By F. Ahmed, IANS
Srinagar : A defining moment in Jammu and Kashmir’s post-Indian independence history came in 1950 when hundreds of thousands of peasants were freed from the shackles of landlords through a law that gave them ownership rights on the land they tilled.
“It sounds horrible now, but the fact is that till the land to tiller law of 1950 came into force, even the daughters of poor peasants were treated as part of the estate on which the landlords enjoyed absolute rights,” said M.Y. Teng, 70, a noted Kashmiri scholar and chronicler.
The sweeping land reforms under the Big Landed Estates Abolition Act passed on July 13, 1950, changed the complexion of Kashmiri society.
The historical image of the emaciated local farmer in tatters, with sunken faces and listless eyes, toiling to fill the granaries of landlords changed overnight into one of a landowner who expected to benefit from the labour he had put in for generations.
“Since 1950, the rural landscape in Kashmir has completely changed. I was myself the son of a landless tiller. I don’t remember a single time till 1950 when our family ate a full meal,” said Habibullah Dar, 69, a farmer who lives in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
“The little the landlord’s goons left with us after the harvest would suffice for just a few months. People would die of starvation. That is not an exaggeration. Today I have surplus grain which we sell to buy things to make our lives comfortable.”
Undoubtedly, the vision of a prosperous, self-reliant Kashmiri farmer was seen and realised by National Conference’s founder, the late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
“The politico-economic manifesto of the National Conference, known as the document of ‘Naya Kashmir’ (New Kashmir), was adopted by the party under the Sheikh’s leadership in 1944, but could only be realised in 1950 after India’s independence,” said Teng, who was the amanuensis of Abdullah’s autobiography, “Aatish-e-Chinar”.
Though the late Sheikh must be credited for the vision of a New Kashmir, free from the shackles of landlords, he had a team of eminent people who drafted his reforms document.
The famous progressive Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Supreme Court advocate Daniel Latifi, Punjabi intellectual B.P.L. Bedi, eminent socialist intellectual K.M. Ashraf, National Conference general secretary Maulana Masoodi, the Sheikh’s revenue minister Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg and scores of others are known to have helped in drafting the famous ‘Naya Kashmir’ manifesto for the party.
Interestingly, Jammu and Kashmir became the first Indian state to pass such a revolutionary law that gave ownership rights to peasants over lands they had been tilling for landlords.
All the land mortgages entered into till 1950 were also declared as null and void by the Act.
“Overnight, landlords lost ownership rights on more than 70,000 acres of agricultural land. The law, popularly known as the land to tiller law, shook and dismantled the foundations of landlordism in Kashmir. The farmers became the owners of these lands without paying even a penny as compensation to the landlords,” said Teng.
“The pleasure seeking, cruel landlords and blood sucking moneylenders found themselves deprived of centuries of inherited monopoly. They were no longer the lords and masters of the poor farmers’ destinies. The penury ridden, landless farmers became masters of their own destiny.
“Nobody other than the Sheikh, who enjoyed such immense popularity at that time, could have taken such a bold step. All the money power of the vested interests turned against him but the sweeping winds of change had delivered their judgement,” he said.
Recalling the impact of the landmark event, Teng said: “At the national level, the Indian National Congress, which till then had no clear cut roadmap for agricultural reforms, was also inspired by the Sheikh’s bold initiative.
“The Avadi session of the Congress in 1951 in fact took a leaf out of the Sheikh’s book and decided on the socialist, progressive agenda for building a modern, self-reliant India,” Teng maintains.
Speaking about the cruelty of landlords, Teng said: “If the goons of landlords found a farmer’s child eating a walnut from the landlord’s estate till 1950, they would force the nut out of the child’s mouth. This in local parlance was called ‘Khalaw dun’ and even after abolition of landlordships in Kashmir, this word continues to send shivers down the spine of those who have lived in that era.”
(F. Ahmed can be contacted at [email protected] )