The Impact of Terrorism on Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir: Position Statement. Background Context. Scope of the Proposed Plan (Research Paper Sample)

THE IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON TOURISM IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Position Statement PAGEREF _Toc426780431 \h 3Background Context PAGEREF _Toc426780432 \h 4A Statement of Need PAGEREF _Toc426780433 \h 6Scope of the Proposed Plan PAGEREF _Toc426780434 \h 9Proposed Process PAGEREF _Toc426780435 \h 10Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc426780436 \h 11References PAGEREF _Toc426780437 \h 12
Position Statement
Jammu and Kashmir is state that lies in the northern part of India, and one that has suffered a lot of conflicts in history. From a geographical point of view, Jammu And Kashmir State borders three main countries i.e. India, China, and Pakistan, each of which has always claimed a part of the state at least in one way or another. The most important thing to note about this state is its strategic location as an excellent tourism destination, not only in the east, but in the entire world as well. In fact, its potential for tourism is largely a contributory factor as to why the three bordering countries have always fought for this state.
The state’s outstanding natural endowment is the main source of its potential in tourism. Instead of being a blessing to the disputed state, Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism potential has turned out to have been a curse in disguise. Why? The vested interests, particularly India and Pakistan have fought over it for so long, hence leading to a number of atrocities, human displacements, and human rights violation alike. The most common occurrences in the state is increased incidences of terrorism by Pakistan, an act that is aimed at scaring potential tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. The perpetrators hope to ensure that economically crumble the state so it can give up on the thoughts of ever gaining autonomy.
As it is, the situation in Jammu And Kashmir State is dire and, therefore, calls for intervention that can potentially end the war therein. It is blatantly clear that this solution lies squarely with the two major rival countries – India and Pakistan. A clear plan and course of action is, therefore, extremely necessary in handling this issue. For that reason, this paper proposes a plan that when adopted could ensure a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir both today and in centuries to come. In order to set pace for the discussion, the paper commences by understanding the background of the acts of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir before stating the need for the intervention plan. Thirdly, the scope of the proposed plan is discussed, and then the actual proposed process finally explained. The specific objectives of this paper, hence, are to understand the reasons for the terrorism incidences in Jammu and Kashmir, their impacts in tourism in the state, and the possible steps that could be taken to remedy the situation.
Background Context
Just like in many countries all over the world, it is agreeable that the concept of having tourism as a strategic source of a nation’s GDP is not unique to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. As a result of this, any attempts to derail the economic growth and development of a given nation first begins with the destruction of the tourism industry. This is typically the case with the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The big question, though, has always been, "How did it all begin?”
As was mentioned in the introductory part of this paper, Jammu and Kashmir’s conflict has been greatly catapulted by geographical reasons. Having bordered India on one hand and Pakistan on the other hand, this state has attracted a lot of interests from each of these bordering countries. The public knowledge, however, has it that India’s interests have been largely constructive rather than Pakistan’s allegedly destructive interests that have led to the negative impact in Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism industry.
Even as the Indian government puts attempts to bring prosperity and calm in the portion of Jammu and Kashmir State under its control, its rival nation – Pakistan – has always been busy causing destruction. The unfortunate reality is that the increased incidences of terrorism in the state are as a result of Pakistani government’s attitude. In its efforts to claim a part of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani government has resorted to acts of terrorism and unnecessarily-fuelled conflicts in the state. Its primary goal is to scare away potential tourists in the state as a result of the seemingly runaway insecurity in the conflicted state.
For the longest time, Pakistan has used its religious extremists in the name of Islam to frighten and eventually scare away tourists, potential tourists, and other visitors to Jammu and Kashmir State. The ultimate goal of these vested interests is to eventually ensure that the people of this disputed state do not benefit whatsoever from the positive impact of tourism in the state.
Several inhumane acts have been perpetrated by these terrorist groups from Pakistan, a condition that has led to the suffering of many innocent individuals in the Jammu and Kashmir State. It is known, for example, that these terrorists compelled several cosmetics shops and dealers to close down their businesses, failure to which they could go as far as wounding their clients. Through such acts, these militants expected to discourage such clients from visiting such businesses. The most astounding thing, however, about some of the acts of these insurgents is the fact that most of the fears they instilled in the people of Jammu and Kashmir were never instigated on their own people back in Pakistan. That, in itself, is an indication that they were sending a specific message both to the people of this poor state as well as to the foreigners who came in as tourists.
The philosophy behind these terrorist attacks and militant attacks is that by derailing tourism of the Jammu and Kashmir State, the economy of the state is directly affected since tourism was for the longest time the backbone of the economy of the Jammu and Kashmir State. Consequently, they believe crippling the economy of the state will deny the people of Jammu and Kashmir State economic empowerment. The ultimate effect is that with a crippled economy, the people of this state forever remain overly dependent on these terrorists who control the state.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir had, for the longest time, relied on agricultural activities to boost their economy. However, they had to shift to tourism because of the low returns from farming and there were plenty of historical and beautiful natural sites in the area. The adoption of tourism in the region brought good fortunes as it engineered and accelerated a faster growth development of Kashmir valley and the Jammu and Kashmir economy in general (Soundararajan & Rajan, 2011, p. 98).
Important to note is the fact that tourist industry has contributed to the growth of the economy since it has a significant impact. For instance, the tourism sector in the Jammu and Kashmir has created employment opportunities. The tourists paying pilgrimage to Jammu region was not affected by the terrorists as about 78, 72, 98, and 109 lakhs of pilgrims doubling as tourists that visited Vaishno Devi yatra flowed to the region in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively, contributing about US$ 96 million to Kashmir' local economy (Singh, 2012, p. 12). It is up to the government to restore peace in the state by flushing the terrorists to boost tourism. Studies show that Kashmir Valley recorded the highest number of tourists between 1978 and 1989, but the number of tourists visiting the region dropped drastically after 1989 due to the insurgents that terrorized the tourists. It implies that if the government forces and police crash the terrorists, the tourism sector will improve significantly (Malik & Bhat, 2015, p.16).
It can, therefore, be seen that the problem of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir State has mainly stemmed from geographical and political interests of the competing bordering nations i.e. India and Pakistan. This leads to the conclusion that any attempt to quell this problem should first and foremost take these two factors into account. A contrary plan might not be the healthiest in handling the situation in the troubled northern Indian state.
A Statement of Need
It is clear that without a comprehensive plan to rescue the situation in Jammu and Kashmir State, the once glamorous adorable tourist destination may never know progress and economic development. Such a comprehensive plan should ensure that virtually all stakeholders in such a recovery process actively take part. As a matter of fact, these stakeholders must each pull together so as to help scare away terrorism and revive tourism hence consequently boosting the economy of Jammu and Kashmir State. The specific stakeholders in this case are the government and the business players inclusive of other silent stakeholders.
One of the major victims of terrorism acts in Jammu and Kashmir State is obviously the business community. As was pointed out in the Position Statement of this paper, many countries in the world heavily rely on tourism as a fundamental economic driver. One of the direct and immediate beneficiaries of the blossoming of tourism in any economy is the business fraternity. The converse is also true. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir State, several business entities that initially relied on tourism ended up collapsing since there were very little or even no more foreign exchange earnings from tourists. Such businesses included tour operators, hotel and accommodation players, events, and cultural, heritage, and arts businesses. This justifies the need for an intervention plan to help manage the situation.
The direct impact of the collapse...