(Re)constructing borders through the governance of tourism and trade in Ladakh, India

Border Development Model on the Human Development Aspects for Sustainable Community

“…Building on scholarship that has analyzed cultural and social dynamics of "bordering" in the region, this paper argues that it is possible to read (socio-) economic boundary-making in Ladakh through the state's influence in the organization and experience of trade and tourism for Ladakh and its visitors. The paper highlights how their spatial organization partly underwrites difference and separation and aids in framing the contested territory as 'Indian (Vogel & Field, 2020). In a Journal Article entitled: Borders, geography, and economic activity: The case of China, Hao Guo and Jenny Minier explain that Economic discontinuity is greater for the non-state sector than for the state sector and strong to include measures of local public goods and infrastructure.…”

Caught between Paper Plans and Kashmir Politics: Disaster Governance in Ladakh, India

“…Going further back, Sunetro Ghosal (2019, p. 5) analysed data from the Tourism Departments in Leh and Kargil and noted that significant drops in tourist numbers over the last three decades broadly tallied with conflict events over the border: i.e., in 1990 following increased militancy in Kashmir; in 1999 as a result of war with Pakistan; in 2008 following a land transfer controversy and mass protests in Kashmir Valley; and in 2016 after a spike in unrest in Kashmir. Kargil is particularly affected by these events as it is much more reliant on tourist entries via the road from Srinagar (whereas Leh has an airport), though many households across Ladakh are reliant on tourism for their income (Vogel & Field, 2020). Economic insecurity affects the capacity of these households to 'anticipate, cope with, resit and recover from the impact of a natural hazard' (Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon, & Davis, 2003, p. 11).…”

“…However, it is not clear at the time of writing whether that will result in a tangible decentralisation of power and resources to Ladakhis, or perhaps even a further loss of power to the centre, as much is still under consideration (Lundup & Fazily, 2020). Moreover, while Leh was more broadly welcoming of UT status, residents in Kargil have strong faith-linkages and road/trade connections with Kashmir-resulting in divided opinion over the benefits of UT to Ladakh as a whole (Vogel & Field, 2020). This tension demands a look at the relational politics of disaster governance within Ladakh itself.…”

Planning and Managing Tourism in Transborder Areas

“…With these societal changes, tourism has become targeted in many borderlands from the viewpoint of simple visitor attraction as well as with aims of uncovering previously neglected opportunities for socio-economic development. Because of the sector's perceived ease to develop across borders, its perceived political insensitivity compared to other sectors (Church & Reid, 1999;Deppisch, 2012; as well as its symbolism for cross-border relations (Prokkola, 2007(Prokkola, , 2011Stoffelen & Vanneste, 2019;Vogel & Field, 2020), tourism has been highlighted by practitioners as a precursor for more intensive crossborder administrative contact and socio-cultural relations. In recent times, tourism has become a key instrument for initiating cross-border collaboration and for its potential direct socio-economic results.…”