the narrative presented during the PM’s visit is the framing of development as a tool for integration and transforming J&K into a thriving economic hub through improved connectivity and infrastructure
India’s prime minister marked Monday the opening of a tunnel in the northeast of disputed Kashmir that will grant all-year accessibility to a town that is isolated by heavy snow each winter. The $932 million project includes a second tunnel and a series of bridges and high mountain roads that will link Kashmir with Ladakh, a cold desert region nestled between India, Pakistan and China that has faced territorial disputes for decades.Amid high security, Narendra Modi visited the resort town of Sonamarg where he inaugurated the 6.5-kilometer tunnel. The town denotes the end of the conifer-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley before Ladakh begins across the rocky Zojila mountain pass. The tunnel, named Z-Morh, will now grant it accessibility for the first time all year round.The second tunnel, about 14 kilometers long, will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Sonamarg and Ladakh have been plagued with severe snowfalls that close the mountain passes due to massive snowfalls, forcing them to remain cut off from neighboring towns for nearly six months every year.
Authorities on Monday deployed police and soldiers in the area and established multiple checkpoints at key intersections as an enhanced security measure for the prime minister’s visit. Troops also stationed sharpshooters at several points and carried out drone surveillance to ensure constant vigilance.
Modi later at a public meeting, attended by hundreds of people in freezing weather, said the ambitious project would improve road connectivity and boost tourism in the region. The meeting also was attended by some of Modi’s Cabinet ministers and Kashmir’s chief minister Omar Abdullah.Experts say the tunnel project is important to the military, which will gain significantly improved capabilities to operate in Ladakh while also providing civilians with freedom of movement year-round between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
The unveiling of projects like the Chenab Bridge—billed as the world’s highest railway bridge—and the Z-Morh tunnel—a key link connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country—may appear to herald progress.However, these initiatives also highlight the contradictions and complexities in his government’s approach to J&K.At the core of the narrative presented during the visit is the framing of development as a tool for integration. J&K was hailed as the “crown of the country,” with the promise of transforming it into a thriving economic hub through improved connectivity and infrastructure.However, this rhetoric raises pivotal questions: How inclusive is this development? At what cost does it come? And does it address the underlying political, social, and cultural aspirations of the Kashmiri people?For many Kashmiris, the focus on infrastructure feels like a superficial gloss, obscuring deeper issues such as continued repression, cultural erasure, and the political issues thrust under the carpet.The narrative of development often appears detached from the realities on the ground, where the scars of decades of conflict remain unhealed.The glaring omission during the visit was any meaningful discussion on the restoration of statehood. This demand, voiced repeatedly by J&K’s political leaders, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, is not just a technical or administrative issue.Statehood represents a fundamental longing for autonomy, identity, and self-governance. For the people of Kashmir, it symbolizes dignity and recognition. Yet, New Delhi’s reluctance to address this issue—opting instead for vague assurances—only deepens the sense of alienation.While the Prime Minister commended the people of Kashmir for contributing to a “peaceful environment” and moving beyond a “troubled past,” this narrative oversimplifies the region’s complex realities.In 2019, New Delhi stripped Kashmir’s special status as a semi-autonomous region with a separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs. The federal government also downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, the first time in the history of India that a region’s statehood was downgraded to a federally administered territory.
For the people of Kashmir, true progress lies not in top-down infrastructure projects or well-crafted speeches but in the recognition of their rights, identities, and aspirations.Development must be inclusive, participatory, and deeply rooted in the region’s unique context. Kashmiris must be active participants in shaping their future, rather than passive recipients of externally imposed agendas.In conclusion, while the promise of development in J&K may be enticing, it cannot overshadow the urgent need for genuine political engagement, respect for human rights, and the restoration of statehood with dignity.
The people of Kashmir deserve more than empty promises; they deserve a voice in their destiny. It is essential to honour the commitments made by Indian leaders in various forums from the floors of the United Nations to the Indian Parliament and at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk in the past.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed silent on chief minister Omar Abdullah’s plea for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood but appeared to drop a hint saying he kept his promises and “the right work is going to happen at the right time”.Omar made the impassioned plea to Modi during the inauguration of the 6.4km Z-Morh Tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Sonamarg. The project was rocked by a militant attack last October that killed six non-local people and a local man.The bigger Zojila Tunnel, 13.1km long, is slated for completion by December 2026. The twin tunnels will provide seamless connectivity between Srinagar and Ladakh.Omar lavished praise on Modi and reminded him of the three promises he had made while visiting Srinagar on International Yoga Day, June 21, last year. He said the Prime Minister had fulfilled the promises of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir and bridging the gulf between the region and the Centre.But, Omar said, he repeatedly faced questions from his cabinet members, the people and the media about the restoration of statehood.“My heart tells me that you will fulfil the promise you made on Yoga Day. Jammu and Kashmir will again take its place as a state in this country,” he said.Modi made no mention of statehood in his 27-minute speech but said the tunnel was an old demand from the region’s people that had now been fulfilled.He then added: “You should believe it for certain that this is Modi and he makes promises and fulfils them. Every work has its time. And the right work is going to happen at the right time.”The delay in the restoration of statehood has caused unease in Jammu and Kashmir, where many fear the Centre is not interested in the matter at all.Fresh disappointment gripped the Valley this week over reports that passengers would have to swap trains in Katra, the base camp of the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, for their journey to and back from Kashmir. These reports have come amid the government’s efforts to establish a direct rail link between Kashmir and the rest of India.
Omar had said on Sunday that his government understood the need to secure the train but making passengers change trains would “defeat the very purpose of the line and render the thousands of crores of investment pointless”.“Check the train/ passengers in Katra or Jammu sure but NO change of train will be supported by us. That said there is no concrete proposal & when there is we will give our inputs/ suggestions,” he wrote on X.
While Modi’s silence on statehood on Monday left people here worried, Omar’s adviser Nasir Aslam Wani claimed the Prime Minister had admitted that statehood would be restored.Earlier, Omar had thanked Modi for visiting Jammu and Kashmir despite the biting cold.“The weather also supported you here. There is not a drop of cloud in the sky,” he said, evoking a smile from Modi. “If there is cold outside, there is no dearth of warmth in our hearts.”Modi, in his speech, focused on the development projects his government had undertaken and claimed an improvement in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.“The biggest credit for changing the situation goes to the people, to all of you. No government can do it on its own. You have strengthened democracy. You have strengthened your future. I can clearly see that a wonderful future awaits the youth,” he said.
Modi said Kashmir was the crown of the country. He lauded the hard work and courage of the tunnel workers. True progress is rooted in justice, inclusivity, and the acknowledgement of history. Only then can we envision a future where Kashmiris can thrive in their homeland, free from the shadows of repression in a fair atmosphere.