ABSTRACT This article offers a theoretical appraisal of the Back to Village (B2V) programme in Jammu and Kashmir, situating it at the intersection of participatory governance, democratic decentralisation and post‐conflict state‐building. Drawing on Participatory Development Theory and Relative Deprivation Theory, it analyses how B2V institutionalises participation while simultaneously pursuing legitimacy through visible responsiveness and grievance redressal. Based on an interpretive analysis of official programme documents and secondary implementation accounts, the study argues that B2V embeds a central contradiction. It mobilises participatory forms but operationalises them through an audit‐driven, bureaucratically managed interface focused on data collection, verification and administrative follow‐up. As a result, participation tends to remain consultative rather than devolving authority to local institutions. Further research grounded in people's perspectives is essential to assess B2V's implications for decentralisation and socio‐economic transformation. The study contributes to debates on participatory governance in transitional settings, where technocratic interventions often clash with substantive empowerment.
Mir et al. (Fri,) studied this question.