Political rivals unite to defend farmers in Pulwama land row

Pulwama, Jun 8: In a rare display of political unity, leaders from rival political parties on Monday joined farmers in transplanting paddy in the Padgampora-Dangarpora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, expressing solidarity with cultivators who claim they are being prevented from farming land their families have tilled for generations.

Leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC) drove tractors and worked alongside farmers amid an ongoing dispute over the ownership of the land. The farmers allege that revenue officials recently informed them that the land belongs to the government and that cultivation would no longer be permitted.

PDP legislator Waheed Ur Rehman Parra and National Conference leader Mukhtar Ahmad Bandh, accompanied by party workers and supporters, entered the fields and participated in paddy transplantation alongside local residents. The unusual scene saw political workers and farmers operating tractors and sowing paddy saplings in a symbolic show of support for the affected families.

“These families have been cultivating this land for generations. Suddenly, they are being told that the land belongs to the government,” Parra told reporters at the site.
He alleged that fertile agricultural land was increasingly being diverted for construction and other non-agricultural purposes.
“At a time when Jammu and Kashmir is facing environmental challenges and unemployment among youth remains high, taking away agricultural land will push our youth into drugs and depression,” he said.

Parra stressed that agricultural land in the region must be protected and preserved for farming activities and asserted that authorities would not be allowed to deprive people of their farmland.
“We have decided not to allow the government to touch our agricultural land,” he added.
National Conference leader Mukhtar Ahmad Bandh also extended support to the farmers and maintained that the issue transcended political affiliations.
“We came here to support the farmers and there is no politics in it,” said Bandh, who was also seen transplanting paddy in the fields.
He urged the authorities to utilise barren land for construction purposes instead of fertile agricultural land.

“Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah carried out radical land reforms by putting an end to the feudal system. Now the time has come to end the rule of the ‘government feudal lords’ as well,” he said.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti also visited the village and interacted with farmers. She accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of attempting to take over around 2,000 kanals of fertile agricultural land in Dangerpora village and alleged that authorities were using police pressure to suppress local opposition.
In a post on X, Mufti claimed that the Revenue Department was trying to “snatch” land from families who have cultivated paddy fields in the area for generations. She further alleged that police were threatening protesters with detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

“Revenue Department is trying to snatch 2000 kanals of fertile agricultural land in Dangerpora Pulwama from poor families who’ve cultivated paddy here since centuries,” Mufti wrote on X.

Drawing a comparison with the Sidhra land dispute, she alleged that law enforcement agencies were being misused against residents resisting the move.
Mufti also criticised the Omar Abdullah-led government, alleging that it had failed to protect people’s land rights.
“Kashmir’s land belongs to its people,” she said, adding that the policies being pursued could render many residents “landless and homeless.”
BJP leader Arshad Bhat and Justice and Development Front (JDF) leader Dr Talat, representing the breakaway faction of Jamaat-e-Islami, also joined the farmers in the fields and expressed support for their cause.

Officials were not immediately available for comment on the allegations made by the farmers and political leaders.