Srinagar, Sept. 11 -- A weaver in Srinagar's old city can still turn raw pashm into a shawl fine enough to pull through a ring, a skill passed down since the workshops Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin encouraged nearly six centuries ago.

That shawl may sell in Delhi or Paris for a sum the weaver never sees written on a receipt of his own.

This divide, between what Kashmir makes and what Kashmir keeps, says more about the valley's economy than any story about missing talent or missing effort.

Start with the numbers, because they are blunt.

Jammu and Kashmir's per-capita income for 2025-26 is estimated near Rs.1,68,243, against a national figure close to Rs.2.27 lakh. The region's output is roughly 26 percent below the country's, even as its Gross...