The Smart City Project: A CLOAK FOR SETTLER COLONIALISM IN KASHMIR
The Smart City Project: A CLOAK FOR SETTLER COLONIALISM IN KASHMIR
The Srinagar Smart City Project, under its glossy exterior, conceals a network of colonial intentions. The Indian state parades the illusion of development however beyond the sleek exterior and underneath the facade of progress, a complex narrative of settler colonialism unfolds, with the Indian state masterminding a grand illusion to reshape the region. The Smart City Project, ostensibly managed by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), is surreptitiously overseen by the Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) corporation. What stands out is the exclusion of democratically elected members from the SSCL board, replaced by bureaucrats acting as agents of the occupational state. This intentional design raises questions about democratic representation and local governance in the project's execution.
By: Mehr un Nisa
The thematic objectives of the Smart City Project, such as City Beautification and Urban Art, Urban Mobility, and Central Business District Upgradation, appear on the surface as commendable initiatives. However, closer scrutiny reveals a different story – pro-freedom graffiti erased, disrupted roads, and local businesses struggling to cope with the collateral damage of purported progress. The project's accelerated pace ahead of the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Kashmir reveals its strategic use as a façade to project normalcy in the region post the abrogation.
Drawing parallels with Israel's utilization of smart projects in Palestine, the Srinagar Smart City introduces an app called "My Srinagar," potentially paving the way for citizen surveillance. As the Indian state champions conservation and green initiatives, it concurrently facilitates ecologically damaging events like the Amarnath Yatra, further highlighting the disparity between rhetoric and action.
As the Indian state invests substantially in these "smart" initiatives to portray progressive development, Kashmiris face the harsh reality of silencing tactics. Dissenters, daring to reveal the adverse impacts of initiatives like the Smart City Project, find themselves facing incarceration and illegal detentions. The Srinagar Smart City Project serves as a tool for the Indian state's accelerated settler-colonial ambitions in Kashmir. It is crucial to look beyond the facade and reveal these initiatives for what they truly represent – glorified settler colonial projects.
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