India opens rail link to Kashmir in bid to bring a sense of unity

Police guard the new Kashmir-India railway, which India hopes will aid peace in the region and boost ties. Picture / Reuters

India has opened the first stage of a spectacular railway that will connect Indian-administered Kashmir with the rest of the country.

When finished, the line will cross the vast barriers of the Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountains, include a tunnel 9.6km through the mountains, and a kilometre-long bridge 400m high over Chenab River.

The first 54km section, which does not cross the higher mountains, includes 158 bridges and 20 tunnels.

India is desperate to make Kashmir feel a part of India. Opening the first section of the railway, from Jammu to Udhampur, Prime Minister Manmoan Singh said it was "yet another step to strengthen the relations between India and the people of Kashmir".

Despite being ruled by India for more than 50 years, most Kashmiris do not view themselves as Indians. They refer to leaving their valley and heading south as "going to India".

Last week, the first bus service started between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir. India and Pakistan may be in the midst of their most fruitful peace talks in years, but they are still locked in rivalry over Kashmir.

Although most Kashmiris want independence, India and Pakistan are unwilling to let it go.

Last week, Kashmiris were glued to televisions, watching the India-Pakistan cricket series. But in Indian Kashmir, they were all cheering on Pakistan.

Which is where the railway comes in for India. Few things have united the vast and disparate country as effectively as its extraordinary railways, built under British colonial rule. You can get almost anywhere in India by train, from Assam in the north-east to Kerala in the south.

To a large extent, the railway has given India a sense of unity. Now the Government is hoping it can bring the same to Kashmir.

Part of Kashmiris' sense of isolation lies in the region's woeful infrastructure, built by India. The Kashmir Valley is connected to India by a road, and when it was blocked by snow this year the valley was cut off for days. Electricity was also cut, and Kashmir ran short of fuel for heating in its worst winter for decades.

But with daily killings, reports of Indian security forces torturing detainees, and thousands of Kashmiris disappearing after being detained, it will probably take more than a train to win Kashmiri hearts and minds.

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