Global Kashmir: Possibility or a Pipedream?

Global Kashmir: A Possibility or a Pipedream?

Many months ago, when I had freshly arrived from the West, I was thinking of setting up a business in Kashmir- the kind which would enable me to reap the benefits of globalization or what Anthony Giddens has called ‘time space’ compression. Inherent in Giddens’phrase or coinage was the revolution induced by the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) revolution which had compressed both time and space. I can, for instance, talk to my sister living seven seas away and in a different time zone at the click of a mouse or touching the buttons of my mobile phone. Similarly, Australia, mention of which evokes great distance in peoples’ minds, is just a plane ticket away. The conjunction of advances in information technology, communications and transportation, in a nutshell, have brought about this structural transformation.

Coming to my now aborted business venture, I conceived and developed a robust business plan and I dare say elegant business model. The model, conceptually, was built to take advantage of this time and space compression. Alas, the plan and the model hit reality and floundered on its rocks. The structural conditions that obtain in Kashmir- landlocked place, distant from ports and lack of critical infrastructure – gave short shrift to my goal of profiting from globalization and I then thought of carving out a nice in what is a very traditional business in Kashmir: tourism. To cut a long story short, none of this transpired and I find myself doing what is close to my heart.

I, however, have not given up on formulating and devising a plan to help Kashmir globalize. It is desirable and eminently doable. How? The answer is simple. Kashmir’s tryst with globalization can be made possible if the infrastructural deficit in India is obviated. This means according impetus and momentum to the 3^rd generation reforms in India. If India embarks on an infrastructural overdrive, this would mean better, world class ports, airports, cargo facilities or , in short, the critical infrastructure and logistical superstructure essential for taking advantage of globalization.

How can Kashmir benefit from this? Kashmir can tap into what are called global supply chains wherein a product is made in multiple locations and nodal points in the world. Take your laptop or mobile phone: it stands as a metaphor and living symbol of the globalization and the magic of capitalism. It may be designed in the US , its components made in China , and its frame may be made in Taiwan where it may be put together as well. The firm is no longer a black box and is defined contemporarily by vertical disintegration and is spread across the globe. So if Kashmir can find a niche product and specialize in making that , the finished product can then be sent to China Taiwan or Europe or the United States. What is critical here is logistical support, critical infrastructure and access to world markets.

Here there is a role for powers that be in Kashmir. They can pitch in politically and support the reform process and use their voice in taking the reform process forward. This then needs to be buttressed by a vigorous , supportive and up to date industrial policies that helps entrepreneurs and industries to find a niche and help them. The government or the state can enter the picture by helping in skill upgradation and development. The name of the game for entrepreneurs would then be developing and conceiving ideas and work vigorously in drawing , say, Volvo, or Marks and Spencer or even enter into tie ups with behemoths like Wal Mart.

Wal Martization of Kashmir would axiomatically mean globalization of Kashmir. The state could then be part of the global economy and find a niche for itself in the sinews of the global economy. This can be an unalloyed good and would also impart pride and vigour to people. This is besides the very important economic benefits that would accrue to the people of Kashmir. The default fall back on handicrafts or tourism- important sectors in their own right- would be given short shrift and Kashmir would begin its tryst with industrialization and build an industrial base by following a template that would have stupefied the best of economists only a few years ago. Let then the powers that be in Kashmir offer their support to economic reforms in India , take advantage of coalition politics and lend their weight and voice to this. The benefits can only be salubrious. I can then, in the meantime, draw satisfaction from the fact that my hard work did not go in vain.