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SRINAGAR, India – The famous houseboats bedecked with lights and emblazoned with the G-20 logo could just be seen past the rows of uniformed police officers stationed around Kashmir’s stunning Dal Lake. Every 20 feet along the waterfront promenade was a poster with scenic sights in Kashmir – behind it stood a soldier in camouflage.
Signs for the Group of 20 intergovernmental forum that India is hosting this year proclaim that the country is “the mother of democracy,” but this tourism gathering took place in a heavily militarized region with no elections for nearly a decade more have taken place.
The gathering of delegates from the world’s 20 richest nations to discuss tourism amidst the majestic Himalayan beauty of Indian Kashmir demonstrates what India calls the return of peace and prosperity to the region. But the talks, heralding a new normal, took place amid a heavy security presence and in sharp contrast to the voices just outside the boarded-up conference rooms.
The closure of the Kashmir Press Club is the latest blow to media freedom in the conflict-torn region
“What will come of this development? We must have peace in our hearts first,” said a shopkeeper in the heart of Srinagar’s old town, an area prone to violence. He said police threatened nearby shops to stay open to create some semblance of normalcy in the area.
As he spoke, a dozen members of the paramilitary federal police, pursued by their huge windowless armored vehicle, stopped to search a group of young boys. “The delegation should come here, look at this and talk to us,” the shopkeeper said. “You should talk about the Kashmir issue. Otherwise what would be the point?”
The decision to hold one of dozens of G-20 meetings this year in Kashmir has not been without controversy. China has boycotted the event, neighboring Pakistan has condemned it and UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes has issued a statement caustic statement He said the Indian government is “trying to normalize what some have described as a military occupation”.
Voices from Kashmir: Insights into India’s years of action
Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority area, has long been the country’s pride with its magnificent mountain vistas. It was once an essential film location and a coveted honeymoon destination, even though there has been a constant tug-of-war between Pakistan and India that has sparked several wars.
After disputed elections in 1987, simmering discontent erupted into a violent uprising and government crackdown that tarnished Kashmir’s reputation. After taking power, Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Operation All Out” — an offensive against the militants in 2017 that killed hundreds and dramatically soured ties with Pakistan.
After Modi won a second term in 2019, his government revoked the state’s post-independence special autonomy status and made it a territory directly governed by New Delhi. Any dissent was crushed by severe restrictions, including the longest internet shutdown in any democracy and the jailing of senior political leaders, journalists and activists.
The government claims that removing the region’s special status has allowed it to properly control it and usher in a new era of development, including relaxing land laws to allow outsiders and investment, which the G-20 meeting made clear.
“The fact that we are holding it in Srinagar is in some ways an achievement,” Jitendra Singh, a government minister and member of parliament from the region, said in a news conference. “This is an opportunity to see what is at stake with your own eyes. The common man has moved on.”
Kashmir saw a record number of tourists last year, nearly 2.6 million, while this year alone an additional 13,000 foreign tourists, mainly from Southeast Asia, have traveled to see the region’s famous mountains and tulips. The government hopes new golf courses, railway lines and efforts to lift travel warnings for Kashmir will attract more Europeans and others.
Arun Kumar Mehta, the territory’s chief secretary, said about US$250 million of the planned US$8 billion investment projects have been completed, with funds flowing from the Middle East particularly for shopping complexes.
“2022 was a historic year of development,” he said. “Life was back to normal for the first time in many, many years. I see such a longing in the common people to get back to normal. Peace comes when people have an interest in peace. And it’s quite obvious that people have an interest in peace.” The territory’s vice governor, Manoj Sinha, also said that “the ecosystem of terror sponsored by our neighbor has been all but destroyed”.
Militant recruitment has plummeted since the raid, according to a senior security official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
But a 28-year-old who works at a mall in Srinagar remarked: “If they’re that confident, they should have opened the mall gates.” [G-20 center] So that the local people attend the event and it is not held under such tight security protection. Only the government celebrates.” He spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.
In particular, the government has announced a new high-profile cinema multiplex in the city, marking the return of cinemas to the region after they were attacked by militants and all closed in the 1990s.
Khushboo Farooq, a 21-year-old who works there, said she finally found a place where she felt really safe after it opened last year. “We need the entertainment in our lives after what we’ve been through.”
“The reality is that Kashmir has already changed and we haven’t realized it yet,” said Vikas Dhar, the theater’s owner, who hoped the G-20 event would take Kashmir’s narrative beyond the conflict. He described his theater as “an answer to the demands that people make”.
While people would like to go to the movies, such developments are not “the core of what they really want,” countered Anuradha Bhasin, an editor at the Kashmir Times, who said the government has about half a dozen lawsuits against her newspaper have crippled it. “They embellish certain areas, but the people are missing from the story. Then there are big events like the G-20, which somehow smacks of the government’s indifference to the people.”
Bhasin said that while the obvious signs of violence may be diminishing, without a free and vocal media it is unclear whether or not militancy is increasing.
Mehbooba Mufti, a former prime minister who was arrested after the region was stripped of its semi-autonomous status, said this apparent development and prosperity comes with a heavy hand.
“They are trying to use tourism as a sign of normality,” she said, adding that about 100 young men were arrested in “preventive arrests” ahead of the G20 meeting.
“If everything is fine, then why this oppression? Maybe it’s quiet today. But the amount of power expended to keep things that way cannot always be used that way. And if God forbid, it will burst, it can get very big. You know, Kashmir, it can happen at any time,” she said.
“A dormant volcano”: Silence reigns in Kashmir’s streets, but residents seethe with resentment
Mohammad Sayeed Malik, a retired journalist from the region, said the territory’s assembly elections could mark a “breakthrough”.
While such elections could be held “soon”, officials at the G-20 event said, for now the government is focusing on local elections to strengthen politics from the “grassroots” amid fears parliamentary candidates could stoke separatist sentiments, particularly if funded by Pakistan.
The mall employee said he has given up on holding elections anytime soon. He agreed that Modi’s campaigns attracted tourists, but “they come, enjoy the beauty, and leave without bothering to ask us what to expect or how we’ve been doing.”
Shams Irfan contributed to this report.