Welcome to India’s rent-a-diplomat Kashmir tours, where the truth is on holiday

Three weeks ago, the Indian state took yet another delegation of foreign envoys on a tour of Kashmir, the disputed region it has placed under a devastating lockdown since illegally revoking its autonomy in August last year. Mass incarcerations, torture and the longest digital siege ever imposed in a democracy mean that daily life for most Kashmiris has now become a dire struggle.

The purpose of these rent-a-diplomat tours is to shore up a narrative of normalcy in Kashmir. But as I saw images of carefully choreographed meetings with officials, spooks, businessmen and newly birthed political stooges, I thought of other places of interest that the delegates might be persuaded to see, should they or others like them visit again.