experienced such harassment at other tourist destinations. But in Kashmir, such hassles were much more frequent and widespread. Also, at many spots in Kashmir, we were making payments for no real services in return. At Gulmarg, we paid fees to a guide for guiding us on how to board a gondola, rent a snow scooter and eat at a makeshift stall. At the airport, we had to pay a man for his unsolicited help in pushing our luggage trolley. One of our drivers on the trip made us pay rent for snow boots we did not wear, and a night-stay toll for a vehicle that was not retained for the night.

I do not mean to paint an entire population with the same brush here. We had pleasant experiences there as well. The Srinagar airport staff was very helpful to us. They located for us a cabin bag we left behind on the plane. The staff at our hotels in Srinagar and Gulmarg were helpful too. Yet, I could not shake off the bitter aftertaste of the other incidents.

The Why Of It All

A severe lack of employment in Kashmir stood out as an obvious reason for the harassment we faced. Decades of conflict and political turmoil had stagnated the development of Kashmir. I found no real difference in the facilities offered to tourists, from what I had seen over a decade ago. The scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution doesn’t seem to have changed the ground realities either. The prediction of more jobs for the local youth, made by our Prime Minister at the time, seems to be turning out to be wrong.

We also saw anger against the BJP rule for not allowing 4G internet services to resume even after a year. During our conversations, our driver referred to Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir as ‘Azad Kashmir’. The locals seemed to think of India as the next oppressor after the Hindu rulers and British Raj. I almost felt guilty for thinking of Kashmir as an integral part of India.

Did Religion Have A Role?

Another incident made me wonder if the locals equated the Indian government with a Hindu rule, as opposed to a secular one. And was their anger against the government being directed towards Hindu tourists?

We were visiting the Avantipura ruins on our way to Srinagar from Pahalgam. We had switched to another driver this time. Being a movie buff, I was looking forward to visiting the temple where the song ‘Bismil’ from Haider has been shot. One more reason was my fascination for ancient architecture. But I was in for a rude shock. The (relatively friendlier) government guide at Avantipura informed us that we had already left the sun temple behind. I protested saying that though we did visit one Martand sun temple earlier on our way, it was not the place in the song. He then told us that what we saw was a recent construction. The ancient temple was at a small distance from that one. He also said that local drivers avoided taking tourists to the place, and would fight with the guides who told tourists about it.

So, was our religion a reason too for the uneasiness we felt in Kashmir? I had difficulty answering this question to myself in the affirmative. I have grown up believing in the secular character of our country. Accepting this explanation of the Kashmiris’ treatment of us was troubling. I got back home confused about my outlook towards Kashmir and Kashmiris. And my confusion made me pick up a couple of books on Kashmir, one of them being ‘Curfewed Night’ by Basharat Peer.

The Insider’s Take

The book is his account of witnessing the Kashmir conflict as a local boy. A review of the book describes it as challenging ‘our most cherished beliefs in democracy [and] rule of law’. Peer does not trace the militancy back to Islam. He describes the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits as unfortunate. But he does write in detail about the excesses of Indian troops in Kashmir. And paints a grim picture of Kashmiri life after militarisation.

We too experienced how the conflict had become a part of the local life. A gunfight between police and militants took place in Srinagar during our trip. The location was a few kilometers away from where we were going to stay that day. The locals went about their jobs unperturbed. As explained by our driver, ‘it was a common occurrence there’. But we did spend some time that evening convincing our family back home that it was okay to continue with our trip.

What This Trip To Kashmir Has Meant For Me

As a result of this trip though, I am unable to go back to being oblivious to the Kashmir situation. It unsettles me that a large section of our country’s population resents the rest of us.

I am certain that the unrest cannot be quelled in the manner it is being dealt with currently. Overpowering the militants in Kashmir alone does not suffice. Reaching out to the local population is required. India invests a great number of resources in the army presence in Kashmir. But that has only led to militants being regarded by the local people as heroes and martyrs in a struggle for independence. In my view, what might work better is investing further in the development of the region. And if that cannot work, I do not see any value in keeping Kashmir tethered to India.

Admittedly, I cannot understand all the ramifications of allowing Kashmiris a plebiscite. But for how long can the world’s largest democracy afford to control any of its people through military power?