What unites those who leave the valley in search of jobs isn’t merely departure, it’s disillusionment.

In the half-lit room of his Srinagar home, Wamiq sits among half-packed suitcases and the hum of an anxious evening. His mother folds his shirts slowly, smoothing each crease as if trying to delay time. Outside, the call for Maghrib (evening) prayer drifts through the narrow lanes; soft, heavy, and familiar. Next week, the 26-year-old civil engineer will leave Kashmir for Dubai. His visa has finally arrived after months of waiting, months of doubt.

“I thought I’d design bridges here,” he says, running fingers through his hair. “Now I’m crossing one I never wanted to.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

For many like Wamiq, the dream of home has grown smaller. Across Kashmir, educated youth are leaving not in fear of violence anymore, but in fear of stillness. They are escaping the slow suffocation of unemployment, dwindling opportunities, and the long shadow of political uncertainty.

A Broken Economy

Migration has long shaped Kashmir’s story. When the anti-India militancy erupted in 1990 and India sought to crush it with an iron hand, violence roiled the Kashmir valley. Thousands fled the bullets and blackouts. Although the militancy subsided somewhat in the following decades, fear and tensions never went away. Uncertainty ran high, deterring tourists from visiting. In the absence of investment, industry failed to develop and jobs were few.

Then in August 2019, the Indian government r