Unseen Wounds of Kashmir’s Ongoing Conflict Evident in Mental Health Facilities

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In the primary urban center of the region under India’s governance in Kashmir, Aayat Hameed sought the advice of multiple medical professionals who recommended that she consult a specialist in mental health. Her symptoms included generalized anxiety, sporadic episodes of heart palpitations, and intermittent yet severe suicidal ideation. After the consultation, she was diagnosed with severe depression.

During a recent sweltering summer day, Hameed was one among many who frequented a mental health clinic in Srinagar. There, she has been undergoing a series of therapeutic sessions and medicinal treatments.

“Engaging with mental health professionals, or confiding in someone trustworthy, has been substantially beneficial in managing my suicidal tendencies and depression,” Hameed stated. She reported that her condition has improved by approximately 40% within a month-long treatment regimen.

For over 30 years, the populace of Kashmir has been enduring a multiplicity of crises. Factors such as armed uprisings, harsh counterinsurgency measures, unprecedented levels of militarization and securitization, and unresolved quests for self-determination have contributed to escalating rates of depression and substance abuse in this contested area, according to experts.

The breathtakingly scenic region of the Himalayas has been a continual source of dispute and armed conflicts between India and Pakistan for over seven decades. Both nations govern sections of Kashmir and assert claims over its entirety. In spite of these hostilities, Kashmir’s closely-knit Muslim community historically provided a robust social safety net. However, this support structure disintegrated following the onset of an armed revolt in 1989.

From that point onward, an immense toll has been exacted on civilians, insurgents, and governmental forces alike, leading to widespread psychological trauma among the inhabitants of Kashmir. Nearly every individual among the seven million residents of the Kashmir valley has been impacted by this cycle of violence.

Two generations have been profoundly affected: those who were adolescents in 1989 and saw their formative years marred by conflict, and the present-day youth who have known nothing but a life punctuated by strife.

Saiba Varma, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, who has conducted extensive research on psychiatric conditions in Kashmir, stated, “The foundational elements of psychological well-being, such as safety and security, have been persistently compromised in Kashmir for many years.”

Although the region has seen a significant decline in daily acts of violence in recent years, and its semi-autonomous status was nullified in 2019—a move justified by the Indian government as necessary for restoring normalcy—the unseen mental scars persist. They are particularly evident in the psychiatric departments of several hospitals, which regularly receive hundreds of individuals seeking help for mental disorders and substance dependencies.

According to a 2015 survey conducted by Doctors Without Borders in association with the University of Kashmir and the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Srinagar, nearly 1.8 million adults in the Kashmir valley—that is, 45% of the adult population—are displaying symptoms of psychological distress. Among these, 41% show probable signs of depression, 26% are likely suffering from anxiety, and 19% indicate potential Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.

Though the mental health infrastructure in the region has shown signs of expansion—from just four psychiatrists and a single mental health clinic in Srinagar in the early 2000s to around 17 government-backed clinics managed by over 70 professionals today—the system remains unable to meet the demand.

Varma asserted that the ongoing crisis in mental health is directly linked to the socio-political circumstances in the region. “The perpetual state of militarization has eradicated many of the traditional cultural and religious coping mechanisms that the people of Kashmir relied upon, making them increasingly dependent on an already overstretched and overly pharmaceutical-focused healthcare system,” she concluded.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Mental Health in Kashmir

More about Mental Health in Kashmir

• Mental Health Statistics in Kashmir
• History of the Kashmir Conflict
• Doctors Without Borders 2015 Study on Kashmir
• Mental Health Services in India
• Socio-political Landscape of Kashmir
• Recent Changes in Kashmir’s Autonomy
• Overview of Mental Health Disorders
• Coping Mechanisms and Cultural Practices in Kashmir