On World Tourism Day, Govt shuts tourism for Pranab

Separatists freeze Valley; Govt freezes Dal Lake, Mughal Gardens

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 27: Frequent Kashmir visitor, Pranab Mukherjee enjoys the distinction of being Congress party’s chief political strategist in Manmohan Singh-led UPA-I and UPA-II. He played a key role in forging an unnatural post-election alliance between the unionist Congress and the pseudo separatist People Democratic Party (PDP). That coalition government, first headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of PDP and later by Ghulam Nabi Azad of Congress, crumbled under the weight of its own incompatibility of cultures four months short of its term.

Inspite of enough of bad blood between the two, Pranab continued to pat Mufti and his party. In a statement in Jammu, during election campaigning in 2008, he left the door open for PDP for yet another alliance. But, Ajmal Qasab had already played spoilsport when his November 26^th Mumbai strikes assumed all the trappings of a political tsunami. Call it jingoism or patriotism, entire India asserted against terror---first time after the attack on Parliament in December 2001---firmly in one voice.

Political outfits, which had remained friendly, sympathetic or soft to militants, became overnight untouchable in New Delhi. It made Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference (NC) a logical beneficiary. Congress stalwarts like Pranab and Makhan Lal Fotedar were left with no option but to reconcile to the formation of a new coalition---comprising Congress and NC. Days before the Presidential election earlier this year, Pranab visited Kashmir to garner support of all constituents of the ruling coalition as well as Mufti’s PDP.

But none of his visits as a Congress leader or a Union Cabinet Minister did ever trouble an ordinary Kashmiri. Many of them, in fact, saw in him a “soft politician” like they did previously in BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee.

In contrast, Pranab’s maiden visit to Kashmir as President of India today brought with it some sort of blight. Paradoxically, on the Wold Tourism Day, security agencies and authorities imposed an undeclared curfew in entire Dal Lake area surrounded by Mughal Gardens and other common tourist attractions like Hazratbal and Nageen. An unusually thick security bandobust was in place, disallowing pedestrian and vehicular movement in several areas and presenting the looks of a war zone after years.

As long as President remained busy with the Convocation at Kashmir University campus at Hazratbal, hundreds of Indian and foreign tourists remained confined in their hotels and houseboats on and around the twin lakes. Shikaras were not allowed to venture into floating gardens and straits. Government employees and students failed to reach their offices and schools and businessmen had to be content with watching TV at home. Even otherwise, many of the offices and educational institutions as well as businesses were already frozen under a call of shutdown from many separatist and militant groups.

With a break of few hours, Dal Lake and its surroundings wore yet again looks of an embattled conflict zone when President expressed his will to enjoy a motor launch ride on the waters and the famous Mughal Garden, Nishat. With columns of Police and paramilitary forces lined up on all roads, it proved to be the worse spell of undeclared curfew. For more than two hours, vehicular traffic was fully blocked on several entry and exit points.

At Nishat, Dalgate and Hazratbal Zakoora, none of the private or commercial vehicles, including those of journalists and doctors, were allowed towards Boulevard and SKICC. Even the patients without ambulance were stopped on several points and sent back to home. Businesses usually defiant to Hurriyat’s and militants’ shutdown calls were disallowed to operate for “security reasons”. “President’s security is paramount”, argued officials, even those deployed seven to eight Kms away from his itinerary and guesthouse. The shutdown was reminiscent of the early 90s when sunlight and darkness were the only marks of distinction for the day and the night.

At the cost of the Shikarawallah’s and the corn seller’s earnings of the day, President enjoyed the mechanical cruise in the company of Governor Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. His memorable moments were captured by cameras and cellphones. He was later commandeered through the picturesque terraces and lush green lawns of Nishat Bagh, followed like shadows by Governor, Chief Minister and other VIPs. Amid an eerie silence, the aesthetical backgrounds wore deserted looks. These hours yesterday, Nishat bustled with flowing streams of tourists.

Otherwise also, there was no event of celebrating the World Tourism day by the Ministry or Department of Tourism. The only relevant news was that of a meeting of the executives of Ogilvy and Mather with Minister of Tourism, Rigzin Jora, or MoS Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani. What the international advertising brand has promoted of Kashmir tourism is known only to the two Ministers and their subordinate officials. Even a nominal cultural show or tourism awareness event was not organized anywhere in Valley.

In rest of the capital city, and elsewhere in Valley, life remained crippled under the impact of a Hurriyat-sponsored shutdown. Business establishments, shops, government and private offices remained shut and public transport was off the road. While as both factions of Hurriyat and JKLF had called for shutdown on occasion of President Mukherjee’s maiden visit to Kashmir, attendance was thin in government and private offices besides banks, schools, colleges and Universities.

Nevertheless, President’s visit was a success in a many ways. Pranab, like all in the Indian establishment, has a fascination, or perhaps obsession, for the “mosaic”. For his lecture at the intellectual gathering, which had all the Vice Chancellors in attendance, his audience included two eminent personalities from academia. One is a retired Principal of a college and another a serving Professor at University of Kashmir. Both are famous for their secessionist views and lifelong affinity with those championing the cause of ‘Azadi’.

Of late, the lady Principal---unlike the New York returned Professor of Mathematics of the Islamic University (Awantipore) who was more conspicuously present than her VC Dr Trag---has been in the forefront of Kashmir’s “civil society”, lamenting that “occupational India” has been drying up Kashmir’s water and mineral resources and hence needed to be sliced from this country. This respected speaker, however, skipped all the known rhetoric of Kashmir Economic Alliance and restricted her paeans to only the Valley’s “pluralism” and “secular ethos”.

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