Srinagar, Sept. 18 -- By Sameer Ahmad Sheikh

I left Kashmir years ago to work in Qatar, and the first thing that struck me about the employment world outside was how ordinary my decision had actually been.

Millions of people from dozens of countries make the same calculation every year: move toward the work, rather than wait for the work to come home.

That calculation still feels like a betrayal to many Kashmiri families, a silent admission of failure rather than a plan.

The numbers do not support that shame.

According to the Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2023-24, unemployment among people aged 15 and above in Jammu and Kashmir touched 6.1 percent, with the pressure heaviest among the young.

Behind that figure sit graduate...