Kashmir's Lancet Love Test

Last month, a 26-year-old schoolteacher in Budgam brought sweets to her fiancé's house. The family asked for one more gift: a fresh blood-sugar report.

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She returned with an HbAlc of 6.4, just below the diabetic line. The wedding is off. The mother explained, "We cannot bring a sick girl into the house."

The girl now checks her glucose each morning and wonders if love comes with a lancet.

Endocrinology outpatient departments in Kashmir have doubled in five years. Government data show 2.4 lakh registered diabetics in 2025, up from 1.1 lakh in 2020.

Doctors blame the shift from home-cooked mutton and turnip to city-bought snacks and cola, plus winters spent around the firepots instead of the cricket ground.