Srinagar, May 7 -- Rain tapped softly against the windowpanes as Fatima folded her degree certificates into a plastic file and placed them back inside a cupboard in her family's home on the outskirts of Srinagar. Her mother had ironed her clothes that morning for another interview. Her father had pressed a few hundred rupees into her hand for transport and lunch.

The job offer came two weeks later.

Rs.6,000 a month.

Fatima read the message twice before placing the phone face down on the table. Years of study had led to a salary that barely covered travel expenses, mobile bills and small household needs. Her parents had imagined something larger when they borrowed money for her education. She had imagined something larger too.

A govern...