Killing of a Tourist to Cause More Damage to the Sinking Tourism Industry in J&K?

A 22-year-old tourist from Tamil Nadu died on Monday after suffering an injury to his head by a stone pelted during the protests in Narabal area of Kashmir.  R. Thirumani, along with his family, was travelling to Gulmarg, when his vehicle was attacked by the stone-pelters. The victim was taken to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), where he succumbed to his injuries later in the evening. 

The tragedy has evoked a range of emotions from the people in the valley, even though outrage and sadness dominate. This, perhaps, reflects the divisions in the troubled state, which has been riven with militancy and violence for many years now.

 Expressing her shock over the incident, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, "My head hangs in shame. It is very sad and heartbreaking."

Outraged opposition leader Omar Abdullah emphasised the need to stop glorifcation of the stone-pelters. His tweet read: "We've killed a tourist by throwing stones at the vehicle he was travelling in. Let's try and wrap our heads around the fact that we stoned a tourist, a guest, to death while we glorify these stone pelters & their methods."

Condemning the attack on the tourist, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “We need to be firm with terrorists and ensure safe movement of tourists. (…) The state wanted to promote tourism."

A local girl from Handwara area of North Kashmir's Kupwara district was also injured during the same protest.

Khurram Pravez, JKCSS coordinator, told Newsclick: "The stone-pelting incident is an attack on civilians and not necessarily on tourists. Other people injured in this include a 19-year-old girl from Handwara. A few days ago, a school bus too was attacked. These attacks are horrible and people involved must be held accountable."

This is clearly not an isolated incident. On May 2, a school bus carrying around 50 school children was attacked by stone-pelters in Shopian of South Kashmir. 

In 2018 itself, Kashmir has witnessed over 100 killings, including of 30 civilians. The killings have triggered a mass outrage in the valley, resulting in unending protests.

Essar Batool, a human rights activist, told Newsclick, "Yesterday's incident, where a tourist from Chennai lost his life in a stone-pelting incident is sad and unfortunate, but calling it an 'attack' on the tourist vehicle is wrong. The vehicle was passing through an area where stone-pelting was going on, and unfortunately was caught in between. An attempt to portray it as a deliberate attack on the vehicle needs to be resisted, as a Kashmiri girl was also injured in the same incident. An important point to keep in mind is that Kashmiris are often injured in stone-pelting incidents. Of course, there needs to be a way where we are not harming civilians, whether they are Kashmiris or Indians, but at the same time, you have to realise that Kashmir is a war zone.” 

Tourism in Kashmir

Tourism contributes to only 7 per cent of the state's economy. The year 2017 witnessed the lowest number of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, as reported by Kashmir Reader. The number of tourists fell down to 73 lakh in 2017, compared to 84 lakh in 2016 and 92 lakh in 2015. "Out of 73 lakh tourists, over 57 lakh were pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, and 2,60,003 were Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. Leaving aside the pilgrims, only 13 lakh tourists, which include both foreigners and Indians, visited Jammu & Kashmir," the publication said, in its report.

While Kashmiris are known for their hospitality, the decreasing numbers show that the industry is struggling to attract tourists. The question is: will this incident result in further decrease in the number of tourists in the valley and a clampdown on economy? 

Recently, Mehbooba Mufti described tourism as a “magical medicine” that can provide a healing touch to the wounds of the people here.

“There have been some isolated incidents of tourists getting injured during clashes. However, projecting them as a deliberate design with malafide intention by a section of the media is regretted and should be condemned. The valley is safe,” Mufti had said.

“The state has gone through an enormous phase of violence. The tourism industry is one magical medicine that can provide a healing touch to the wounds of people. This can benefit an ordinary shikarawala, roadside hawker, small eatery…,” she added.

While Kashmir is engulfed by widespread protests, a few activists think that it is the responsibility of the government to assure that the tourists are protected.

Batool said, "It is the responsibility of the government to protect tourists that are called to Kashmir by portraying it as a normal tourist place, whereas, on the other hand, you have at least five civilian deaths happening in a single day. That being said, such incidents will be portrayed in a certain way to defame the struggle of Kashmiris, who are known for their hospitality and kindness towards visitors and outsiders in Kashmir. It is unfortunate that the burden of morality falls on the subjugated people always, but for now, we need to be extra careful with what is happening in the valley,"

Majid Hyderi, a renowned journalist from Kashmir, questioned, "When the hosts are not safe, how can the guests be safe? Even a two-day old militant – professor Muhammaf Rafi was not given a chance to live. Unless there’s a ceasefire with Kashmiri militants, stone-pelting will be a natural reaction to the killings. And then, you never know if this tourist was attacked to defame the Kashmir cause."