The Kashmir Conundrum by Fiona Dunlop

Given the choice of a holiday in Madrid or in Srinagar (Kashmir), which would you go for? Quite probably you would be sorely tempted by the latter for its scenic splendour tinged with colonial nostalgia. Yet if, like the majority of the population, your first step is to consult the Foreign Office Advisory website, you may change your mind rather fast. For there in black and white, with all the authority of the Foreign Office behind them, are the words “We strongly advise against all travel to Jammu and Kashmir”. All is a very finite word and, despite a qualification for Ladakh, this first line of advice in the ‘India’ section feels like blanket prohibition.

So, regretfully, you change your mind and opt for Madrid instead. There you will undoubtedly have a fabulous time between the new Prado extension, a spot of retail therapy and the odd tapas-bar. You won’t be alone either, as Madrid is a perennial favourite for northern Europeans and Americans of all ages. But somehow the image of Kashmir and its legendary lake lingers. Did you make the right decision?

With the high profile of terrorism in our post 9/11 (and now post 7/7) era, holiday-makers understandably wish to feel confident about their targeted destination. However the consistency of the F.O. advice is a moot point. Is it helping or inadvertently contributing to the vicious circle of terrorism by keeping certain places ‘out of bounds’ - and therefore a huge chunk of their population out of work (Kashmir, for example)? And, conversely, is it skating over the reality of more familiar countries such as Spain, a fellow member of the E.U. club? For, despite detailing recent bomb incidents, F.O. advice here non-committally states “There is a continued threat from terrorism in Spain”. But over one year on from India and Pakistan’s first round of cricket diplomacy, why should the lake paradise of Srinagar be more threatening than Madrid?

Two decades ago, Kashmiri houseboat-owners rubbed their hands every spring at the prospect of the annual influx of tourists. From May to October the hyacinth-choked waters of Dal Lake saw flotillas of vividly painted shikaras carrying Indian families, boho Westerners, young travellers and wide-eyed Japanese. Carpet-sellers honed their skills as did purveyors of anything remotely embroidered, while the houseboats initiated by the British Raj provided unusual accomodation. The economy boomed. Then, in 1989, Islamist militancy struck and everything changed. Hindus and countless Kashmiri business-people bolted, an estimated 35,000 people were killed in a decade, the lake stagnated and the houseboats gently rotted. Any foreigner venturing there risked their life, proved in 1995 when five young Europeans (including two Britons) were kidnapped and murdered. The outlook was decidedly grim.

When a particular destination is thrown into socio-geographical purdah, the dangers inevitably escalate, as terrorism thrives on ignorance. Kashmir can still be dangerous, demonstrated by the 2004 attack on a mountain resort hotel which left several Indian tourists dead. Since then, car bombs have left fatalities (usually military) but the temperature is changing fast. Go to Srinagar today and you will be amazed, for tourism is actually booming. Between 2003 and 2005, visitors from the rest of the subcontinent increased tenfold to nearly 250,000 and although foreigners still scratch the statistical surface, their numbers are nonetheless multiplying. To cope with this renewed popularity, internal flights are being increased as all visitors arrive via Delhi.

Despite the high-profile presence of the Indian Army, of rifles poking between sandbags, of soldiers brewing chai, of nocturnal road-checks and of the odd gun-toting boatload speeding across the lake, Srinagar is visibly alive and well. Intrepid gap-year travellers check their emails at internet cafés, haggle over a leather jacket, then practice their rowing skills on the deserted Nagin Lake. Multi-generational Indian families, both Hindu and Muslim, revel in the waterfalls of the Mughal Gardens while portly businessmen from Delhi or Mumbai swing their golf-clubs at a spanking new lakeside course designed by Robert Trent Jones. Their wives trail excited broods as they shop till they drop, then the entire family is punted back through the floating gardens to their houseboat. Finally, the car horns and bicycle-bells are silenced, the night sky sparkles above the silhouette of the Himalayas, sleep descends and Dal Lake’s magic reverberates. Does this really reflect the “high threat of terrorism”?

April 2005 saw a long-awaited, “confidence-building measure” between India and Pakistan: the resumed bus service between the two halves of Kashmir. A raid on Srinagar’s passenger terminus and a volley of grenades resulted in the death of two militants, yet the journey went ahead. As a symbol of rapprochement it was a success, further evidence of the determination to end the years of tragedy in this beautiful land. Soon after came the announcement of an ambitious rail link between Kashmir and India, to be completed by 2007. Kashmiris may have missed out on 15 years of development, including the entire internet age, but you can rely on these astute business-people to catch up fast; some houseboats are even installing wi-fi networks.

Back in Spain, tourist facilities are hard to fault. Some 54 million tourists pour into this land of sun, sea, sand and sierra yearly, most of them blissfully ignorant of any danger. Yet in March 2004 Al Quaeda made its fatal strike on Madrid. And Spain’s biggest threat emanated not from Al Quaeda, but from ETA which often targeted tourist spots. With an amnesty now in place, that threat now seems past. But who thought of it a year or so ago when hopping on Ryanair to Barcelona or Granada, or planning a gastronomic foray in San Sebastian? Spain has been such a popular, easily accessible destination for decades that nobody hesitates before grabbing their euros and heading for the airport. Rightly so, as the likelihood of being an ETA target was always very, very small.

The travel pages of newspapers and glossies constantly tout the latest “go there before it’s too late” paradise. In turn, each one awakes, Rip Van Winkle-like, from years of isolation imposed by civil war or totalitarian regimes, thirsting for the bounty generated by tourism. Over the last decade or so we have witnessed this in Vietnam, Cuba, South Africa and, more recently, Sri Lanka and Mozambique, with Myanmar still waiting in the wings for regime change. So isn’t it time those wily carpet-sellers of Dal Lake were given another chance? I merely whisper the mantra: “Go there before it’s too late”, because the Indians have already made their choice.

Indus Tours & Travel (tel 020 8901 7320 www.industours.co.uk) organises trips to Kashmor.

Foreign Office advisory website: www.fco.gov.uk A version of this was first published in the Financial Times.

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