Srinagar, May 31 -- In the quiet corners of rural Kashmir, two important but forgotten systems of local revenue collection-Chola and Aabiyana-are slowly fading into oblivion. Both have been essential to our agrarian history, rooted in the idea that those who benefit from public services must contribute modestly to their upkeep. Yet today, neither is properly collected, nor formally abolished. They simply exist in a shadowy, dysfunctional limbo.
Chola is the fee that was traditionally collected by lumberdars-village-level revenue intermediaries who acted as the government's eyes and ears in the countryside. It was a token contribution from farmers, given in return for the lumberdar's services: relaying government orders, resolving disputes,...