Atul Kulkarni: Kashmir humara hai...

"The terrorists are telling us, ‘If you are a tourist, don’t come to Kashmir’. You can’t dictate that to me. This is my Kashmir, this is my country, and you don’t get to tell me not to come here. I will come to Kashmir, and I did. I thought this message can’t be given and should not be given while sitting in Mumbai. Saying it from Kashmir makes sense. So, I came here.”
At a time when tourism has taken a hit in Kashmir, noted actor, writer and filmmaker Atul Kulkarni landed in Pahalgam on Sunday – merely four days after the heinous terror attack in Baisaran valley that took civilian lives. Speaking from Pahalgam, he told Bombay Times, “I’m not shooting here. None of my films are releasing in the next three to four months, so this is not a publicity stunt. No travel agency has sponsored me either to do this. People need to know this.”
‘The terrorists are telling us, ‘If you are a tourist, don’t come to Kashmir’
In a telephonic interview, he tells us, “There’s no panic but sadness here. What happened was a horrific incident, and of course, we all are extremely sad about it. But I believe in action. Usually what happens is that we write something on social media, we talk to our friends and relatives or probably send some WhatsApp messages. While that also has its purpose, I wanted to take some action as a civilian. What more can we do beyond sharing stuff on social media? I was reading that 90% of the tourist bookings have been cancelled in Kashmir. We all know that for the past few years, tourism has been thriving here. We need to understand what the terrorists are trying to do. They are telling us, ‘If you are a tourist, don’t come to Kashmir’. So, I thought, you can’t dictate that to me. This is my Kashmir, this is my country, and you don’t get to tell me not to come here. I will come to Kashmir, and I did. Only love can defeat hate and terror. The government, the bureaucracy, what they are doing is, of course, commendable, and that will take time. We should trust the security over here, and we should come here. I thought this message can’t be given and should not be given while sitting in Mumbai. I felt if I say these things from Kashmir, then it will make sense. So, I came here.”

‘Five to ten per cent tourists are here and they are safe’
The actor further explains how this is a complex situation wherein we need to trust the governance. He states, “Terrorist and terrorism are two things. We will catch the terrorists, but what do we do with the thought of terrorism? Of course, we need to punish them. One is not saying that it should not be done, but we must also think pragmatically. Are we saying that those six people, whenever they are caught, and punished, will end the problem? Is it that simple a problem? It’s a complex thing, and when things are complex, we need to be a little bold, and we need to trust what the governance is doing. It is safe here… I’m telling you. Five to ten per cent tourists are here and they are safe. Some of them didn’t leave, and some came here, that’s courageous. We need to make this 100% and respect those 10%, who are showing this courage.”

‘Yes, money is important, but tourism is not only about money.’
Some stories floating on the internet spoke about the alleged hostility of the locals and price hike of the airlines and tourism sector. What’s the ground reality? Atul clarified, “People need to dismiss all these notions from their mind. Meet the Kashmiris to understand them. How will you know what’s true unless you come here. Yes, money is important, but tourism is not only about money. Tourism is about people meeting each other, discovering each other’s culture. Ask anyone who has visited Kashmir in the past and they will tell you

Kashmiriyat

kya hoti hai. Love is the only remedy. You cannot hate and try to find solutions. I met a group of 20-25 people yesterday, who are here from Kanyakumari, and they said, ‘A few of us dropped out, but we didn’t’. A drop in tourism will hurt Kashmir, but what we risk to lose more is our connection with Kashmir. That is the purpose of this attack, that Kashmir loses its connection with the rest of India and the world. My appeal to those who have cancelled the bookings is that they should re-book themselves and those probably who had planned to go somewhere else, should also come to Kashmir, because as common people, this is what we can do to defeat terrorism.”
'Can an attack like this be executed without any local support? This sentiment is also there'
Atul will travel to Srinagar from Pahalgam before returning to Mumbai in the next two days. He says some tourist spots in Pahalgam are cordoned off for obvious reasons, but that’s just a few places, otherwise, tourists are free to roam around. He explained, “I explored the Pahalgam market yesterday. It was completely open. I am meeting the local people, and you can see the sadness in their eyes. Can an attack like this be executed without any local support? This sentiment is also there. Even if there is local support, what is the percentage? No responsible citizen should blame local support without any verification as it’s dangerous. You are including every Kashmiri in that word, which is not the case. You cannot generalise. The families I met here were talking highly about the local people, why are we not spreading that?”