Eco Over Ego

A young Kashmiri scholar argues that the valley's future lies not in factories but in fruit, forests, and fairness.

- Danish Shafi Ahmad

Kashmir is often caught between labels. But underneath all that noise is a land with the potential to chart its own course.

We don't need to copy Delhi, Mumbai or Silicon Valley, but grow on our own terms.

We don't even need giant factories or glass towers to move forward.

All we need is to look at what we already have — apples, rivers, shawls, stories—and figure out how to grow them in ways that don’t hollow out the land or its people.

Take horticulture. Apples alone make up 8% of Jammu and Kashmir’s GDP. Nearly 3.5 lakh families — about 27 lakh people — depend on the fruit industry, directly or indirectly.

But most farmers still rely on traditional storage and selling methods. Only around 15% of apples go through modern cold chains, and barely a sliver reach global markets.

Imagine what could happen if the supply chain was fixed. If better roads and refrigerated trucks helped farmers sell beyond the state, or if Kashmiri fruit started showing up in European supermarkets under protected geographic labels.

Or take our handicrafts. The world knows our Pashmina, our carpets, our papier-mâché, but many artisans barely make ends meet.

These are not just items. They are generations of memory, technique, and labour. With the right kind of training, digital tools, and international branding, this could be a multi-million-dollar export sector. And one that doesn’t pollute rivers or displace communities.