Kuni Takahashi for The New York TimesAsha Bhat, center, a member of the village panchayat, at a meeting in Kashmir in this July 8, 2011 file photo.WUSSAN VILLAGE
Asha Bhat is the only female Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir valley to serve on the village council known as a panchayat. She won a seat on the Wussan village panchayat in April 2011, when the state held council elections for the first time in more than three decades.
The village, which sits on the edge of the Himalayas amid tall chinar trees and flowing streams, is home to over 100 Muslim families but has only five families o f Kashmiri Pandits, a Hindu community that for the most part fled the region in the 1990s under increasing threats of violence. Only some Pandit families, including Mrs. Bhat's, chose to stay behind.
Mrs. Bhat's election was celebrated as a sign of growing tolerance in the region, although some of the initial euphoria has died down since then. Both voters and Mrs. Bhat have expressed disappointment at what she has been able to achieve on the council for the village. She also works as a low-level secretary at the village school for a monthly honorarium of $1.20. Mrs. Bhat, 52, has two married sons and recently became a grandmother.
Why did you decide to contest the village panchayat election?
I wanted to help my fellow villagers, particularly women. I wanted to bring some job opportunities for women in the village, like a shawl knitting center or an anganwadi [day care] cen ter.
You chose to stay in the Kashmir valley while most of the Kashmiri Pandit families migrated to Jammu and other safer places. Why?
We chose to stay here because we never felt threatened, even at the peak of militancy. No harm and no threat were ever given to us. We never felt that we are Hindus and living among Muslims. We always thought that we are living among our brothers and sisters.
Were you concerned that Muslims would not vote for you because you are a Hindu Pandit woman?
No. In fact, my Muslim neighbors approached me and persuaded me to contest the election. There are only five Pandit families in the village. It is the Muslim families who got me elected.
Even before elections I used to help people in village matters. On many occasions I used to talk to army people to get our village boys released. The army used to hold up t hose boys on suspicion during the militancy days. That created my image in the village as a social worker, and the people got me elected to the village body.
Are you satisfied after working for more than one year as a panchayat member?
No, I am not satisfied. I am not able to help poor people. I am not able to help poor women. We do not have enough powers and resources to help people. For everything we need to go to government officials. Their pace of work is very slow. We need to go to them for small issues several times.
We are not able to fulfill the aspirations of poor people. We feel that we are not able to do much work. I could not establish any center in the village that could have given some jobs to women.
What do the villagers say now to you?
They say, “We voted for you, we elected you, now help us.†The expectations are v ery high. They think that we can get anything done. That is not the reality.
We could get some of the things done in the village like some hand pumps for drinking water, laying down of some village alleys, construction of some small drains, etc. That is not enough. We need to do much more.
What do you think is needed the most in the village?
The villagers need to improve their income, particularly women. If I can help to bring in some center that can provide some employment opportunities to women, that will be a big achievement. Poor villagers desperately need to improve their income.
You became famous throughout India. Did that help you at all?
Yes, I became famous, and I liked that initially. I gave interviews to media people. I gave TV interviews. I was invited to Delhi, Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai for awards and to speak about my work.
But all that publicity did not help me in my work in the village. In fact, it has become a problem for me. The people saw me on TV. They think that I am the key to everything. My villagers say that I am not able to get things done even after becoming so famous.
What are the major hurdles you face in performing your duties?
We do not have enough resources to spend in the village. We do not have any funds to help poor people. Whatever money that comes is routed through officials. The officials do not transfer the money without taking a bribe. If we get some work done, the officials will not clear the wage bill without a bribe. Corruption has become the biggest hurdle.
We are not paid any salary or any transport charges to be panchayats. We are supposed to spend from our own pocket. How long we can spend from our own pocket?
Also, the panchayat system is not fully in place. The elections only took place at village level, not at a block and district level. Maybe it will become more functional with block- and district-level elections.
Do you think that the panchayat system can help in eradicating poverty from villages?
Corruption is the biggest hurdle. Corruption is defeating the whole purpose of panchayats. Until we eradicate corruption, we cannot eradicate poverty.
Many panchs and sarpanchs have resigned because they fear for their lives. Two were killed recently by militants. Do you feel threatened?
No, I do not feel threatened. Nobody in our area has resigned. We do have some concern, but no threat as such. We will not resign.
What inspires you?
I am a follower of Anna Hazare. I am against corruption, and I want to fight against corruption.
Are you hopeful that the panchayat system will improve?
I never lose hope. You live with hope till you die.
(This interview was conducted in Hindi and translated into English. It has been lightly edited.)
