The final countdown for a direct overnight train journey between Delhi and Srinagar has begun. The train in all likelihood is to start in the month of January. It is expected to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, it is not clear as yet whether the Prime Minister himself is taking the first train ride to Srinagar.
It has been a long pending wish of the people of Kashmir to ride a train to the national capital as also of those living outside Kashmir. The direct train between Srinagar and Delhi was long overdue. In fact the rail link between Kashmir and the rest of the country should have been the top most priority of the powers that be right after the independence of the country.
The direct train link between Kashmir and the rest of the country will not only change the means of transportation, but will help in cementing the socio-economic and emotional integration and ties of the people of Kashmir with those living in the rest of the country.
Even after 77 years of independence, travel between Srinagar and Delhi is a big hassle. The main means of transportation are through the national highway that passes through the hilly and difficult terrains and the air travel. Although the Jammu-Srinagar highway has been widened and four-laned, there are still several bottlenecks. It is not only during the winters that the road remains closed, even during the summers also the road gets blocked due to inclement weather.
This has restricted the movement and travel of most of the Kashmiris outside Kashmir. Majority of Kashmiris have not travelled outside Kashmir. The main reason being the difficulty in transportation. Everyone cannot afford an air ticket. Rather it is a microscopic minority that can.
Once the common Kashmiris have easy access to the rest of the country, they will come face to face with the rest of India. They will have a first hand experience of what the rest of India and the rest of Indians are like. For a long time they have been fed with a toxic propaganda, which they had no means to counter-check. As more and more Kashmiris will be able to travel easily outside Kashmir, their opinion will definitely change.
The reverse will also be true. As the greater number of people from the rest of India start traveling to Kashmir, they will get to know the people with first hand experience. Once there is greater people-to-people interaction various misgivings and disinformation will get cleared.
There is a greater economic side of the story as well. The world famous Kashmir apple, which takes at least two days to reach from Kashmir to the national capital, will now reach within 14-15 hours. The transportation costs will be reduced. There are other special Kashmiri products, which will find better access to the markets in the rest of India.
Tourism has seen quite a boom in recent years in Kashmir. This is without the train services. So far, people have been travelling only by air or through private vehicles, with the availability of trains, now the travel will become cheaper and more comfortable. The tourism industry is set to witness an immense boom in Kashmir valley. The Kashmiris will themselves realise the difference.
The socio-economic turnaround that the rail link is certain to make in Kashmir will also have a positive political impact. This integration will be much more stronger and intense than any other type of integration. Imagine someone sitting in a train in Kanyakumari and getting down in Kashmir and vice versa. That day is not far, rather it is a matter of a few months more when this is going to happen.
Direct rail link between Srinagar and Delhi will be one of the epochal moments in the history of the sub-continent. This will script a different type of integration.
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