During the current winter season the road connecting Kashmir valley to the outside world known as National Highway 1A has been repeatedly closed due to landslides caused by heavy snowfall and incessant rain. It is often claimed that this road is Kashmir’s lifeline and is easily threatened by inclement weather. The geologists have gone a bit further and have predicted that there is possibility of the road getting completely washed away at the troublesome spot of Panthihal thereby snapping the lifeline for a year or so. However, the debatable point is whether this is the real and natural lifeline of Kashmir? A lifeline, usually the food pipe, is the means provided by nature in normal course for a human being to receive nourishment for survival. A study of the history of this access to the Kashmir valley vividly demonstrates that it is not the natural lifeline but an artificial life support system. In medical parlance when a patient’s main lifeline is in problem or he is unconscious, he is given nourishment through a Ryle’s tube and if that too is not possible then an intravenous line or what is commonly known as IV-Line is resorted to. The present NH-1A is in truth an IV-Line for Kashmir and not the natural lifeline which is somewhere else. The establishment of this alternate life support line for Kashmir has an interesting story and the sufferings caused by this road are the starkest realities faced by the Kashmiris because of the problem between two of our neighbours. The valley of Kashmir had remained unmolested by outside marauders for centuries because of the high mountains surrounding it. Access to this Himalayan valley had always been through passes in the mountain chain separating it from plains on one side and still higher mountains on the other side. Traditionally the valley was accessible by the shortest route through Poonch across Tos Maidan. The present Loran (ancient Lohar-Kot) was the home to a strong garrison guarding the entrance to the valley. In fact, as narrated by Alberuni, Mehmud of Gazni had come right up to this point but could not over power the garrison and had to beat a hasty retreat due to an early snowfall signalling the onset of winter. The other passes were Zoji La leading to Ladakh; Razdani pass leading to Gurais valley (the Dard country), and the Pir Pantsal pass leading to Poonch and Rajouri patronised by the Mughals. The Mughal route was the most popular for travelling during the period of Mughal rule in Kashmir. This route had also been in use in ancient Kashmir as mentioned by Kalhana. The Mughals had built a number of Sarais (Inns) for haltage on this route. However, the easiest route has always been along the Jhelum valley upstream from Kohala. This was the route which had been in use in modern times till 1947 when the partition and the subsequent conflict in Kashmir completely closed it. There was a regular bus connection between Srinagar and Rawalpindi along the Jhelum Valley Road. Allied Chirag Din and Sons used to ply regular buses on this route. Before the start of buses, one used to go on a horse carriage to Rawalpindi. However, the route from Srinagar to Jammu via Bannihal was known as the “Bannihal Cart Road”. This road used to remain closed during winter due to heavy snowfall on the Bannihal Pass which had a tunnel at the top of the pass. Even the Maharaja used to travel on the Jhelum Valley Road between Jammu and Srinagar. Pandit Nehru too had approached Kashmir through this road and was detained at Kohala by Maharaja’s forces. The Bannihal Road came into prominence only after the closure of Kashmir’s real and historical lifeline, the Jhelum Valley Road in 1947. The road was widened and upgraded and in late fifties the German engineers constructed the famous Jawahar Tunnel, an engineering marvel at that time, which made the road passable throughout the year. Over a period of time most of the bottlenecks on the road were removed and old bridges like the rope bridge at Ramban were replaced by massive concrete bridges. The road was widened and its surface improved. The border roads organisation has been keeping the road open at a very heavy cost of men and material. In the early stages only few hundred vehicles used to ply on the road. However, with the gradually increasing military presence in the valley and increased flow of goods and passenger traffic, the road has been subjected to a load beyond its capacity. The number of vehicles moving on the road daily these days is in thousands. The road crosses some unstable clay and rotten rock stretches which have become very unstable. In addition some stretches of the road pass through seismic zones. There are half a dozen active slips which come down in heavy rains. At the present moment this is the only link. The importance of this link has got further enhanced by the gradual dependence of Kashmir’s economy on outside assistance. In earlier times the valley was more or less self sufficient for its own population. With the influx of outsiders in large numbers the local resources were not enough and had to be continuously supplemented. Secondly no attempt was made to promote the growth of food products like milk, vegetables, meat, and even rice which had been the most ancient activity of the bulk of population in the valley. Sheikh Abdullah during his first tenure from 1947 to 1953 did try to make the valley self sufficient in food products but all his schemes went up in smoke after the take over of the local government by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad who opened the flood gates of cheap rice and other food stuffs from India to win over the population. Now the situation is such that a few days of closure of the road creates conditions of panic and supplies have to be sometimes flown in by air. It is a pity that Kashmir which could not only be self sufficient in power faces a famine like shortage in spite of a generation capacity exceeding 20,000 megawatts. In spite of a very rich and fertile soil with sufficient irrigation we are totally dependent on outside food stuffs. As already mentioned there has been additional pressure on the local resources by an outside population of over a million and a half. It is but natural that with the increase in population the local resources would have to be supplemented. However, there would not be any problem if we had a round the year all weather access to the valley. Unfortunately for some unexplained reasons no sincere attempt has been made during last 60 years to have an alternate access to the valley. There was the possibility of converting the Mughal route into a major highway. Again the route via Kishtwar across Simthan pass could also be developed into a major highway. The Mughal road project had been conceived during the tenure of Sheikh Abdullah but it is still stuck due to some legal issues involving Wild Life department and the Supreme Court. The Simthan route already has a basic road which needs to be upgraded and a tunnel provided to make it passable round the year. It is alleged in some quarters that the work on these roads is being deliberately delayed for the ever green “Security Reasons”. It is alleged that the Security Forces do not want linking of Muslim majority areas of Jammu division which are dominated by Kashmiris with the main valley. It would amount to promoting and projecting what has been historically called the “Greater Kashmir”. In any case, even if we employ all our resources we will not get these roads either completed or upgraded in next few years. All said and done, the best route with the shortest possible travel time is still the Jhelum Valley Road. The travel time between Srinagar and Islamabad at present would be about 5 to 6 hours. If the road is upgraded to motorway specifications, it should be possible to drive from Srinagar to Islamabad in just under 4 hours. This is the most natural link of the valley to the outside world. Keeping open of the NH-1A though a commendable job is still a fight against nature. The most sensible thing would be to restore Kashmir’s natural lifeline for trade and travel to the outside world. In the atmosphere of bonhomie and détente which has been prevailing between the two countries for past sometime it should not be difficult to get this road opened for “Cross Border Travel and Trade”. Pending the ultimate resolution of this most intractable problem, the true and realistic opening of this road for unrestricted travel and trade would be the biggest “Confidence Building Measure” in relation to Kashmiris and would relieve them of their age old suffering and misery. Let us hope the leaders of the sub-continent are able to rise above the notions of false pride, ego, and “Security Phobia” to make a right beginning for solving this decades old human problem!