Paradise regained: Kashmir blooms again

Tourism, the mainstay of the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, crippled by long years of militancy and civil unrest, is reviving. Tourism, the mainstay of the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir (pop. 12.3 million), crippled by long years of militancy and civil unrest, is reviving. An aggressive promotional campaign of the government coupled with tempting packages has prompted a resurgence of tourist inflow into the Kashmir Valley, even in the off-season winter months. In 2019 the state hosted over 2.5 million tourists. The government is giving top priority to tourism to help the industry flourish as it did in its heyday, before the spurt of militancy in the early 1980s. The year-round inflow of tourists and return of Bollywood film crews is an indicator of abatement of terrorist violence which has also prompted the promotion of golf and adventure tourism. Geographically, J&K comprises the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and the districts of Ladakh and Zanskar spread over a total area of 318,937 sq.km. Two years ago, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed by both houses of Parliament, which re-constituted the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with effect from October 31, 2019. The great majority of tourists head for the Kashmir Valley, of which the summer capital Srinagar with its picturesque Dal lake and fully-furbished houseboats are popular attractions. The Jammu, Ladakh and Zanskar districts are also high-potential tourist destinations in their own right, once Indo-Pakistan rivalry over the disputed status of Kashmir is resolved and peace is established in the region. Foreigners including Sultans, Mughals, Afghans and Sikhs intermittently administered Kashmir, a Hindu kingdom until the 14th century. The Amritsar Treaty signed between the British East India Company and Maharaja Ranjit on March 16, 1846 gave birth to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. As per the treaty, Kashmir and all the hilly and mountainous regions situated eastward of river Ravi were ceded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh for a sum of Rs.75 lakh to the British in lieu of indemnity to Maharaja Gulab Singh, a Dogra warlord of Jammu, who remained neutral in the battle between the British and Sikhs. Dogra rule over J&K ended in 1947 after the princely state acceded to India. The verdant Kashmir Valley is bound by the main Himalayan range (northeast) and the Pir Panjal range (southwest) in northwestern India. The valley is an ancient lake basin 140 km long, and 32 km wide situated 5,300 ft above mean sea level. Drained by the upper Jhelum River, it is sheltered against the wet southwest monsoon by 12,000-16,000 ft high mountains which make the period June-September ideal holiday months. Raj Taringini, a chronology of Kashmir’s kings written by Kalhana, eulogises the charm of Kashmir as being “as beautiful as Goddess Parvati manifest; and its owner is Lord Shiva himself”. Likewise, the 17th century Mughal Emperor Jehangir was so enchanted by the temperate climate and flora and fauna of the Kashmir Valley that…