Srinagar, April 7 -- Kashmir's business lanes tell one story on the surface and another underneath.

Shop fronts gleam with fresh facade, new vehicles line the streets, and wedding halls burst with celebration. The visible markers of success surround you. But many of these same ventures teeter on fragile foundations, weighed down by financial choices mostly driven by the hunger for social approval.

A young entrepreneur starts with discipline. He builds a shop through sheer slog, earns trust customer by customer, and watches sales climb consistently. Neighbours notice, relatives speak of him with pride, and the recognition feels earned, deserved even. It also plants a seed of expectation.

That expectation begins to steer decisions in dir...