Srinagar, Aug. 20 -- In the winter of 2011, when my mother's blood sugar kept rising despite months of treatment, we were desperate. She had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and like many Kashmiri families, we had made rounds of government hospitals and private clinics.

Each doctor adjusted her medicines, ordered more tests, and told us to wait. Nothing seemed to work. She grew weaker, her diet grew stricter, and the uncertainty pressed heavily on all of us.

One day, a cousin suggested we visit a physician named Dr. Irfan Ali, an internist practicing in Srinagar. "He listens," my cousin said.

That simple description felt a big relief. In a place where consultations are hurried, and where patients often leave with more confusion tha...