JAMMU: In an insightful and exclusive online interview conducted by Ajmer Alam Wani, Editor-in-Chief of JK Monitor (www.jkmonitor.org), Dr. Mehak Majeed, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), delved deep into the economic challenges and obstacles that Jammu and Kashmir confronts. Dr. Majeed, a distinguished academician and researcher, emphasized the unique geopolitical situation of the region, which has historically perplexed rulers and policymakers.
Jammu and Kashmir, with its complex geopolitical backdrop, has long been an enigma for monarchs, rulers, and modern democracies alike. Dr. Majeed highlights the critical role of road connectivity, particularly in the Kashmir region, as a pivotal factor for sustainable development. She underscores that without robust infrastructure, secondary policy interventions are likely to yield suboptimal results. In her view, the first bold step towards economic prosperity for Jammu and Kashmir should be rigorous investment in affordable and smooth connectivity.
Reflecting on historical economic policies, Dr. Majeed points out the missed opportunities in state-led industrialization efforts post-independence. Had these initiatives been fully realized, the economic landscape of present-day Jammu and Kashmir might have been vastly different.
However, the failure to implement comprehensive economic reforms has left the populace grappling with unemployment and seeking alternative avenues. Dr. Majeed emphasizes the need for research-based policy interventions, advocating for a meticulous analysis of industries that are both economically and ecologically sustainable for the region's fragile mountainous ecosystem.
The Islamic University of Science and Technology emerges as a beacon of hope, conducting pioneering research in sustainable economic activities, from 'Zero Waste Economic Systems' to evaluating the feasibility of work-from-home options. Dr. Majeed anticipates that, in the coming decade, the university will play a pivotal role in shaping informed policy interventions for Jammu and Kashmir's economy and ecology.
Religious tourism, identified as a potentially lucrative sector, requires careful policy planning to harness its benefits while minimizing environmental impact. Dr. Majeed underscores the need for proper research, data collection, and steady implementation to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for this vital sector.
With Dr. Mehak Majeed's expert insights, it becomes evident that Jammu and Kashmir's economic transformation hinges on well-informed policy interventions, environmental sustainability, and holistic development. The road ahead may be challenging, but with dedicated efforts, the region can chart a course towards lasting prosperity.
For the brief interview, read questions and answers below till end:-
- Could you elaborate on the specific economic challenges and obstacles that Jammu and Kashmir faces, particularly in the context of its unique geopolitical situation?
Answer: The first thing to understand in this context is the geographic and political history of the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Both geographically and politically, the region of Jammu and Kashmir has always been a difficult nut to crack and a complex situation to analyze for all the monarchs and rulers hundreds of years down the lane.
The Britishers as colonizers could not decipher the dynamics correctly either, later on it has been difficult for the democratic welfare states as well to understand the peculiarity of the region and to devise the policy interventions accordingly. Setting the context, in the recent historic actualities of the region one of the established facts is the strategic geopolitical location of Jammu and Kashmir which makes the region both unique and exceptional at the same time. The very geography setting of the region sets in place a long run structural developmental paradox which needs a systematic decoding followed by relevant timely informed policy intervention.
The poor road connectivity of the region of Jammu and Kashmir in general and the Kashmir region in particular has been acting as the most important barrier in the holistic and sustainable developmental process of the region. As such the very first prerequisite for the sustainable development, which is a smooth and cheap road and water connectivity to the adjoining areas, is absent in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Without such an important infrastructural prerequisite in place any secondary policy intervention can be well predicted as under-yielding both in the short and the longer run.
Therefore, development which indeed is a challenge needs to be taken care of as one step at a time and I would suggest rigorous, affordable and smooth connectivity creation as the first bold step towards the path of sustainable economic development of Jammu and Kashmir.
- How do these challenges impact the economic development and overall livelihood of the people in the region?
Answer: The government that was formed right after the colonial independence of India in Jammu and Kashmir, manifested, a comparatively clearer understanding of this problem. It was in light of the same realization that the then government put in place a state-led industrialization process that was essentially export centric. It was believed that the local crafts industry can be taken to the international level and the state would be providing employment to the rest of the population. From Economist’s eye, I can count merit in such kind of a policy. Had this policy been realized completely, the development scenario of the present-day Jammu and Kashmir could have been diametrically and positively different.
On the contrary, non-realization of those thorough economic reforms hurted the social and economic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. While they were seeking employment from the government, the failure to get the same made them look for alternatives that unfortunately were barely available. A number of other exogeneous factors kept on impacting the people negatively and persistently. This has led to employment centric pessimism in the general work-force of the region.
Lately the state has been trying hard to put in place self-employment policies in Jammu and Kashmir but the common economic barrier, i.e., lack of adequate infrastructure and road connectivity is preventing the young from taking the business risk and thus the high rates of unemployment keep on persisting.
- In your opinion, what are the key strategies or policy measures that could be implemented to overcome these challenges and promote sustainable economic growth in Jammu and Kashmir?
Answer: The first strategy that should be undertaken in this direction is Research-based policy intervention. The government needs to invest heavily in the collection of data and analysis of the same pertaining to the sustainability of indigenous industrialization in Jammu and Kashmir. Given the fragile mountainous ecosystem of Jammu and Kashmir, any plan to industrialize needs to be carefully analyzed on various fronts before any sort of implementation. Only those industries that are environmentally and ecologically sustainable can be put in place. The entrepreneurship in Jammu and Kashmir is less about any innovative idea and more about sustainable pioneering notions. As such the government needs to earmark certain selected industries that have the potential to exist in the region for a long time viz-a-viz environmental sensitivity.
- What sectors or industries do you believe have the greatest potential for growth and sustainability in Jammu and Kashmir, considering its resource endowment and geographic location?
Answer: Before thinking about growth or development, it is very important to plan the economic outcomes in an environmentally sustainable way especially in the regions with fragile eco-systems. It is a well-established fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a mountainous thus fragile ecosystem. If the general industrialization policy (one akin to the rest of the country) is put in practice in Jammu and Kashmir the outcomes would not be self-sustaining in the long run. As such the very basis of sustainable industrialization in Jammu and Kashmir has to be an environmentally viable channel. It is essential that only the ecologically sound industrialization is put to place and practiced in Jammu and Kashmir.
As such, the immediate need of the hour is to invest heavily in the understanding of the viable industrialization units in sectors across the region. Based on this research, a dedicated industrial policy can be carved out that will be self-sustaining in the longer run.
- How can the region strike a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability, particularly in sectors like tourism and pilgrimage which have significant environmental footprints?
Answer: Tourism definitely is one of the most potential and environmentally sustainable industrialization options in Jammu and Kashmir. The very fundamental feature of tourism is that the sale of goodwill and not essentially the manufacturing of output is sold to the customers. The absence of fundamental manufacturing processes in the tourism sector add to the viability of this sector in the region (from the environmental sustainability perspective). However, the main problem in this context is the current unplanned and unmonitored tourism activities in the region. For example, the use of plastic is unmonitored across the whole region.
The water bodies are being polluted by plastic bottles and bags. The house-boats that are one of the main revenue yielding channels of tourism-stay sub-sector; have a completely unmonitored sewage management system. All these micro level negligence is expected to pose a major negative long run impact on the sustainability of the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir. As such the tourism industry itself requires a lot of attention, dedication and research base policy planning and the eventual interventions.
- What role can the Islamic University of Science & Technology play in fostering research and education related to sustainable economic development in Jammu and Kashmir?
Answer: The Islamic University of Science and Technology is a premier institute of Jammu and Kashmir, specializing not only in the provision and impartation of education, but also happens to be an influential platform for conducting the society and policy base researches and interventive measures. Both the Science and Social Science faculties of the University have been contributing immensely towards the betterment of the social, scientific and economic outcomes of the region.
Currently there are a number of major Research studies and projects going on in the university, focusing mainly in putting in place sustainability at multiple levels and practices across the region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Food Technology Department of the Islamic University for example has been working on the creation of ‘Zero Waste Economic Systems’ within Jammu and Kashmir. These types of studies are a major break-through towards the designing of endogenous and inwards looking environmentally sustainable industrialization and developmental strategies for Jammu and Kashmir.
Likewise, the Department of Economics of the Islamic University is simultaneously conducting a number of Researches which focus on creating sustainable economic activities like sustainable tourism, sustainable industrialization etc., and evaluating the sustainable work from home option. The Department is further engaged with various policy based forums to contribute effectively towards a long-run focal developmental process of the region.
The other departments of the university are likewise contributing in a number of ways. The Engineering Faculty of the Islamic University has especially been contributing towards the Artificial Intelligence of Things based evaluation of different aspects of Jammu and Kashmir.
We expect that in the coming 10 years, the Islamic University of Science and Technology will be actively on the board of policymakers at various levels, taking the economy, ecology and other aspects of Jammu and Kashmir on an altogether new and higher informed intervention level.
- Tourism and pilgrimage are major economic drivers in Jammu and Kashmir. How can the region leverage these opportunities to improve livelihoods while minimizing potential negative impacts?
Answer: In the contemporary India one of the most lucrative and simultaneously viable economic options is seen in the form of religious tourism. The region of Jammu and Kashmir can equally benefit from setting in place a sustainable and positively yielding religious tourism. The shrines of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Shri Amarnath Yatra, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah, Dargah, Hazratbal etc. are some of the main hotspots of religious tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. But again, there is no proper policy in place to harness the relevant economic benefits and minimize the environmental and ecological damages that this tourism industry potentially posits.
With a proper and informed policy, the positive linkages can be set in place and viable and sustainable employment and outcomes can be generated. As of now, the participation of locals in the religious tourism industry is pretty much limited, informal, scattered and rather uninformed. Heavy one-time public sector led investments are the immediate need of the hour in the ground-based policy research to arrive at a proper plan targeting the religious tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. With a proper policy, the sector is expected to flourish in a sustainable manner and generate wide employment.
- Can you discuss the linkages between tourism/pilgrimage and other sectors of the economy, such as local businesses, agriculture, and handicrafts?
Answer: As already mentioned, the main commodity sold in the tourism sector is the good will. The incoming tourist at best expects good behavior of the host(s), spending quality time and taking with themselves good memories and sometimes maybe a souvenir. Proper completion of this whole process has the capacity to inject a lot of resources and money into the local economy. The same money, then circulates in the economy and multiplies itself making the lives of people better and takes the local consumption and spending higher.
As such the first positive churning of the economic growth process is set in place, by organising the tourism sector in such a manner that the tourist goodwill is increased and a constructive message is sent to the rest of the country and the world about the amenities and the goodwill provided in this part of the world. In the subsequent time periods, the inflow of the tourists increases based on this goodwill and spread of the positive word. The economy itself falls into a outwards-spiral process of positive forward and backward linkages and all other allied sectors of the economy in the short period and the whole economy in the long period tends to grow.
- What policies or initiatives should be in place to ensure that the benefits of tourism and pilgrimage are distributed equitably among different sections of the population?
Answer: The immediate policy intervention that is needed is a hefty investment in the research process based in real time. The government essentially has to spend on multiple types of researches, collecting data from the ground, analyzing it, making a number of ethnographic studies and collecting evidence on the needs and demands of both the suppliers and seekers of the tourism sector.
The implementation of the polices have to be steady with constant monitoring followed by impact evaluations and revisions till a smooth model is set in place and practice which will be self-sustaining in the longer run.