Explained: Why has unemployment soared in Jammu and Kashmir in the last five years?

This is the second of a three-part series. Read the first article here.

When Jammu and Kashmir went to polls last year, what was uppermost on voters’ minds?

According to a post-poll survey by thinktank CSDS-Lokniti, it was not the restoration of its special status and statehood, but unemployment – 42% cited it as their biggest concern.

The findings were not surprising.

As we have reported in this special series, Jammu and Kashmir has been in the grip of an unemployment crisis that has worsened in the last five years.

Indeed, the union territory’s unemployment rate has consistently remained higher than the national average since 2019 – flying in the face of the Narendra Modi government’s assertion that its decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status has led to widespread development and prosperity of the region.

Experts, in fact, argue the opposite – that the rampant joblessness in Jammu and Kashmir is a sign of the crisis in its economy post-2019.

“Economic performance post-2019 has been worse on every indicator compared to years between 2014 and 2019,” said Dr Haseeb Drabu, economist and former finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

From August 2019 until six months ago, Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by New Delhi through the office...

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