'The Fertility Clock Is Ticking For Kashmir'

As families shrink and youth migrate, Kashmir faces a slow-burning demographic crisis.

- Aashiq Hussain Andrabi

Kashmir's newest population data has set off alarm bells. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) reports the region's fertility rate has plummeted to 1.4, one of the lowest in the country and far below the replacement level of 2.1.

The number signals a dramatic social shift for a place once defined by large, close-knit families.

"I didn't believe it at first," says Dr. Sabahat Rasool, one of Kashmir's top fertility specialists. "It's deeply worrying.

The change is visible in living rooms and wedding halls across the valley. Fewer marriages, delayed parenthood, and shrinking families are becoming the new normal.

"We've turned marriage into a burden," Dr. Sabahat says. "Big weddings, job demands, and unhealthy competition have made it inaccessible for many."

Couples marrying later, struggle to conceive, and enter parenthood when their best reproductive years are already behind them.

Experts say this shift could alter Kashmir's social and economic fabric in the years ahead.

With young people moving out, elderly care rising, and family ties thinning, the region faces a future that feels both modern and uncertain.

"We are slowly becoming a society that's old before it's ready," warns Dr. Sabahat. "The fertility clock is ticking, not just for women, but for Kashmir as a whole."

In a candid chat with Kashmir Observer, Dr. Sabahat Rasool, Senior IVF Consultant and Associate Professor at LD Hospital, breaks down what's driving the fertility fall, how modern lifestyles are reshaping family choices, and what the numbers really mean for Kashmir's future.

Honestly, my first thought was, this can't be right! And if it is, then yes, it's worrying. We all know fertility rates are dropping around the world, but I didn't think we'd come this close to those numbers. It's a big deal because fertility rate says a lot about where a society is headed.