Holding On to Hope

Behind the harangues and headlines, Kashmir’ entrepreneurs face challenges few see—holding onto hope amid uncertainty and rebuilding from the ground up.

- Syed Zameer Raza Safvi

I was in 11th grade in 2007. My friends and I spent most of our days dreaming about the future: what courses we'd pick, what colleges we'd aim for.

But one thing we never talked about was starting a business. That just wasn't in the air around us. Our parents wanted us to be doctors, engineers, judges. Anything steady, anything safe.

Only one classmate ever mentioned business. His older brother ran a small travel agency. He'd talk about cabs, tourists, and how Kashmir could thrive if peace lasted.

Slowly, his confidence rubbed off on some of us. A few even began to imagine running their own ventures. But we always hit the same wall: how do you do business in a place where life can be shut down overnight?

Then 2008 arrived, and everything fell apart.

That summer, protests erupted over a controversial land transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board. What started as political disagreement quickly turned into weeks of marches, clashes, and mass shutdowns. Roads emptied, shops stayed closed, and tension hung in the air.

By September, over 40 civilians were resting in different cemeteries. We stayed indoors, listening to news bulletins and the sound of gunfire from our windows. Schools remained shut for months. So did any dreams we had of becoming entrepreneurs.