A Week of Contrasts: Aspirations, Alarms & the Unfinished Work of Governance
The week that passed in Jammu and Kashmir was one of remarkable contrasts—of hope against uncertainty, innovation against inertia, and civic compassion against institutional anxieties. The headlines themselves seemed to argue with one another: a youth entrepreneur’s perfume start-up in Srinagar facing off with sweeping police measures on VPNs; university contingents marching to national festivals even as medical students stare at an abrupt derailment of their academic futures; cultural vigour flourishing while political tempers harden up ahead of the budget session.
At one end, encouraging signs of a maturing society continued to surface. The University of Kashmir sent its cultural contingent to the North Zone Youth Festival—an affirmation that creativity still remains our most resilient muscle in troubled years. The J&K contingent for the National Youth Festival was also flagged off, reminding us that our youth, if given a stage, seldom disappoint.
In the health sector, SKIMS strengthened emergency care with sixty new bed-cum-trolleys, while doctors and experts reminded us that winter snowfall is not just poetry but a lifeline—critical for agriculture, water security, and hydel resources. The administration too, showcased efficiency: the Chief Secretary highlighted PRAGATI as a governance accelerator, and Srinagar saw new civic facilities inaugurated, including a parking space at the Old Secretariat.
And yet, the same week delivered strong shocks. The National Medical Commission’s withdrawal of permission to the Vaishno Devi medical college threw over fifty students and faculty into uncertainty. Politics swiftly entered the vacuum: CM Omar Abdullah called it “playing with the future of J&K’s children,” while Mehbooba Mufti termed it a political conspiracy with national implications. For once, both the government and opposition agreed on one thing—the children must not pay the price. The promise to accommodate students elsewhere must be honoured with urgency, not rhetoric.
Such anxieties are not occurring in isolation. The power sector remains precariously tied to policies that have historically disadvantaged the region—CM Omar reiterated that the Indus Water Treaty “greatly harmed J&K,” and the dip in hydel output—down 77%—only sharpens the point. Union Power Minister Khattar, meanwhile, assured strict timelines for power projects in Kishtwar, suggesting that old logjams are finally being cleared. Time will judge those assurances.
On security and civil liberties, the tug-of-war continues. Preventive action over unauthorized VPNs, suspension of VPN services in Srinagar for two months, and intensified probes into mule accounts and cyber fraud reflect a state anxious about the digital frontlines. Add to it the Home Minister’s directive to keep anti-terror operations in “mission mode,” and the contours of the season become clear. The political calendar—especially the imminent budget session—inevitably plays its own music in the background.
Yet amidst the statecraft, the citizens displayed what the institutions often struggle with: humanity at its purest. In Gulmarg, locals rescued tourists after a cab skidded into a nallah. In Banihal and Gool, digital smart boards were distributed to schools—small acts that build futures in silence.
There are reasons to celebrate too. The aerospace achievements of Sopore’s Munaf-ul-Raqeeb, and the cricketing triumphs of Kashmir’s U-16 team in the Vijay Merchant Trophy, expand the map of Kashmiri excellence beyond conventional frames. These victories are not merely news items—they are counter-narratives to cynicism.
As we move toward International Women’s Day, it was heartening to see the International Human Rights Organization’s J&K Chapter announce honours for 100 women across the valley—recognising strength, resilience, and leadership far away from tokenism. A society is ultimately measured not by how it protects its powerful, but how it encourages its courageous.
But the most telling image of the week was not of politics, or protest, or power—rather, a new perfume brand launched by local youth in Srinagar, simply called “Royal Essence.” In that modest entrepreneurial act lies the essence of Kashmir’s unfinished story: talent that wishes to breathe, ideas that desire space, and a generation that refuses to wait for history to become kinder.
The challenge ahead remains unchanged—governance must be timely, politics must be responsible, institutions must be humane, and society must retain empathy while pursuing ambition. Too often, we celebrate the wrong instincts and ignore the right ones.
The week reminded us that Kashmir is not short of potential. It is short only of uninterrupted pathways for that potential to bloom without being stifled by uncertainty—be it academic, political, legal, or technological.
And until those pathways widen, our best stories will continue to shine despite the system, not because of it.
— Mushtaq Bala
