In praise of an unsung hero, who must be recommended for an award at the UT level
A Kashmiri Pandit, Sanjay Kumar, who resides in village Fathapora in District Anantnag, is serving as Patwari in the Revenue department for the last twenty years. I met him in the mid of September 2012 in Tehsil Office Doru in District Anantnag. He was serving as Patwari Halqa Mundah in the same Tehsil. After a few days we were dispatched for demarcation of a Hindu property in Hakhroo Badasgam. On reaching the spot along with other members of the team headed by Naib Tehdildar and seeing the site, I thought it an impossible job for the team and a futile exercise. But the patwari concerned handed over the Aksi Latta and the Patwar Scale (pymana) to none other than Sanjay Kumar and the demarcation got started.
After a busy one-and-a-half hour, the portion of the land of the Hindu applicant had been demarcated and I breathed a sigh of relief, Then our team head commented: “King ji ke bagair yai na-mumkin tha”. At that time I came to know that “King ji” is the nickname of Sanjay Kumar.
Thereafter I worked with him for three years and found that he was a person who did justice with his profession. He knew every bit of the Revenue department’s language and was the master of Revenue laws. I observed that he had grasped the Revenue laws as per their original definition. Whenever it became necessary for the Revenue authorities to constitute a team for demarcations, Sanjay Kumar’s name was definitely figuring in the orders.
He was often called to the Tehsil office for completing “Sarkari
Tameel” and to prepare different official statements related with the Revenue department. Anyone can visit the Tehsil offices of Anantnag district and will find a famous Revenue department’s statement known as “Goshwara Jinaswar”, prepared by none other than King ji.
He is very popular among the public as well. The villages where he has served as Patwari, people there remember him still and often cite his example in matters of demarcation or preparing of Revenue extracts or mutations, etc. In today’s fast-moving world and tough competitive day-to-day life, Sanjay Kumar is truly a heritage figure of the Revenue department. This unsung hero is a renowned person among people from every walk of life.
The aim of bringing forth the story of this hero, which lay in my mind as a faded memory of the past, is to make it serve as an inspiration and encouragement for those who will serve and are serving in the Revenue department. His work has led to development of the entire Revenue department. He has given justice to people in many ways. His contribution regarding writing of new Jamabandies, and thereafter in their digitalisation and quality check, is a notable one.
He continues to live a simple life and mixes with Muslim brothers as their family member. He has done immense service to people from all walks of life. He deserves to be called a “hero”.
Once we both were serving in Tehsil Qazigund and both of us were assigned the task of demarcation of the land acquired by Grid Station Damjan. On reaching the spot on the first day of the assignment, I came to learn that the land has been acquired a few years back and the Grid Station was already functional at that time. There were no original boundaries of survey numbers intact. I thought it will not be possible to demarcate the land as per survey number. However, we had been ordered to measure the spot as per the survey number acquired. Suddenly, King ji looked at my face and spotted a few drops of sweat on my forehead. He asked me why I am so worried, for it is an easy task. And within three days we got success and demarcated the land survey number-wise.
The thought came to my mind that Sir Lawrence was the master of settlement in Kashmir, but this person “King Ji” is really the King of Revenue department. It is said that there is no bigger joy than helping others in their times of distress. King ji has done commendable work during the Covid-19 pandemic. He used a megaphone to encourage his fellows and community to get vaccinated. Whether the times are good or bad, he is trying to help those in need.
Currently he is serving in Halqa Anzwulla in Tehsil Anantnag and the people there on seeing his dedication have urged the district administration to bestow on him a reward. Really, he is deserving of it. The department should recommend him for the award at UT level. His dedication towards work is an example for all the employees of his and other departments.
mo**********@***il.com