What if Kashmir’s biggest workplace problem isn’t a lack of talent—but a lack of accountability? A candid look at discipline, professionalism, unemployment and the uncomfortable habits we may need to change.
A Bitter Truth About Kashmir’s Work Culture: Are We Holding Ourselves Back?
By: Javid Amin | 20 Aug 2026
There are some conversations we avoid because they are uncomfortable. And then there are conversations we avoid for so long that they eventually become impossible to ignore.
This is one of them.
I know this article may invite criticism. Some will call it self-hating. Others may say it unfairly generalises an entire community. There will probably be social-media outrage, angry comments and accusations of insulting Kashmiris.
That is not the purpose.
The purpose is to ask a difficult question: Are some weaknesses in our workplace culture holding Kashmir back—and are we honest enough to acknowledge them?
I have worked in the Valley and across different parts of India. That experience has exposed me to different workplaces, managers, employees, systems and professional cultures. And yes, I have noticed differences.
But there is an important qualification: these are observations, not scientific proof that Kashmiris are inherently less hardworking or less professional. There is no credible evidence that allows us to label an entire population as lazy, careless or disrespectful at work.
In fact, the available employment data tells us that Kashmir’s problem is considerably more complicated.
So perhaps the real conversation is not about whether Kashmiris work hard.
It is about how we work, how institutions function, how employers treat employees, how employees respond to accountability—and whether our professional culture is ready for the economy we want to build.
The uncomfortable observation: talent is not always the problem
Kashmir has no shortage of talent.
Walk into a university classroom, a coaching centre, a newsroom, a hospital, a technology office or a small business and you will find highly educated, ambitious and capable young people.
The bigger question is what happens after talent enters the workplace.
Does the employee arrive on time?
Does he or she take ownership of an assignment?
Can a junior accept criticism without treating it as a personal insult?
Can a manager give instructions without creating resentment?
Can an employee disagree professionally while still respecting the chain of responsibility?
Can people finish a task without repeatedly being reminded?
These seemingly ordinary questions determine whether an organisation becomes productive or dysfunctional.
And this is where the criticism deserves serious consideration.
But one correction is necessary: respect for a boss is not the same as professionalism
The original argument—that employees outside Kashmir treat their bosses “next to God” while Kashmiris treat their superiors as “nuts”—makes for a powerful line.
But it is not a useful standard for measuring professional behaviour.
A healthy workplace should not require an employee to worship a boss.
Professionalism is not obedience without question.
A good employee can challenge a bad decision. A good manager should welcome constructive disagreement. Hierarchy exists to establish responsibility and accountability—not to turn one human being into another’s unquestionable authority.
The real benchmark should therefore be different:
Do we respect the role, the institution, the deadline and the responsibility even when we disagree with the person occupying the position?
That is a much harder—and more meaningful—test.
The data tells a different part of the story
There is an important reality that cannot be ignored when discussing Kashmir’s work culture: Kashmir has a serious employment problem.
The J&K Economic Survey 2025-26, drawing on Periodic Labour Force Survey data, says the Union Territory’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 and above fell from 6.7% in 2019-20 to 6.1% in 2023-24. At the same time, its worker population ratio rose from 52.5% to 60.4%.
But the latest figures subsequently cited by the government showed unemployment rising again to 6.7% in 2024-25, compared with 3.5% nationally.
Among young people, the challenge is even more serious. A Mission YUVA baseline survey reported youth unemployment in J&K at 17.4%, compared with 10.2% nationally.
Those numbers change the conversation.
If a region has a large pool of educated young people competing for relatively limited formal-sector opportunities, blaming the workers alone is too simplistic.
The problem also involves job creation, private investment, skills, management practices, wages, career progression and the structure of the regional economy.
Kashmir’s employment problem did not begin with employee attitudes
Research published by Oxford University Press has highlighted the structural problems behind employment generation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The region’s prolonged conflict, limited industrial base, insufficient private-sector job creation and mismatch between education and market requirements have all contributed to unemployment and underemployment.
That matters because workplace culture does not develop in isolation.
A young person who spends years preparing for government recruitment exams, repeatedly applies for scarce positions and enters a workplace with little exposure to professional management may not automatically acquire the habits expected in a competitive corporate environment.
Nor should we assume that someone who prefers a government job over a private-sector position is necessarily lacking ambition.
Sometimes people are responding rationally to the economic environment around them.
There is another uncomfortable side: the employer
If we are going to talk about accountability, the conversation cannot stop with employees.
Kashmir’s private sector has its own problems.
A 2026 Kashmir Observer analysis argued that the region’s private sector has struggled to develop stable, scalable employment and highlighted insecure hiring and weak employment conditions.
That raises an equally uncomfortable question:
How seriously do some employers take their employees?
Do businesses provide written contracts?
Are salaries paid on time?
Is overtime properly recognised?
Are promotions based on performance?
Do managers train junior employees?
Are employees given measurable responsibilities?
Is there a proper grievance mechanism?
A company cannot demand corporate-level professionalism from workers while operating with an informal, unpredictable employment culture.
Accountability must work in both directions.
The culture of “jugaad” can become a culture of complacency
One of the biggest dangers in any workplace is normalising shortcuts.
A missed deadline becomes “kal kar lenge.”
A late arrival becomes “bas thoda traffic tha.”
A poorly completed assignment becomes “chalta hai.”
A mistake is blamed on someone else.
A customer complaint is ignored.
A manager is criticised rather than listened to.
Eventually, these small compromises become organisational culture.
And once that happens, even talented people begin performing below their potential.
This is not uniquely Kashmiri. It is a problem seen in workplaces everywhere.
But if we want Kashmir to compete for national and international business, tourism, technology, media, manufacturing and professional services, we cannot afford to normalise it.
The danger of confusing confidence with arrogance
There is another distinction worth making.
Confidence says:
“I believe I can do this.”
Arrogance says:
“Nobody here knows better than me.”
Confidence asks questions.
Arrogance refuses correction.
Confidence accepts responsibility.
Arrogance searches for excuses.
Confidence can disagree with a manager.
Arrogance undermines the manager in front of colleagues.
The objective should never be to produce employees who blindly follow instructions.
The objective should be to develop professionals who can think independently and still operate within a system of accountability.
That combination is extremely valuable.
What Kashmir can learn from workplaces outside the Valley
My own experience of working outside Kashmir has shown me that professional environments can operate very differently.
In many competitive organisations, employees understand that their reputation is built through consistency.
They know that being technically good is only one part of the job.
You must also:
- meet deadlines;
- communicate clearly;
- arrive prepared;
- document your work;
- accept feedback;
- respect colleagues;
- solve problems rather than merely report them;
- take responsibility when something goes wrong;
- and continuously upgrade your skills.
Nobody has to worship the boss.
The system itself creates consequences for poor performance.
That is the important lesson.
Professional culture works best when expectations are clear and accountability is predictable.
But Kashmiris have another side that deserves recognition
It would be unfair—and factually irresponsible—to portray Kashmiris as universally poor workers.
Kashmiris working outside the Valley have built careers in medicine, engineering, administration, education, media, entrepreneurship, hospitality, technology and the armed forces.
Many have succeeded in highly competitive environments.
That itself challenges the idea that there is something inherently defective about Kashmiri work ethic.
If the same individual can perform exceptionally well in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dubai, London or elsewhere, perhaps the question should not simply be:
“What’s wrong with the Kashmiri employee?”
We should also ask:
“What changes when that employee enters a different professional system?”
The answer may involve management, incentives, competition, organisational culture and expectations.
Environment matters.
Discipline is not humiliation
There is sometimes a misconception that discipline means being submissive.
It does not.
Discipline means doing what you have committed to doing—even when nobody is watching.
A disciplined employee does not need constant supervision.
A disciplined manager does not need to threaten employees.
A disciplined organisation does not depend on personal relationships to get basic work completed.
This is perhaps the cultural shift Kashmir needs most.
We need to move from person-dependent workplaces to system-dependent workplaces.
If an office works only because one particular boss is strict, there is a problem.
If an employee performs only when the boss is standing over him, there is a problem.
If deadlines are respected only when someone is shouting, there is a problem.
A mature professional culture operates without permanent supervision.
Education alone cannot solve the problem
Kashmir has produced generations of degree holders.
But a degree is not the same thing as employability.
The Oxford research on J&K’s employment challenges has specifically pointed to the mismatch between educational attainment and the skills demanded by the labour market.
That means our education system needs to put greater emphasis on:
communication, technology, problem-solving, teamwork, entrepreneurship, leadership, vocational skills and workplace behaviour.
A student should not graduate knowing only how to pass an examination.
He or she should also know how to write an email, prepare a presentation, meet a deadline, handle a client, work in a team and receive criticism.
These are not secondary skills.
They are employability skills.
We also need to stop romanticising government jobs
For decades, the government job has represented security and social status in Kashmir.
That preference is understandable.
But it can become limiting when an entire generation is encouraged to see government employment as the only respectable career.
A modern economy needs entrepreneurs, technicians, designers, hospitality professionals, software developers, accountants, skilled tradespeople, researchers, sales professionals, content creators and thousands of other occupations.
J&K itself has been pushing entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives. The Union government reported that several schemes had generated or strengthened 7.4 lakh self-employment/livelihood opportunities from 2021-22 onward.
The bigger challenge is turning such initiatives into durable businesses and sustainable careers.
The workplace must reward merit
No cultural reform will work if merit is constantly undermined.
An employee who works harder than everyone else but receives no recognition eventually asks a rational question:
Why should I work harder?
Similarly, an employee who repeatedly underperforms but faces no consequences learns another lesson:
Why should I improve?
Both outcomes are damaging.
A professional culture needs both sides of the equation:
Reward performance.
Correct poor performance.
Train people who can improve.
Remove people who repeatedly refuse to perform.
This is not cruelty.
It is organisational accountability.
The real transformation begins with small habits
Changing workplace culture does not require a grand government programme.
It can begin in ordinary offices.
Come on time.
Answer the phone.
Reply to the email.
Finish the assignment.
Admit the mistake.
Ask when you do not understand.
Do not take every piece of feedback personally.
Do not humiliate junior employees.
Do not use personal connections to bypass professional rules.
Do not expect special treatment.
Do not assume your designation makes you smarter than everyone else.
And perhaps most importantly:
Do your job properly even when nobody is watching.
That is professionalism.
Kashmir does not need more self-criticism. It needs honest self-assessment.
There is a fine line between constructive criticism and collective self-loathing.
We should never cross it.
Kashmir has endured political uncertainty, conflict, economic disruption, displacement, weak industrialisation and limited private-sector opportunities. Those realities have shaped institutions and attitudes over decades.
It would be intellectually lazy to blame everything on “Kashmiri mentality.”
At the same time, it would be equally lazy to pretend that culture has no role in economic development.
Both things can be true:
Kashmir faces structural economic problems—and Kashmiris can still improve their professional culture.
One does not cancel the other.
The question we should really be asking
Perhaps the most productive version of the original argument is not:
“Why are Kashmiris bad workers?”
That question is unfair and largely unanswerable.
The better question is:
“What kind of work culture does Kashmir need to compete in the next economy?”
The answer is not blind obedience.
It is not worshipping bosses.
It is not suppressing disagreement.
It is not copying another region’s culture wholesale.
It is a workplace culture built around discipline, accountability, competence, humility, punctuality, innovation and mutual respect.
Employees should be able to tell their managers when something is wrong.
Managers should be able to hold employees accountable without favouritism.
Businesses should provide fair working conditions.
Workers should deliver what they promise.
Institutions should reward competence.
And society should stop treating honest criticism as an insult.
A bitter truth—but also a hopeful one
I began by saying this might be a bitter truth.
Perhaps it is.
But there is another truth that is far more important:
Culture can change.
If some of us have developed poor workplace habits, we can unlearn them.
If our institutions have tolerated mediocrity, they can raise their standards.
If employers have failed to create professional workplaces, they can improve them.
If young people have been trained to chase degrees rather than skills, education can change direction.
And if we have confused confidence with arrogance, we can learn the difference.
Kashmir does not lack talent.
What it needs is an environment where talent is converted into discipline, productivity and excellence.
The Valley is already known around the world for its beauty, hospitality and resilience.
The next generation should give it another reputation:
a place where people show up, take responsibility, keep their word and take pride in doing excellent work.
That transformation will not happen because someone criticises Kashmiris.
It will happen when Kashmiris are willing to look honestly at themselves—and then decide to do better.
That, ultimately, is not an insult.
It is an invitation.
