There is something quietly heartbreaking about watching a young person, full of potential and ambition, sit idle – not because they lack the will to work, but because the system gives them no room to grow. This is not just one story; it is the shared experience of thousands in Kashmir. While the world often speaks of Kashmir’s snow - covered peaks and natural beauty, few talk about the slow, silent crisis unfolding behind closed doors – unemployment. And this is not just an economic issue. It’s emotional. It’s social. It’s deeply personal.

Degrees that Lead to Dead Ends

In every street, every home, and every village you’ll find someone with a degree – sometimes multiple – but no job. Graduates, postgraduates, and even PhD holders wait for years for a single opportunity that might never come.
They are told to “stay patient,” “keep preparing,” or worse, that “something will come along.” But as years pass and the silence stretches, even the strongest begin to feel defeated.
What’s especially painful is the situation of PhD scholars. These are people who have dedicated nearly a decade to research and academic excellence. Yet, many are sitting at home, applying for junior – level jobs, or working far below their capabilities – not because they aren’t competent, but because they are simply no jobs for them in the system.
Some have aged out of eligibility for government recruitment. Others are caught in endless loops of policy delays and shifting guidelines. Their knowledge, hard work, and effort are going to waste.
In Kashmir, education is not just a personal goal – it’s the collective hope of an entire family. Parents often sacrifice their own needs to educate their children, believing it will change their lives. When that hope is broken, it doesn’t just affect one individual – it ripples across generations.

A Crisis Hiding Behind Statistics

Government reports may claim that the overall employment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has dipped to around 6.1%, but those numbers hardly reflect the ground reality.
Among youth aged 15 – 29, the unemployment rate is estimated to be around 32%. For urban women, it’s even worse – more than half remain unemployed, despite being educated and capable.
Over 3.7 lakh youth have registered on employment portals. This number grows every year. And yet, there is no sign of proportionate job creation. Requirements are either painfully slow, get stuck in court cases, or are cancelled without explanation.
What do these young people do in the meantime? They wait. They prepare again. They hope again. But how long can someone keep waiting for a life to begin?

Beyond Numbers: The Emotional Toll

Unemployment is not just about money. It’s about self-worth. Imagine spending your best years studying, sacrificing social life, personal freedom and even your mental health, believing that one day it will all be worth it. And then, after all that , the world turns silent. There are no jobs. No calls. No interviews. Just a quiet kind of rejection that repeats itself every day.
Young people lose confidence. They start to avoid family gatherings. They stop sharing updates. They don’t know how to answer the question: “what are you doing these days?”
Over time, it gets harder to even believe in your own potential. Some eventually leave – migrating to other parts of India or even abroad – not because they want to, but because staying means slowly fading into silence. The emotional cost of this decision is never talked about, but it runs deep.

Women: Educated but Excluded

For Kashmiri women, the journey is even more difficult. Despite being educated – often better than their male counterparts – most face immense hurdles in finding suitable jobs, safe transport, flexible work hours, limited opportunities in their hometowns and the pressure to “settle down” all become barriers.
In the end, many give up not because they want to, but because society gives them no room to choose otherwise.
The tragedy is that these women could be doctors, teachers, writers, entrepreneurs – and yet they remain inside homes, their talents unused, their futures quietly shelved.

Why Has it Come to This?

The causes of unemployment in Kashmir are layered, but none of them are unsolvable. Here are some of the key challenges.

Lack Of Private Sector Development

There is no major industrial base in Kashmir. Business investment is low. Startups struggle due to logistical issues, poor infrastructure and frequent disruptions. Without a strong private sector, the pressure falls entirely on public jobs – which are limited and slow.

Over – Reliance on Government Jobs

Everyone wants a government job – not for status, but for security. But recruitment is often delayed, cancelled or challenged in courts. Years go by between advertisement and appointment. Many candidates lose eligibility due to age while waiting.

Reservation and Policy Shifts

Sudden changes in reservation categories and unclear recruitment policies have left many students confused and disheartened. Transparency is missing. Trust is fading.

No Support for Scholars

PhD holders, instead of being absorbed into universities, are left applying for clerical posts. Teaching vacancies go unfilled. Research funding is negligible. The entire academic pipeline is drying up.

Skill Mismatch

Education here still focuses on theory, not skills. Many graduates are left unprepared for modern jobs, including tech, digital, and service – based industries.
Gender Gaps and Social Pressures
The work environment still isn’t inclusive for women. There is a lack of remote jobs, safe workspaces, and policies that support working mothers and married women.

A Culture of Endless Waiting

In Kashmir, we are always waiting – for a better tomorrow, for a fresh notification, for the next exam date, for a result, for hope. And while we wait, years go by. It is not rare to find 30 – year – old who have spent a decade preparing for jobs they never got. Who spent their twenties sitting in exam hall, filling out forms and refreshing portals. This is not a life. This is a long pause on everything they once imagined.
A Future yhat Can Still Be Saved
Kashmir’s youth are not broken. They are tired. They are frustrated. But they still hope. They don’t want sympathy. They want a chance. A fair system. A path forward. It is time to stop talking about “potential” and start creating opportunity. Because behind every unemployed graduate is not just an individual in crisis – there is a family struggling, a community losing faith, and a future slipping away. Kashmir cannot afford to lose its youth to silence. Not when their voices, if heard, could rebuild the future we’ve all been waiting for.

Email:-------------------------------ruwaidabilal7@gmail.com