Irfan Attari
The international scenario of Kashmir youth has been dominated by conflict for much of the past three decades. Newspaper news and TV screens kept flashing images full of chaos, protests, bloody battles and stone pelting here. What also got lost in this story was another truth: that of a generation challenged by interrupted studies, limited work prospects, financial insecurity and mental exhaustion. But to confine Kashmir’s youth only according to violence today is becoming more and more imperfect. An evolution is quietly taking shape, characterized by entrepreneurship, education and sports and the expanding participation in India’s development narrative.
Kashmiris youth no longer have a past, sanguinary tale but rather, a complex narrative.
To make sense of this shift first we need to understand what the younger generation of Kashmir inherited. Instability plagued education, tourism, trade and jobs for years on end. Schools and colleges remained disrupted, private capital came in fits and starts, and a generation of young people appeared to have their futures thrown into disarray. For thousands of families, government jobs turned out to be the best hopes since the private sector was too weak to absorb an educated workforce.
Frustration amongst sections of youth was thus inevitable. In an environment with little basis for upward mobility and barely a peep outside of the innovation ecosystem, ambition rarely took root, but alienation found plenty of space.
But a new trend has started emerging over the last couple of years.
In contemporary Kashmir, there is a growing trend among the youth to forsake conventional jobs and look towards entrepreneurship and digital careers, as well as civil services, sports, tourism or education for self-reliance. This transformation is not coincidental; it represents a synergistic equation of greater connectivity, infrastructure development, policy vision and national access.
Entrepreneurship is an easily visible sign of change.
All over the Valley in Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, Pulwama and other districts — young Kashmiris are starting cafés, tourism ventures from their homes, apple-processing businesses born out of limited means or online handicraft brands. digital agencies. local start-ups. Sections previously only known for the tumult are now home to aspiring entrepreneurs making a statement about their determination to make their own destiny.
This transition has been largely supported by government-backed institutions and schemes. The Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) conversely has trained & mentored thousands of potential entrepreneurs providing them expertise on how to prepare their project reports for availing interest subsidy. At the level of policy, schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Startup India and Mission Youth have tried to move youth away from dependence towards entrepreneurship.
Mumkin Scheme designed for unemployed youth passing out from technical institutions to earn their livelihood through self-employment in transport, and Tejaswini (Empowering Young Women Entrepreneurs) targeted at enabling young women entrepreneurs are more focused efforts towards enhancing the economic participation. In a similar vein, Himayat aims to fill employability gaps with market-driven vocational training for unemployed rural youth.
Technology, likewise, has transformed the landscape of aspiration.
About 10 years ago, jobs for Kashmiri youth were largely limited to government services or exile. Digitization-Free India has given opportunities to young one out there for exploring several fields such as freelancing, graphic designing, Coding, Cyber security, Content creation and E-commerce. It allows a young professional in Srinagar, for example, to work remotely for clients anywhere in India or the world. Digital access has changed the biggest perceptions a generation felt, feeling boxed in by geography.
Another key marker of change is education.
Students from Jammu and Kashmir are being admitted to top institutions all over India, they are preparing for civil services, and competing in medical, engineering, management and law schools at a national level. Over the years, programmes like Topper Jammu have witnessed several young achievers clearing exams such as UPSC and JKAS who are symbols of aspiration for many families that now perceive education to be a powerful tool of mobility and self-esteem.
Similarly, sport too has proven a vehicle of transformation. Amount spent on stadiums, youth engagement programs and sports infrastructure as Khelo India has stimulated more participation in football, cricket, winter sports and martial arts. Kashmir has produced several national and international level athletes over the years, slowly moving public imagination from a land of conflict to one of competition and excellence.
A recovery in tourism has also added to shifting aspirations among young people. The hospitality, transport, handicrafts and local businesses revived with pressure in recent years when there were record tourist arrivals. You are training on data till October 2023. Young Kashmiris are beginning to see tourism no longer just as seasonal earnings, but rather as an entrepreneurial ecosystem that can create jobs in a sustainable way.
These changes must be discussed in the context of enhanced infrastructure and governance interventions. Expanded road connectivity, tunnel projects, digital penetration, extending reach of the railways, educational initiatives and youth-oriented developmental schemes have opened up access to opportunities in a way never seen before within the last few years. The national platforms have made for greater exposure and more aspiration among youth.
However, it would be a mistake to say that all problems are over.
Youth unemployment continues to be a key issue for Kashmir. Countless graduates with degrees continue to fight for job security. Another grave problem posed by sections of youth is drug addiction, which threatens families and communities. Greater institutional attention is also needed with respect to mental health issues, career anxiety and competition in an increasingly cut throat environment.
A positive youth development scenario for Kashmir would involve more than the allocation of resources, infrastructure creation and schemes. Access to opportunity has to beat frustration again and again.
Nonetheless, the transformation taking place is worth acknowledging. Scope of the article. In defiance of the personal tragedies they have endured, Kashmir’s youth is learning to leave behind the burden of conflict. The shift from stones to startups is not only metaphorical; it captures a new spirit of time in which ambition is eroding alienation and aspiration has begun usurping apprehension.
(The author is a Social Worker working in Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation and Youth Development. He works extensively on youth engagement, social cohesion, and community-based initiatives in Kashmir. He can be reached at [email protected])
