Srinagar, Aug. 23 -- The cracks show most clearly in education. Government schools still register thousands on paper, but in reality classrooms sit half-empty. Parents silently move their children to private academies, chasing the promise of better learning. What they are really searching for is not just a school but confidence, that their children will be prepared for a world driven by technology and reshaped by artificial intelligence. Even many private schools, once seen as dependable, now struggle to keep pace.

The same drift shadows culture. Doordarshan Srinagar was once a landmark of imagination, a stage where Kashmiri voices found recognition. For decades it carried poetry, music, and storytelling into homes across the valley. But...