Buta Pathhari, Gulmarg: Ghulam Ali, of the nomadic Bakarwal tribe, is staring at a pamphlet stuck on his neighbour’s hut at Nagin Village 3 in Buta Pathhari, just six kilometres from the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ali can’t read, so he beckons to a youngster inside the hut to better understand the pamphlet titled ‘Khushkhabri‘ (good news).
The youngster reads it aloud. “Khushkhabri. Benefits of abrogation of Article 370: Corruption will end, funds from central government will directly reach villagers, you will get good prices for your land, Bollywood and Hollywood will be at its peak in Kashmir and youth interested in music and acting will be engaged by the industry, for cricket and sports lovers stadiums will be opened…”
As the youth reads on, Ali loses interest, shakes his head and goes back inside his hut.
“Soldiers of the Army came and posted it (pamphlet) outside the houses. They did not say anything but they have done it in several villages,” he says. “I thought it may be some information related to our security.”
The Army has, however, denied putting up any such pamphlets.
Little anger over Article 370, concern over livelihood
For the residents of Nagin 3, a village surrounded by lush green forests and imposing mountains, with a narrow road leading to the LoC, the abrogation of Article 370 does not evoke any reaction, unlike in the Valley, where the locals are extremely angry.
The village, which houses over 100 families, has more grounded concerns. Its residents make up much of the workforce in nearby Gulmarg, and are worried about their livelihoods as there are no tourists in the region.
The concerns have also mounted as food stocks have been running low.
“There is no food left at home. We have been surviving on potatoes or something that we manage from the jungle here,” Ghulam Qadar Chechi, another Bakarwal, says. “(The price of) rice is Rs 200 for five kilos. We do not even earn Rs 30 a day now because there are no tourists. So how can we afford this?”
“We do not care about any government in power,” he adds. “How are we concerned about any of their promises when we are living here in abject poverty?”
On Article 370, Chechi admits he is unaware of its political implications. “We just heard about it from our relatives in Srinagar. It is impossible to get any news here as there is no TV or radio,” he says. “From what we’ve heard is that people from outside can now buy our land. But it doesn’t mean anything for us, as we do not have any land to sell.”
“If the government wants to do something for us, it should first promote tourism here, so that we are able to earn some money and feed our families,” Chechi adds.
Ghulam Din, who works as a labourer, has to go to his neighbour’s house to eat as he has not been able to earn even Rs 200 over the past month.
“It is better to get killed once in a war than to die every day like this,” he says. “I have no idea about these political games these big people play. All I am concerned about is arranging a meal. We have no facilities here, still we do not complain, but if we will stop getting a meal a day, where will we go?”
Amid the calls to promote tourism, it hasn’t, however, been all quiet in Gulmarg.
Over the last week, the Army has conducted 350 search operations in the region following inputs that terrorists had infiltrated the area.
“We had thought that we will be asked to evacuate the village but that did not happen,” Juman Ali, who works as a labourer, said. “The Army teams came and carried out their operations in the forest. There were helicopters too, but we were not asked to do anything. We went about our day as usual,”.
In complete lockdown, letters the only hope
With mobile phones not working, the locals of Nagin villages 1, 2 and 3 — just a kilometre from each other — have now started exchanging letters with their families staying at Katiyanwali in Baramullah.
Families stay in the villages in summer but move to Katiyanwali in winter as their huts get submerged in snow.
“Half of our families stay in Katiyanwali, where we also move in winter. Since the last month, we have not been able to contact them as the mobile phones are not working,” Shabir Ahmad, who works as a guide in Gulmarg, says. “So, we sent them handwritten letters through people who go down there for some work. They then send us back letters.”
“I have not spoken to my children in the longest time,” he adds. “My son sent me a letter saying he is well and that is what brought a smile to my face. I had advised him to not venture out much in the Valley and to stay safe.”
Many residents have been conversing with their children and relatives through these letters, which they destroy after reading. Asked why, the residents just smile.
Nagin 2 has now tasked a resident to go to the Valley every second day and take their messages with him. “We send one person to Baramulla, who also goes to the Valley just to check on our relatives and children every second or third day,” Ahmad says. “That is how we are managing. Us residents take turns to be these messengers. We go, meet our families, the families of our neighbours, deliver their messages, bring back messages.”
‘Ready to give the govt a chance’
Irfan Ahmad Chechi, 23, is a graduate but is unemployed. He leaves home at 9 am every day along with his father, horses and sledges for Gulmarg, hoping to catch a break with tourists. He has been returning home disheartened.
He is aware of the government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and is ready to give it a chance. “The government has announced 50,000 vacancies. I want to see if it will really happen,” he says. “The youth here need jobs to earn a livelihood. If that is provided, half of the problems will be solved. All we care about is employment generation, not about which political leader or government will give it to us.”
“If tomorrow a private company invests here, it will definitely generate employment and we will welcome it,” he adds. “But the problem is that every government promises something or the other but never does anything.”
Mohammad Ismail Chechi is quick to add, “Last time, during the floods, the government promised that our loans of Rs 1 lakh will be waived off, but nothing happened. I am still paying Rs 7,000 every year, which is killing me as I do not earn anything here now. For the past one month, I have not even earned Rs 20.”