On the evening of March 11th 2026, I returned home to a sight that shook me to my core. My brother, an officer at J&K Bank, sat in such a state of profound shock and restlessness that he had subconsciously broken his fast before the scheduled time.

​The cause of his trauma was the sudden, violent extinguishing of a bright light: his friend and colleague, Shahnawaz Ahmad Rather. Shahnawaz, a Scale II officer at the same bank, was involved in a lethal accident while commuting to his duty. He was only 38 years old and a brilliant professional who had recently cleared his JAIIB and CAIIIB exams. He leaves behind a 35-year old widow and three small children who must now navigate a lifetime of grief. While others were injured, including Firdous Ahmad who suffered broken ribs, Shahnawaz paid the ultimate price.

​While a collision with a passenger van was the physical cause of the accident, the underlying catalyst is far more insidious. The banking sector and J&K Bank in particular has become synonymous with a stressful “pressure cooker” environment.

​The relentless pursuit of biometric attendance at exactly 10:00 a.m. forces employees into frantic morning commutes. Once behind the desk, they are buried under a mountain of credits, debits, power bills, loan sanctions, ATM maintenance, and insurance policies. This is not a 10-to-5 job; it is a marathon of thousands of extra unpaid hours per year that systematically dismantles their social and family lives.

​The current culture prioritizes aggressive target accomplishment at the direct expense of employee mental health. We are witnessing a directly proportional relationship between the banking profession and rising rates of depression, broken families and severe health issues. We must ask ourselves: Are banking employees the children of a lesser God?

​We cannot wait for the next tragedy. The need of the hour is a fundamental shift towards an efficient, effective and most importantly a healthy work culture with fixed working hours as an enforced norm in addition to the allowances for the extra labour currently extracted for free. Besides, a move away from ‘unnecessary target accomplishments’ that push talented youth towards suicidal tendencies and harsh lifestyles must be ensured.

​Today, the victim is Shahnawaz. Tomorrow, it could be your brother, your friend or your neighbour. It is high time we raise our collective voices to save our people and our institutions from these “dead ends”.

Author teaches geography and works as a freelancer with Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

© Greater Kashmir