PDP leaders plough paddy fields to protest govt. takeover of land from farmers in Pulwama
PDP leaders in Pulwama, Kashmir, engaged in a protest by ploughing paddy fields to oppose a government land takeover. Farmers claim the administration is threatening legal action against those who continue to cultivate land they have held for decades.
Why it matters
The protest underscores deep-seated tensions regarding land rights and administrative policies in the Kashmir region.
In a unique protest, leaders of Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday (June 8, 2026) ploughed paddy fields to oppose the administration’s move to take over a huge tract of land from farmers in south Kashmir’s Pulwama. “A few days ago, a local tehsildar warned members of 400 villages not to sow paddy seedling in fields spread over 3000 kanals (375 acre) of land. The villagers were warned of a First Information Report (FIR) if they step inside fields. We have been sowing the land for more than 80 years. What will happen to our families and cattle, which are dependent on the yield,” said Shabir Ahmad, a farmer from Pulwama’s Padgampora.
The report focuses on the grievances of local farmers and opposition party dissent against government policy.
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