By Farooq Wani
For Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the year 2023 stands out because of several landmarks achieved despite serious security-related challenges. This year saw the Supreme Court of India unanimously upholding abrogation of Article 370 that had provided special status to the erstwhile state for over six decades (1954-2019). During 2023, the Parliament unanimously passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 making them laws.
These laws have paved the way for both the Centre and the UT administration to restore civilian democratic processes and statehood, step-by-step after years, which is a welcome step that has finally ended decades of self-serving political and administrative neglect that gave a wide berth for terrorists and militants to thrive. Consequently, J&K in general and the Kashmir Valley in particular, are now experiencing peace, normalcy, socio-economic stability and development without disruption.
In addition, about 890 Central laws have been applied in the J&K and Ladakh regions while over 200 archaic State laws have been repealed while hundreds of discriminatory laws have been modified to benefit Kashmiris.
G-20
The other significant landmark achieved by J&K was to host the epochal Third G20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting in Srinagar in May this year. It was historical in the context of organising a global-scale event in a region that not too long ago was riven with violence, unrest, instability and unfathomable economic distress.
G-20 delegates, about 60 in number, spent three eventful days (May 22-24) deliberating on the next steps for promotion of tourism and hospitality globally, taking a tour of Srinagar’s business district and interacting with civil society to get a first-hand account on the changing scenario in J&K.
Holding the TWG meet in Srinagar helped delegates to get an intimate insight into Kashmir Valley’s unexplored tourism potential. It also provided delegates with an excellent opportunity to evaluate ground realities and helped dispel apprehensions and negative images created by motivated propaganda and disinformation.
The G-20 opened new vistas and gave hope for the future, besides sounding the death knell of anti-Kashmir narratives and attendant violence. It was unobtrusively a people’s event, showcasing the best of Kashmiri traditions, food, art, craft, and excellent hospitality.
Both film tourism and handicrafts were identified as niche areas for future exploration and regional economic growth. Needless to say, the tourism sector, which is this region’s largest industry, got the much needed boost because of the TWG meeting and this has gone a long way in restoring the livelihood of thousands of locals. Delegates were greatly impressed by “Naya (New) Kashmir and left with fond memories of its timeless natural beauty
Tourism
2023 proved to be a good year for J&K tourism, with a record arrival of over 20 million tourists (as on December 7, 2023). Last year, tourist arrivals were pegged at around 19 million. Tourism contributes somewhere around 7.3 percent of J&K’s GSDP and provides around 2.2 million jobs directly and indirectly.
An important step taken was to promote border tourism with the help of the Indian Army and the UT tourism department. As many as 75 offbeat destinations were identified for tourism development to mark 75 years of India’s independence. Areas selected included Bhaderwah, Doodhpathri, Yousmarg, Verinag, Lolab, Bangus, Basholi, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, etc. Pilgrim tourism was another area that received more attention as well. Bollywood keeps the date with Kashmir with big banners making beeline.
Today sports in J&K are taking a new stride and youth making J&K and the nation proud in different sports disciplines both at National and International levels
Infrastructure Development
During 2022-2023, nearly 252 projects and development works are being completed per day. The number of infrastructural projects completed during a financial year has risen from 9,229 in 2018 to over 92,560 in 2022-23, with approximately the same capital expenditure.
Data reveals that over Rs.1.50 lac crores has been allotted for new road construction across J&K. Healthcare is now a priority. J&K today has two All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), seven new medical colleges, two state-run cancer institutes, 3,000 health and wellness centres and several nursing colleges. A universal health insurance for all families under the PMJAY-SEHAT Scheme has also been introduced.
The Indian Railways is speeding up rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of India. So far, railway lines have been operationalised between Jammu-Udhampur-Katra in Jammu region, and Baramulla-Banihal in the Kashmir Valley. It includes the construction of the world’s tallest railway bridge across the Chenab River.
Work on Asia’s longest tunnel at Zojila is in progress and once completed, this technological and engineering marvel in an extremely challenging terrain will ensure all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh. So far, more than 35 percent of the work on the main tunnel has been completed and this project is expected to be completed by 2026. The UT has witnessed tax revenue growth of 31 percent since mid-2019. In Fiscal 2022-23, J&K’s GSDP grew at eight percent at constant prices, as against seven percent at the national level.
Terrorism
Both the Centre and the UT claim that terrorism has drastically reduced in J&K and this is supported by data provided by the New Delhi-based South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP).
According to the SATP, between 2019 and 2023, the number of incidents of killings has gone down from 135 (2019) to 70 (2023), the number of civilians has gone down from 42 (2019) to 11 (2023) and the number of security forces killed has gone down from 78 (2019) to 33 (2023). The two bad years vis-à-vis incidents of killings were 2021 (153) and 2022 (151).
The BJP-led Centre and the UT administration maintain that “the root of terrorism is the feeling of separatism,” which had arisen due to the existence of Article 370. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, citing figures in Parliament during its Winter Session, said that “the last nine years – the Modi years – show a 70% reduction.”
Nevertheless, incidents of terror have taken place in 2023 and some the prominent ones were:
• On March 9, suspected militants shot dead Sameer Bhat, a panchayat head, in the Khonmoh area near Srinagar. Bhat was a member of the Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
• On May 12, Kashmiri Pandit government employee Rahul Bhat was shot dead by terrorists inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town in Budgam District. He had been working as a clerk under the special employment package for migrants since 2010-11.
• On May 25, Amreen Bhat, a local TikTok star and television artist who had a substantial fan following on social media, was shot dead by terrorists outside her house in Budgam’s Hashroo village. Her 10-year-old nephew was also injured in the attack.
• On May 31, Rajni Bhalla, a school teacher was shot and killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam District.
• On June 8, Ajay Pandita, a 40-year-old Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch, was killed in South Kashmir’s Anantnag District. He was a Sarpanch of Lukbawan village in the Larkipora area of the district and was attacked in his orchard. The episode has triggered massive outrage as Pa
• On September 12, militants attacked a joint team of J&K Police and the Army in Gadool Ahlan village located in Kokernag tehsil of Anantnag District, killing two senior Indian Army officers and one J&K police officer.
• On December 21, in Poonch District, four soldiers were killed and two injured when terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz.
• On December 24, a retired SSP rank officer was shot dead by terrorists in Baramuula
Between August 5, 2019 and June 16, 2023, 231 terrorists and their over-ground workers (OGWs) were arrested in the Jammu division – a 71% increase in such arrests if compared to the period between October 27, 2015 and August 4, 2019. Similarly, the number of casualties owing to IED blasts increased from three in 2015-19 to 11 in 2019-2023 – again almost a 73% jump.
The silver lining in official statistics released by the Jammu division was that the casualties among the police and security forces showed a 13 percent decline after Article 370 abrogation.
Responding to a question posed in the Rajya Sabha during this year’s Winter Session of Parliament, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai revealed that “terror-initiated” incidents dropped to 41 until November 15, 2023 in Jammu and Kashmir, compared to 125 in 2022, 129 in 2021, 126 in 2020, 153 in 2019, and 228 in 2018. The number of encounters, he added, showed a similar dip with 44 reported incidents of encounters in 2023 compared to 117 in 2022, 100 in 2021, 118 in 2020, 102 in 2019, and 189 in 2018.
Rai indicated that the Centre’s ‘zero-tolerance policy’ towards terrorism was responsible for the decline.
Home Minister Shah said there wasn’t a single stone pelting incident reported across Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, whereas in 2010, there were 2,654 such incidents reported.
The security establishment in J&K Kashmir has been on high alert in 2023 as it was during previous years.
As recently as September 2023, it was reported by ‘The Week’ that 81 terrorists were still active in Kashmir, of which 48 belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, while the rest belonged to the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Hizbul Mujahideen and Al Badr. The report also said that the largest number of active terrorists were in South Kashmir – 56, which included 28 foreign terrorists.
Prognosis
While Kashmir is still not out of the woods as far as terrorism is concerned, locals have realised that development and progress is contingent on peace and as such public support for terrorist violence as well as protests and shutdowns called for by separatist groups is fast waning. Hence while it may take some more time for complete normalcy to return, the one thing certain is that the people of Kashmir will not endorse disruptions in routine public activity fuelled by vested interests.
The author is Editor Brighter Kashmir, author, TV commentator, political analyst and columnist. email:[email protected]
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