Kashmiri Youth Deserve Their Moment

By Asra Altaf Koul

Step into a college corridor, a coaching centre, or even a tea stall in Kashmir and the same question echoes everywhere: what next?

For a generation brought up on the promise of a“New Kashmir,” the answer still feels uncertain.

This is one of the youngest regions in South Asia. Six out of ten people here are under 30. That is not a liability. It should be a demographic dividend. Instead, it risks turning into disillusionment.

Government jobs remain the holy grail. The appeal is understandable: they offer stability, prestige, and financial security. Yet recruitment exams are cancelled or delayed with alarming frequency. Each setback feels like another broken promise. Students prepare for years, only to see their futures derailed by a notification withdrawn overnight. The result is paralysis: some shift to entirely different fields, some abandon hope, and many simply wait.

Education adds another layer to the problem. Universities churn out degrees in computer science, political theory, and microbiology. But the job market has little space for those skills. Employers complain that graduates are not job-ready, while students say their learning is wasted. Both are right. The gap between what is taught and what is needed keeps widening.

The government has rolled out a catalogue of schemes: start-up incentives, skilling missions, entrepreneurship drives. On paper, they look impressive. On the ground, they are tangled in red tape.

A young woman with a plan for an eco-friendly clothing brand discovers that paperwork takes months, approvals are painfully slow, and mentorship is absent. Schemes meant to encourage ambition often suffocate it instead.

And yet, there is energy. A young Kashmiri is using sensors and data analytics to reinvent his family's apple orchard. A self-taught animator picks up contracts from Delhi.

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