Srinagar: In a region long defined by conflict and migration, Arhan Bagati, 26, is attempting something quieter and more complicated. He is trying to reshape how Kashmir and its young people see themselves.A Kashmiri Pandit whose family left the Valley years ago, Arhan grew up in Delhi and studied in the United States. In recent years, he returned to Srinagar and now lives near Nishat, choosing to rebuild professional and civic roots in the place his family once called home.“I don’t think terror should dictate the terms on which we live our lives,” Arhan said after last year’s militant attack in Pahalgam, a moment that once again unsettled the Valley.His work has crossed policy, sport, and film. He co-produced Ground Zero, starring Emraan Hashmi. The film included a line that resonated locally, “Kashmir ki zameen bhi apni hai aur Kashmir ke log bhi apne hain.” For Arhan, the message reflected a belief in reconciliation without denial of history.Before entering filmmaking, Arhan gained national attention as the youngest Deputy Chef de Mission of India’s contingent at the Tokyo Paralympics. He later served as an ambassador for the Paralympic Committee of India and founded digital initiatives to support Indian Paralympic athletes at international competitions. The work focused on systems and access rather than symbolism.In Srinagar, he founded the Kashmir Yumberzal Applied Research Institute, known as KYARI, a policy think tank that aims to produce applied research on civic and social issues in Jammu and Kashmir. The institute describes its mission as identifying developmental challenges and proposing practical solutions.“⁠I see KYARI as a vehicle to focus on important, yet sometimes overshadowed issues, and through that, I hope to produce inherently good quality work that can effect change. Public policy is a vast and complex arena, and there isn’t a magic pill that can solve all challenges or simplify the implementation of programs. From my understanding, consistency, passion, and expertise will always go a long way,” he told The Kashmir Monitor.At 26, Arhan became one of the youngest recipients of a Jammu and Kashmir government award for social reform and empowerment. He has framed the recognition as validation that young people need not wait their turn to contribute.“After graduating from Harvard, I aim to return immediately and scale up my work with KYARI to not only see more tangible impact but also unravel other key developmental challenges persisting in the Valley and affecting people’s day-to-day lives. My focus has always been to consciously connect ground realities with public policy, and there is nothing that can substitute clocking in the hours to truly understand the nuts and bolts of different challenges, which should be a prerequisite before attempting a resolution,” he said.His return carries symbolic weight. As a member of the Kashmiri Pandit community, whose displacement in the early 1990s reshaped the Valley’s social fabric, Arhan’s decision to resettle in Srinagar places him at the intersection of memory and modern ambition. Rebuilding trust across communities remains an unfinished project, shaped by political uncertainty, economic strain, and periodic violence.Supporters see in Arhan a new model of Kashmiri leadership, globally educated yet locally invested. Skeptics question whether visibility and awards can translate into durable change on the ground, where unemployment and disillusionment persist.Arhan’s journey reflects both possibility and constraint. In a place where history often overshadows aspiration, he is attempting to craft a narrative of return, reform, and engagement. Whether that narrative can endure will depend not only on his resolve, but on the fragile and shifting realities of Kashmir itself.

© The Kashmir Monitor News