A Dream of Making Kashmir an Utopian Place.

A Dream of Making Kashmir an Utopian Place.

A countries economy is dependent upon the total output which it produces and exports which it has in its bag, exports can be of diversified fields like exports of Agricultural products, Horticultural products, machinery, Medicine, Automobile or software products and many more.

If we analyze Kashmiris economy it is mostly dependent on Horticulture (Apples & Dry fruits), Saffron, Agriculture, Handicrafts, fisheries and tourism. However we have some other resources like water resource and Educational sector.

The water resource of Kashmir is like Adams Apple, because it has immense revenue generating potential, but we can’t use it as it is forbidden for use in Kashmir, Indus water treaty was signed between India & Pakistan, which gives a legal right to Pakistan to use and claim it as its property, means Kashmir water has been sold out to Pakistan, creating a feeling of alienation amongst Kashmiri people.

Kashmir has 20000 MW hydro power generating capability, however out of which only 1000 MW is generated, out of which less than 500 MW are given to J&k as a royalty, which is a beggars shear, Kashmir is facing acute power deficit, so as to minimize the gap between demand & supply, J&K govt. has to purchase additional 1400 MW from center.

Since hydro power has the least cost per unit generation of electricity, cheap power is one of the most important factor to attract factories and industries, which has a potential to become the back bone of economy, if the govt. was able to generate the hydro power to its fullest, Kashmir would have seen a golden phase for the development of industries and factories.

Tourism industry is one of the most important revenue generating industry for Kashmir, but due to ineffective administration and lack of proper facilities and equipment, Kashmir unable to attract foreign tourists. There are many other reasons besides lack of proper marketing and advertisement of the scenic beauties of Kashmir throughout the world is one of the main reasons for ineffective tourism. Also the negative advertisement by Bollywood is hurting tourism industry, by negative advertisement I mean to say, film industry have been coming here since decades, but recently what I have noticed, they will pictures songs and films in Kashmir, in the film they will show it is as Himachal Pardesh, which is quite ironic.

            Besides tourism, horticulture, hydropower and industries, Kashmir has an immense potential for educational sector. What we lack here is the infrastructure for educational institutes, if we had been able to develop quality universities both technical & non-technical, we would have been able to boost our economy, by attracting students from outside the state, as it is evident everyone would love to study in a college located in beautiful adobe of Kashmir. But it is actually other way round; most of the Kashmiri students go to other states for higher education. Kashmiri students have to pay donation and fees in lakhs to the abroad university, which further leaves our economy handicapped and crippled.

IT-Industry is the future of economy, countries like India, china, USA has a substantial chunk of their GDP dependent on IT-Industry. Kashmir was and is a best destination for the development of IT-industry, because IT-industry needs cold temperature and cheap power, Kashmir has a natural potential for both. Man power and young brain is also a requirement for the survival if IT-Industry, but Quality University would have bridged that gap.

Unfortunately this article has been a hypothetical one, was a dream of making Kashmir a utopian and idealistic place. No doubt we are very far from reaching such a phase, but in this world nothing is impossible if we strive for our dreams with honesty and integrity, no one would be able to stop or hinder us in reaching our targets.