A Mirror We Cannot Ignore

Across Kashmir today, one truth quietly lingers: our systems are collapsing under the weight of irresponsibility. Institutions exist, people are appointed, salaries are paid—but accountability is vanishing. Teachers, engineers, inspectors, municipal staff, even law enforcement—those entrusted with public service—are too often placeholders. Once the job is secured, the urgency to perform fades.

The tragedy is not just inefficiency. It is the absence of fear—fear of scrutiny, of being questioned, of facing consequences.

A Culture Where “Getting the Job” Is the Finish Line

Securing a government job is treated as life’s ultimate achievement. Families sacrifice for years to get a child onto the recruitment list. But what should be the start of service becomes the finish line. Teachers stop innovating, engineers overlook quality, inspectors skip checks. Files crawl, if they move at all. Salaries, however, never fail to arrive.

Where is the sense of responsibility? Where is the accountability that should define public service?

Education: More Salaries, Few Outcomes

Government school teachers in Kashmir earn far better than those in private institutions. Yet student outcomes remain poor, teaching outdated, classrooms underused. Schools function on paper, but the gap between learning and performance grows. Salaries rise—but results don’t.

Failures in Broad Daylight

A walk through any town tells the story—overflowing garbage, dug-up roads, clogged drains, illegal construction.

Sometimes negligence becomes outright danger. The rotten meat scandal is a grim reminder: how did so much unsafe meat circulate unchecked? Where were the inspectors? Similarly, the stray dog crisis festers year after year despite promises of sterilization drives. Funds are spent, reports filed, but the packs multiply, and citizens remain unprotected.

These failures are not hidden—they are visible every day. Yet institutions look the other way.

Present but Distrusted

Yes, the police work under pressure. But routine civil duties cannot be ignored. Drug abuse is rising, domestic violence unresolved, petty crimes neglected. For many, approaching a police station is a last resort—and even then, justice feels unlikely.

Presence without performance is not policing.

Oversight Without Action

Step into a bakery or street stall and hygiene is often absent. Expiry dates ignored, storage unsafe, adulteration common. The food safety department has powers, vehicles, and officers—yet checks are rare, fines minimal, enforcement weak.

The rotten meat scandal wasn’t an exception. It was the result of a department asleep at the wheel.

Dying in Silence

Forests cut, wetlands filled, lakes shrinking—illegal mining and encroachments flourish while environment officials look away. To watch destruction unfold and remain passive is not negligence— it is complicity.

The Rotten Core: No Fear of Accountability

The core truth is simple: there is no fear of consequences.

Public servants know they won’t be questioned. Files can be delayed, duties ignored, inspections skipped—without penalty. The culture of impunity runs so deep that mediocrity is now the norm. Worse still, sincere officers are punished while complacency is rewarded.

Silent Enablers

But citizens are not blameless. Our taxes pay these salaries. Our votes empower these systems. Our silence shields inefficiency. We complain in private, but rarely demand accountability in public.

Change will not come from government alone. It must come from us—by filing complaints, demanding transparency, and refusing to normalize decay.

Getting the job cannot be the goal. Doing the job must be.

Responsibility Over Rhetoric

Despite the bleakness, hope remains. Kashmiris are resilient and aware. What is missing is collective insistence on accountability.

• We don’t need revolutions. We need responsibility.
• We don’t need speeches. We need systems that work.
• We don’t need blame games. We need consequences for failure.

This is not a speech. Not a blame game. It is a mirror. And what it reflects may be ugly—but it is real. The question is: will we keep looking away, or finally demand that those entrusted with responsibility live up to it?