Kashmir by Fiona Dunlop

Financial Times, August 02, 2005 03:15 PM

Given the choice of a holiday in Madrid or in Srinagar in Kashmir, northern India, which would you go for? Quite probably you would be tempted by the latter for its scenic splendour. Yet if you were in Britain, say, your first step might be to consult the Foreign Office advisory website, and you would change your mind rather fast. 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 definite word and, despite a qualification for Ladakh, this first line of advice in the 'India' section feels like a blanket prohibition. So, regretfully, you change your mind and opt for Madrid. There you will undoubtedly have a fabulous time - the new Prado extension, a spot of retail therapy and the odd tapas bar. You won't be alone. 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?

Given the choice of a holiday in Madrid or in Srinagar in Kashmir, northern India, which would you go for? Quite probably you would be tempted by the latter for its scenic splendour. Yet if you were in Britain, say, your first step might be to consult the Foreign Office advisory website, and you would change your mind rather fast. 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 definite word and, despite a qualification for Ladakh, this first line of advice in the 'India' section feels like a blanket prohibition. So, regretfully, you change your mind and opt for Madrid. There you will undoubtedly have a fabulous time - the new Prado extension, a spot of retail therapy and the odd tapas bar. You won't be alone. 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, holidaymakers want to feel confident about their chosen destination. The consistency of the FO advice is debateable. Does it help or inadvertently contribute to the vicious circle of terrorism by keeping certain places out of bounds - and, therefore, a large 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 European Union? For, despite detailing recent bomb incidents, FO advice here non-committally states: "There is a continued threat from terrorism in Spain." But more than 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?

The FO says: "Our advice is regularly updated and we try to keep it as consistent as possible. Information comes from various sources - it's not done lightly and is reviewed all the time." When asked about Spain, the reply is: "Western European facilities are different." In contrast, neither Kashmir/India nor Spain nor London figures among the US State Department's specific travel warnings on its website, although the situation in Kashmir is clearly outlined.

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, separatist and Islamist militancy struck and everything changed. Hindus and countless Kashmiri business people bolted, at least 35,000 people were killed in a decade, the lake stagnated and the houseboats rotted. Any foreigners venturing there risked their lives - proved in 1995 when five young Europeans were kidnapped and murdered. The outlook was grim.

When a particular destination is thrown into socio-geographical purdah, however, the dangers inevitably escalate since terrorism thrives on ignorance. Kashmir can still be dangerous, demonstrated by last summer's attack on a mountain resort hotel that 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 - tourism is booming. Over the past two years, visitors from the rest of the subcontinent increased dramatically and, although foreigners still scratch the statistical surface with just 12,000 visitors last year, this figure has nonetheless quadrupled.

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 e-mails at internet cafes, haggle over a leather jacket, then practise boating on
the Nagin Lake. Multi-generational Indian families, both Hindu and Muslim, revel in the waterfalls 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 nightsky sparkles above the silhouette ofthe Himalayas, sleep descends andDal Lake's magic reverberates.Does this really reflect the "high threat of terrorism"?

Last April 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 certainly are hard to fault. Last year, 54 million tourists poured into this land of sun, sea, sand and sierra, most of them blissfully ignorant of any danger. Yet in March 2004 al-Qaeda made its strike on Madrid. Spain's biggest ongoing threat emanates not from al-Qaeda but from ETA, the separatist group. But who thinks of this when hopping on a cheap flight to Barcelona or Granada, or planning a gastronomic weekend 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 is very, very small.
The travel pages of our 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. We have witnessed this in Vietnam, Cuba, South Africa and, more recently, Sri Lanka and Mozambique, with Burma waiting in the wings for regime change.

So is it not 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.

Fiona Dunlop travelled to Kashmir as a guest of Indus Tours Travel, tel: +44 (0)20 8901 7320 www.industours.co.uk and the Jammu Kashmir Department of Tourism Foreign Office advisory website: www.fco.gov.uk