Jammu and Kashmir is hosting its first-ever G20 meeting which is being held in Srinagar from May 22-24. Delegates arrived in the valley on Monday and were given a rousing welcome at the airport. The first meeting of the Tourism Group Working Committee took place on Monday only. Now, with the Union Territory hosting the programme, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has praised the ‘change’ that made possible the event. He said that the people of the region 'lost two generations' due to unrest.
"This change has happened. Common people on the streets of Srinagar want to move on. They have lost two generations (due to militancy)," he said. The minister was addressing the delegates from G20 countries at a side event on "Film Tourism for Economic and Cultural Preservation".
"If such an event was held earlier, a strike call would be given from Islamabad and shops on Residency Road (in the city centre of) Srinagar would close. Now there is no hartal even if the call for hartal has come from here or there," Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.
PTI reported that the event is a part of the three-day third Tourism Working Group Meeting of the G20.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office hoped that the delegates would become Kashmir's ambassadors and highlight the positive situation in the valley.
"I hope that when our friends go back, they will be our ambassadors...about the situation here and how it appears,” he added, quoted PTI.
Talking about renowned actor Shammi Kapoor and his films, Singh said that he not only became a star out of Kashmir but also promoted the destination as well.
"Dus Lakh (1996 movie) was entirely shot in the hotel which was known as Oberoi. Many songs were shot here. Movies became a huge source of revenue and vocation (in Kashmir) till 1990 (when militancy erupted in the valley)," he told the G20 delegates.
The minister added that popular filmmaker Raj Kapoor experimented with shooting in Europe for his movie "Sangam", but when he returned, “he chose to shoot in Kashmir”.
He said the valley is attracting filmmakers once again, adding “while Kashmir has benefited from Bollywood, it has also contributed to the film industry”.
The minister further said that Jammu and Kashmir's return to normalcy has led to an increase in tourism, which also has had an effect on film-making in the Valley.
Singh told PTI in a video interview that a film at a tulip garden in Holland would not be the same as filming at a tulip garden in Kashmir as the costs would be much lower here.
“In Kashmir, within a radius of a few kilometres, you have fountains, lakes, plateaus, hillocks, snow-clad peaks. I am sure this is going to open up. The confidence building has also happened because of the very successful tourist season we had recently,” Singh said, as quoted by PTI.
Singh said that the G20 meeting in Srinagar is an opportunity for India to showcase the changed scenario in Jammu and Kashmir which was earlier under the shadow of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism,
Singh stated that the G20 meeting would allow the delegates to see for themselves the transformation that has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir and try to correlate with the projections in the international media by self-styled commentators.
“The G20 delegates will be the true messengers of not only Kashmir, but also India as has been envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Singh, the Minister of State in the PMO, said.
The G20 meeting will be formally inaugurated on Tuesday by Union Tourism Minister G Kishen Reddy, Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, reported PTI.
This is an indication of the fact that now Jammu and Kashmir as a whole and the Kashmir Valley, which a few years ago was believed to be a kind of a nerve centre of terrorism and Pak-sponsored militancy, is now in the same streamline of activity as any other city in the country.
He told PTI that the meet is also an opportunity for India to showcase the changed scenario of Jammu and Kashmir under PM Modi because of his very committed approach and courage of conviction.
Singh said that the prime minister's outreach efforts for the region also proved to be a catalyst for change as the PM insisted on special ministerial visits to the Union Territory.
Talking about in detail, Singh said that the change has also happened at the level of the common man walking on the streets of Srinagar.
“He now wants to move on. He has seen two generations sacrificed at the altar of terrorism, he is not prepared to do so anymore,” Singh said, adding that the youth in Kashmir is highly aspirational, well-informed, intelligent and fully aware of the enormous avenues the prime minister has made available to the region.
“The Kashmiri youth does not want to miss the bus and wants to be a part of the changes taking place in the region, he said, adding the people of Jammu and Kashmir are looking forward to the G20 meeting with great enthusiasm,” the minister said.