A Changing Kashmir
9 May 2025
From 1990 to 2025, thirty-five years have passed, and an entire generation has grown up in the Kashmir Valley.
The years of widespread militancy have largely receded. With the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the psychological wall of separation that existed in many minds began to crumble. The development initiatives that followed and the rapid growth of tourism have helped many people distinguish between paths that lead to progress and those that lead to destruction. As a result, the majority today see themselves as part of India.
The Pahalgam tragedy deeply shook the people of Kashmir. It caused grief and compelled many to stand openly on the side of peace and justice. The younger generation seeks employment, development, and opportunities. Their aspirations today are not separation but love, dignity, and a secure livelihood.
They are hurt when they are viewed with suspicion, treated as outsiders, or spoken to with prejudice. They oppose that very mindset. Young people spend hours following news on YouTube and Facebook, and they are sensitive to comments made about Kashmir and Kashmiris. They no longer wish to be seen as “others.” Their appeal is simple: “Do not treat us as strangers. See us as fellow Indians.” After all, the Indus—the river from which the name Hindustan is historically derived—flows through Kashmir itself.
The majority of families here belong to the middle class.
Their lifestyle is simple. Breakfast is usually a cup of tea and a piece of bread. Lunch consists of rice and vegetables. Around three in the afternoon comes another cup of tea with bread, followed by rice and vegetables again for dinner. An average family’s daily food expenses are about ₹300–400.
Meat is generally eaten once or twice a week, and even then in moderation. A typical Kashmiri may eat a single piece of meat with curry, while a Pathan is more likely to eat three or four pieces.
The real culinary celebration comes during weddings.
The famous Wazwan is a grand feast of fourteen traditional dishes, including Rista, Waza Kokur, Gushtaba, Kabab, Rogan Josh, Dhaniya Korma, Mirchi Korma, Aab Gosht, and Tabak Maaz. A guest may consume well over a kilogram of food at such a feast.
Meals are traditionally shared in groups of four. The eldest among them divides the food equally before anyone begins eating, usually keeping the smallest or least desirable portion for himself. This tradition of shared meals strengthens family bonds, kinship, affection, and community harmony.
Family remains the centre of life.
The people are deeply religious. Allah is remembered constantly—in conversation, in work, in gratitude, and in prayer. Almost every action begins with the remembrance of God.
Compared with many other Himalayan regions, alcohol consumption is relatively low.
Kashmiris generally do not hesitate to raise their voice against what they perceive as injustice. If a CRPF vehicle damages someone’s car, compensation is expected; otherwise, a formal complaint may be lodged. If they believe they are right, they speak confidently. If they know they are wrong, they quietly accept the penalty.
The younger generation is placing increasing importance on education.
Girls’ education has improved significantly. In educated families, daughters receive equal affection and educational opportunities. Marriages between close maternal relatives are avoided, although marriages between certain extended relatives may still occur in accordance with local customs.
Among the younger generation, traditional caste barriers are gradually weakening, and marriages increasingly take place across different Muslim communities. In arranged marriages, some family connection usually remains, but marriages between Sunni and Shia communities or between Sunnis and Pathans are still uncommon.
The southern part of the Kashmir Valley, particularly the Anantnag region, continues to be regarded as more vulnerable to militancy. Pulwama and Pahalgam fall within this region. Tral, associated with Burhan Wani, and Bijbehara, associated with the Mufti family, are also located here.
Employment opportunities outside tourism remain limited.
Occasionally, a young person facing hardship, frustration, or lack of opportunity may come into contact with militant groups and disappear from home, eventually joining them. There they may undergo indoctrination and training before being used in attacks such as those witnessed at Pulwama or Pahalgam.
Religious slogans and selective interpretations—such as believing that everything happens solely by Allah’s will, that martyrdom guarantees Paradise, or that “Allah is Great” in the context of armed conflict—can be misused by recruiters to inflame personal frustrations and draw vulnerable individuals into violence.
In the process, they overlook other equally important teachings of Islam: respecting people of other faiths, protecting innocent lives, and upholding justice.
The word jihad is often understood here simply as “struggle” or “striving.” While some extremists have interpreted it narrowly as armed conflict, most ordinary Muslims understand it more broadly—as a struggle against poverty, injustice, oppression, or one’s own shortcomings.
Ordinary Kashmiris also live with fear of militants.
If a young man disappears from home, his family generally reports him missing to the police. If he later returns as an armed militant seeking shelter or food, it becomes almost impossible for a family to refuse when threatened at gunpoint. Informing the authorities may also expose them to danger from both militants and security forces. For the safety of their families, some choose silence.
At the same time, with today’s widespread security presence and mobile communications, maintaining secrecy has become increasingly difficult. Information rarely remains confined to two people. Security forces maintain extensive surveillance, and many local militant groups have been dismantled over the years. Those who remain often hide in remote mountains or move across the border, emerging only occasionally to carry out attacks before disappearing again.
The Pahalgam tragedy has deeply saddened the people of Kashmir—not only because it devastated tourism, but because innocent lives were lost and newly married women lost their husbands.
They too have daughters. They understand such grief.
For perhaps the first time since Independence, large numbers of Kashmiris openly came onto the streets to condemn such violence.
They know that Kashmir is regarded as the crown of India, and that India will never relinquish it. Many therefore believe that their future lies in embracing peace, participating in India’s development, and building prosperous lives.
Thousands of workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and other states are employed across Kashmir—as masons, carpenters, painters, shop assistants, street-food vendors, and hotel workers. They include both Hindus and Muslims. Many have even learned enough Kashmiri for daily communication.
If these workers were to leave, who would perform the jobs that many local young people still consider too modest?
Many people remain unhappy about the loss of Jammu & Kashmir’s special constitutional status following the abrogation of Article 370.
Some worry that, as a Union Territory, government jobs will increasingly go to outsiders, making education seem less rewarding.
Others, however, continue to pursue education with determination.
The Qur’an itself begins with the call to read, learn, and acquire knowledge. Many young people are choosing tourism, self-employment, entrepreneurship, and trade. Those who find opportunities elsewhere move beyond the Valley.
Natural beauty alone cannot sustain a society indefinitely.
Without employment and economic opportunity, even the most breathtaking landscape eventually loses its ability to satisfy human aspirations.
Many Kashmiri Pandits who left the Valley after the tragic events of 1990 later sold their ancestral homes and properties.
Some families retained them, and a number of Pandit families still live in Srinagar and a few villages. Yet for those who built successful careers elsewhere, the younger generation has become well established outside Kashmir. Returning permanently to rural Kashmir without employment offers little practical attraction.
Landholdings in the Valley are generally very small.
Most farmers own only one or two kanals of land. (A kanal is a traditional local unit of land measurement.) Someone owning fifteen kanals is considered a relatively large farmer.
Urban land, however, has become extremely expensive. In some prime areas of Srinagar, land prices may reach around ₹10 lakh per square metre.
Given such realities, most Kashmiris continue to live modest middle-class lives.
Yet they manage their finances carefully.
Whether they spend ₹2,000 in a day or must survive on ₹100, they adjust their lives with remarkable discipline and resilience.
They accept both happiness and hardship as part of Allah’s will.
Remembering the ninety-nine beautiful names of Allah throughout life is regarded as a profound spiritual practice. They firmly believe that every person born must one day die, and that death arrives only at its appointed time.
Because of this belief, they often display remarkable resilience, gradually accepting even painful tragedies and moving forward with life.
Kashmir is the crown of India—an inseparable part of the nation—and will remain so.
The people of the Kashmir Valley are our fellow Indians.
The best path forward is to create opportunities, strengthen livelihoods, and ensure that they prosper.
That, perhaps, is the true picture of a changing Kashmir.
Punamchand
9 May 2025
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