Srinagar, July 1 -- In the story of land in Jammu & Kashmir, a single harvest still holds the key. It's not about what you grow today or even how long you've tilled the soil. It all comes down to what's written in the record books for the Kharief season of 1971.

For farmers across the valley, this entry is not just a line on paper. It decides who owns the land and who doesn't.

The 1976 Agrarian Reforms Act promised a revolution. It broke the centuries-old grip of landlords by giving ownership rights to the people who actually worked the land. But this promise came with one strict condition: the farmer's name had to appear in the Girdawari, the seasonal crop inspection record, for Kharief 1971. No other entry would do.

It's a detail tha...