Kashmir's Decimal Divide

A brief look beyond grades reveals the true promise in Kashmir’s young minds.

- Dr. Ashraf Zainabi

A young woman from Pulwama scored 89.7% in her postgraduate degree. She had published two papers, volunteered in her village during floods, and helped tutor neighbourhood children during COVID. But when it came time to apply for a PhD program outside Kashmir, she didn't even make it past the short-listing. Someone else had 89.8%.

That 0.1% difference erased everything else she brought to the table.

It's a story I hear often. Not just from students, but from early-career researchers, job aspirants, even teachers trying for transfers or fellowships.

In Kashmir, you can be full of promise but still fall short, by just a decimal.

Our systems treat marks as the final word. If you're on the wrong side of a cut-off, it doesn't matter what else you've done. The numbers speak, and everything else stays unheard.

This hits differently here than in most places. Kashmiri students often study in universities that don’t inflate marks. They don’t get coached to “crack” exams. Many are first-generation learners, juggling academics with family work or political disruptions. They’ve grown up amid shutdowns, curfews, and internet blackouts.