AUTHOR: TRIDIVESH SINGH MAINI
In December 2016, the holy city of Amritsar (Panjab, India), home to the Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) was chosen for the Sixth Ministerial Heart of Asia conference – Istanbul Process (HOA-IP). Members of the HOA-IP include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkey. The theme of the conference held in December 2016 was ‘Addressing Challenges, Achieving Prosperity.
Apart from representatives of other member countries of the HOA-IP — Foreign Minister from Pakistan, Sartaj Aziz attended the event. The conference had rekindled hopes, that Amritsar would emerge as a conduit for North India to Central Asia and South Asia as it had been in the past. Amritsar emerged as an important trading hub in the Mid 19th century, and was also an important component of the ‘Silk Road’.
In 2007, Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh also referred to the importance of Amritsar in regional connectivity. Said the former PM:
‘I dream of a day while retaining our respective national identities, one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. That is how my forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live.’
During the former PM’s tenure, several steps had been taken to give a fillip to bilateral trade via the Wagah (Pakistan) – Attari (on the outskirts of Amritsar) land crossing, specifically the construction of the ICP Integrated Check Post at Attari (the total investment was Rs 120 crore). The rise in bilateral trade in 2012-2013 had resulted in giving a boost to the tertiary sector of not just Amritsar, but the border belt of the state and land prices also shot up significantly in Amritsar and surrounding areas.
In the past three years, not only has bilateral trade via Wagah – Attari, between disrupted after the revocation of Article 370, but air connectivity between Sri Guru Ram Das International Airport (Amritsar) and Central Asia which is essential for giving a boost to the economy of Amritsar, and surrounding areas, is limited. The Kartarpur Religious Corridor which connects Dera Baba Nanak (kilometres from Amritsar) with Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur ( Narowal, Pakistan) has been a boon for devotees who want to pay obeisance at Darbar Sahib, the resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Guru of the Sikhs. The number of people crossing over via the corridor however is far less than the targeted number of 5,000 and this has not given the expected boost to the economy of the Panjab (India) border belt. Despite these challenges, Amritsar is an important tourist destination with Sri Darbar Sahib itself attracting 1,00,000 devotees every day. Air connectivity between Amritsar and the rest of India has also increased in recent years, and local infrastructure has improved considerably.
Prospects of Bilateral Trade
While there have been calls for revival of trade, especially in Panjab(India) and some indicators from both India and Pakistan, that they are not opposed to the resumption of bilateral trade it remains to be seen whether Islamabad and New Delhi can show the leadership required for resumption of trade. One method suggested for resumption of trade has been a trade in select commodities – especially agricultural ones.
While in 2021, a go-ahead had been given for the resumption of imports from India, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee had lifted a ban on the import of sugar and cotton from India, this was scuttled due to opposition from cabinet members with Khan’s cabinet. The resumption of trade even in essential commodities would be a win-win for the Pakistani consumer as well as the Punjab farmer who would get much better prices for his produce.
Amritsar Air Connectivity
If one were to look at air connectivity, Sri Guru Ram Das Ji airport has been neglected, with Delhi International Airport and Mohali International Airport (Punjab) — which caters more to travellers from Chandigarh and Haryana – being given preference. While there have been demands for increasing direct flights between Amritsar and UK, Canada and US (currently, there are flights to the UK, Singapore, and Dubai, but there is a demand to increase the frequency) Mohali airport has been given preference in comparison to Amritsar. In the changing geopolitical situation, it is also important to have direct flights between Amritsar and Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia as discussed earlier (there are currently direct flights from Amritsar to Uzbekistan). When India’s economic ties with Afghanistan are normalised, it is important to have an Amritsar-Kabul air corridor in addition to the existing ones. Not only will this give a boost to economic linkages, but also medical tourism.
In the aftermath of the partition, the holy city of Amritsar has not been able to meet its economic potential, there have been numerous reasons; the primary ones being strained relations between India and Pakistan, as well as a lack of imaginative thinking on the part of policymakers in the state as well as at the national level — despite its potential as well as geographical location, it has been unable to redeem its position as an important economic hub not just for Panjab, but also in the regional context. As we commemorate 75 years of independence and partition, all stakeholders need to ensure, that the holy city of Amritsar which has emerged as an important tourist destination also emerges as a regional economic hub.
*“The views expressed in the article are author’s personal and is not endorsed by the Global Policy Consortium (GPC) or assumed by their members”
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