Sagartirtha Chakraborty and Ankita Chakraborty
‘Paradise regained, or peril persisted?’ – Widely regarded as the ‘Paradise of Earth,’ Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has found itself at the heart of a sharp paradox in recent years. The abrogation of ‘Article-370’ in 2019 is pitched as a new economic dawn for the region with promises of integration, development, and an open invitation to the rest of India. This has also led to a record influx of tourists in the region, crossing 15.5 million per annum for the first time since independence.
But beneath this surge, lies an unsettling reality that refuses to fade – the shadow of extremism that continues to induce fear throughout the valley. While both state and central governments have stepped-up efforts to bring stability, the larger question still lingers: ‘Can peace thrive when the guns haven’t fully fallen silent?’
Tourism and economic resurgence of J&K
In the years following the revocation of Article-370, tourist arrivals in J&K skyrocketed from a mere 1.19 million in 2011 to over 23.5 million in 2024. Kashmir alone accounted for nearly 15 percent of the total share in 2024. From Gulmarg to Sonmarg, Pahalgam to Patnitop; the tourism and hospitality sectors have flourished.
This has resulted in a more than two-fold increase in the tourism-led employment figures from 1.78 million to 4.40 million during 2011-2024. Targeted schemes like‘Sustainable Promotion of Emerging Alternative Destinations’ have also been introduced to boost the tourism industry of the region, under which Rs.3.9 billion has been allocated. Such steps are also expected to push the tourism sector’s contribution in J&K’s GDP from current 7 percent to 15 percent by 2029-30.
Moreover, unemployment has dropped in the region by 0.6 percent after the abrogation of Article-370. This is aided by the establishment of over 40 thousand new business units under various self-employment schemes, and formal registration of over 3.53 million unorganised sector workers on the ‘E-Shram Portal’ till 2024. Complementing this, government programmes like ‘Mission Youth and Mission Yuva’ is also launched to establish 0.14 million new enterprises, which is likely to generate over 0.42 million jobs within next five years. With per-capita income rising at a rate of 8.3 percent, outpacing even Punjab and Delhi, and a projected state GDP growth rate of 7.06 percent in 2024-25, J&K’s economic growth is on an upward trajectory.
A tamer valley?
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