Agrarian Reforms in the Regional Context

The significance of land reform in post-1947 Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) becomes apparent when we consider the predominantly feudal agrarian landscape that existed in the princely state on the eve of 1947. Similar to the broader South Asian context, a majority of J&K’s population resided in villages, where land not only served as the primary source of livelihood but also formed the basis of social stratification, power dynamics and family organisation ( Joshi, 2008 : 164–185). Under the influence and instructions of the British residency, the Dogra regime effected a series of interventions in the agrarian landscape to alleviate the deplorable conditions of the cultivating community, most of whom were Muslims, but such efforts remained limited to marginally securing the entitlement of cultivating community to what they would produce ( Wingate, 1891 ). Even as late as the 1930s, there was no visible change in the condition of the cultivating masses; they continued to live a destitute and deplorable life. Unsurprisingly therefore, the commitment to ameliorate the conditions of cultivators through land reform assumed centrality in the politics and political mobilisation of The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference , later changed into The All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in 1939. The pursuit of land reforms was a major objective outlined in the Naya Kashmir Manifesto adopted by the NC in 1944. It is noteworthy that the issue of land reform was also assuming significance in the broader context of British imperialism. During the struggle to wrest power from the colonial state, the leadership of the Indian National Congress also pledged commitments to land reforms, recognising the need to secure peasant support for the anti-imperialist cause. While there is limited evidence of a similar commitment from the leadership of the All-India Muslim League before independence, pressure for such a commitment was mounting, particularly from dynamic elements at the lower levels of the Muslim League organisation, and this pressure intensified as the League transformed into a mass organisation from what appeared to be a coterie of landlords, retired senior officials and lawyers. Consequently, the League leadership could no longer disregard the popular urges and demands for land reform.