Topic: India’s Consistent Efforts to Weaponize Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and Normalizing Foreign Investment in the Occupied Territory
Topic: India’s Consistent Efforts to Weaponize Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and Normalizing Foreign Investment in the Occupied Territory
Abstract
Tourism has long been a major source of revenue for the people of the Indian-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, but it has also been used as a tool by the Indian government to promote its control over the region. In recent years, the Indian government has stepped up its efforts to weaponize tourism, using it to project a positive image of the region to counter the narrative of the Kashmiri people and to hide their oppressive actions. The Indian government has invested heavily in developing tourist infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, building new hotels, roads, and other facilities. It has also launched several marketing campaigns aimed at attracting tourists from India and abroad.
These efforts have been somewhat successful, with the number of tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir increasing in recent years. However, this weaponization of tourism has also been criticized by independent observers and Kashmir watchers who have been constantly observing the situation in the region. They argue that the Indian government is using tourism to whitewash the ongoing human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir. They also argue that the government's focus on tourism is displacing the local population and destroying the environment.
The debate over the weaponization of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir is going to continue and there is no doubt that tourism plays an important role in the region's economy but the behavior of the Indian Armed Forces in the region cannot be put aside, it is inhuman, barbaric and disgusting the least one can say.
Another crucial point that will be covered in this article is the way the Indian Government is trying to play off the situation in IOJK as peaceful and calm by allowing foreign groups to invest. Namely, it would be the recent development from the Emaar group from the Middle East but also the way people from other states of India are being encouraged to travel, start businesses, and settle in IOJK. The Emaar Group is a major real estate developer with a presence in over 30 countries.
Its investment in Kashmir is expected to boost the local economy by creating jobs and generating revenue. The company plans to invest $60 million in the construction of a shopping mall and an office complex in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The project is expected to create 7,000 to 8,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 permanent jobs once it is completed. The mall is also expected to attract tourists and more international businesses to the region. However, this is all a play to brush the human rights violations happening in the region at the hands of Indian Authorities, under the rug.
The research revolved around the following two main questions:
How is India using tourism to portray normalcy in the region of oppression?
What will be the outcome of allowing foreign investment groups to invest in IOJK and how does that affect the freedom movement of Jammu and Kashmir?
Methodology
In this research study, the method that was adopted is secondary data collection to dive into the phenomenon of the weaponization of tourism in the region of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. By using existing data from the scarce and few sources, such as international organizations, scholarly articles, and media outlets, the aim was to comprehensively examine the complex relationship between tourism and conflict dynamics of the region. Secondary data analysis allowed me to explore historical, socio-political, and economic dimensions without the challenge of logistics and ethical issues that are associated with primary data collection in conflict-affected areas.
Using qualitative content analysis, I set out to uncover insights into how tourism has been exploited as a strategic tool, shedding light on its implications for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the broader conflict landscape in IOJK.. It was relatively difficult to find accurate and recent data from the region that could help with the study and give better insight, but it is understandable that how we have this unavailability and scarcity because of the major outages of power and internet that the region must experience which is yet another tool of oppression at the hands of the Indian Authorities. This is what can be considered the research gap that I have tried with the help of my study, to fill and educate upon.
Introduction
To answer the first major question; How is India using tourism to portray normalcy in the region of oppression? We need to understand this dimension first. The Occupation state can control who is allowed to visit the territory, and how they are allowed to travel within the territory. This can be done by issuing visas, setting up checkpoints, and controlling the movement of tourists within the territory. Moreover, they can market the territory as a tourist destination, highlighting its natural beauty, historical sites, and cultural attractions.
This can help to create a positive image of the territory and to legitimize the state's claim to it but in the case of IOJK they’ve only sought to destroy the region and the existing culture along with its sites etc. Consider how the Indian government is urging people to move to Jammu and Kashmir and trying to change the demographic of the region in order to stake their claim on the region even stronger and creating this false sense of familiarity with the rest of India for the people who visit from abroad.
India claims to be the world's largest democracy, but its treatment of minorities, particularly Muslims, has raised questions about its commitment to democratic principles. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014 on a platform of Hindu nationalism and an aggressive stance towards Pakistan. The BJP's leader, Narendra Modi, became prime minister in 2014, and since then, relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated further. In 2019, the Modi government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave special status to the Kashmir region.
The government also imposed a communications blackout and a military lockdown in Kashmir. These actions have been widely criticized by human rights groups, who say they have violated the rights of Kashmiris. The government has also been accused of abducting political figures, arbitrarily detaining Kashmiris, and using excessive force against protesters. In 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said that there was "credible evidence" that Indian security forces had committed human rights violations in Kashmir. The Indian government has denied these allegations, but the situation in Kashmir is there to see for all.
Moving to the second question that; What will be the outcome of allowing foreign investment groups to invest in IOJK and how does that affect the freedom movement of Jammu and Kashmir? According to a news report published in Reuters and many other national as well as international news outlets “The announcement of what the region's government said was its first foreign investment comes after the central government said last week that IIOJK had received record investment of 15 billion Indian rupees ($181 million) in the first 10 months of the 2022-23 (April-March) fiscal year. Governments have long tried to woo investors, both domestic and foreign, but with little success due to the three-decade freedom movement in the disputed territory.” The Kashmir Valley as it is known for its snow-topped mountains and beautiful lakes, attracted more than 16 million tourists in the year 2022. India keeps on trying to take advantage of this factor and capitalize on not only the regions tourism but its oppression of the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir all together.
That land and region belongs to the people that it has been oppressing for decades and now after years of planning and scheming the Indian Government after taking away their special status, is trying to transform the region in such a manner that the people of IOJK have no say in it. Apart from that the whole scenario that is going on side by side to change the demographic of the region so that in case of a plebiscite the majority would choose to stay with India.
The freedom movement in Jammu and Kashmir is bound to experience significant shifts due to these foreign investments and demographic changes. These factors contribute to complex socio-political dynamics that converge with the region's decade’s long struggle for self-determination. Foreign investments, particularly in economic development and infrastructure projects, have introduced a new dimension to the regional situation and will keep on doing so.
On one side, these investments have led to the establishment of some industries and according to newer reports that is the future intention as well and infrastructural growth, which can potentially enhance economic opportunities for the local population. However, their impact on the freedom movement cannot be neglected. While there is the argument that economic development could divert attention from the movement and lead to a sort of normalization of the conflict, there are also others that say that these investments can inadvertently contribute to the region's integration with the rest of the country, thereby weakening the distinctive identity and autonomy that needs to be preserved.
Discussions
Demographic changes, primarily driven by settlements of individuals from outside the region, have also had a substantial impact. The influx and movement of people from other parts of India, facilitated by government policies, has led to major concerns over the alteration of the demographic composition in Jammu and Kashmir. This could and surely will dilute the unique cultural and religious identity of the region, potentially altering the socio-political landscape. Such demographic shifts have always been known to heighten tensions and fuel the already existing grievances, with the local people becoming victims of marginalization and loss of representation. These actions then also have the potential to intensify the freedom movement as a response to these threats to the region's distinct identity and autonomy.
As it has been discussed before in this research that India has been strategically using tourism as a tool to project a sense of normalcy in the occupied region of Jammu and Kashmir. By promoting tourism in this conflict-affected area, the Indian government aims to create an image of stability and development, both domestically and on the international stage. One key way in which India uses tourism for this purpose is by showcasing the region's natural beauty and cultural diversity. Advertising the vast landscapes of Kashmir and the vibrancy of the local culture that the Indian Armed Forces upon the directives of the Indian Government are destroying, diverts attention away from the very political and security issues that have plagued the region for decades. This presentation of Jammu and Kashmir as a tourist destination paints a narrative of serenity and harmony, overshadowing the underlying conflict, killings, the abductions, rapes, and tortures and portraying the area as a safe and peaceful haven.
Findings
Many Indian Governments have come and gone over the last 75 years since the departure of the British Empire from the region and there is no doubt that the objectives of all of them on the subject of Jammu and Kashmir has been the same. This is because there has not been a kind of a prominent pause in the violence in the region, somewhere and someone is always staring through the barrel of a gun of the Indian Forces in the area. In recent days after hearing from a person who has been travelling to India as a tourist from the United Kingdom, there is heavy military presence after every 5 miles or so and for the purpose of communication people from the outside have to get special sim cards before going there.
This should not come as a shocker because the brutality that they conduct in the region can and would not stay hidden if there was open internet and communication signals that would allow the people in there to communicate with the outside world. Still it is the bravery and courage of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that they get whatever news they can out of the region and the resilient Kashmiri leadership that even in the face of barbaric oppression, remains unbent and unbroken.
The Indian Authorities think that by using these tactics, they will somehow find newer ways to eradicate and remove this problem that they are facing in the region. They think that the conscience of the people can be bought by foreign investment opportunities and if not that then they can put on false show for the world to see that everything is alright and the region is “peaceful” and “harmonious”. They tried with the session of the G20 summit in Kashmir but failed marvelously with China and Saudi declining while Turkey and Indonesia were also unlikely to join. In a news report published by Al Jazeera Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a political analyst based in the region, says that for the people of Kashmir, the G20 meeting “would have meant something had there been a normal situation over here”. “Now, normalcy does not mean normalcy of a graveyard where you have restrictions on media, restrictions on people and people languishing in jails,” he said. “And at the same time you want to project to the world that everything is normal.”
Conclusion
The way in which the Indian Government has used tourism and foreign investments might momentarily work and divert attention from the underlying political and historical issues fueling the freedom movement which it seems to have failed any way, but it falls short of addressing the genuine grievances and the main issues of the conflict. Going down this path will further fuel concerns over the alteration of the region's demographic composition and the definite marginalization of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which in turn intensifies tensions rather than trying to create genuine peace. While such strategies might create a false image of normalcy, but they do not address the core issues and concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A sustainable resolution demands genuine efforts to engage with the local people, recognize their perspectives for self-determination, release of their leadership from jails and address the historical and political complexities that have shaped the region's longstanding struggle by initiating a dialogue with those very people that the Indian Occupation is so quick to put into detention. Freedom is a basic human right, the more you fight and oppress it the more you face and feel friction. Recognize, talk, acknowledge and resolve is the only way things can work or at the least it is the only way to start after years and decades of atrocities towards the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir.
References
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/22/india-hosts-g20-tourism-meet-in-kashmir-under-heavy-security
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/22/china-saudi-arabia-boycott-g20-meeting-india-kashmir
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-jammu-kashmir-gets-first-foreign-investment-dubais-emaar-2023-03-20/
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2407124/iiojk-gets-first-foreign-investment-from-dubais-emaar
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/political-economy.asp
https://www.hilal.gov.pk/eng-article/detail/NzM4OA==.html
Written By: Hashir Malik, BS PCS NDU (Ongoing) & Intern at KIIR
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