Historic assertion of land rights by Punjab's landless Dalit labourers! 

4th March 2025

On 28th February 2025, Dalit labourers in Punjab, mobilized under the leadership of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC), achieved a historic breakthrough in their long-standing struggle for land rights. In their bold assertion, they claimed possession of 927 acres of ‘be-chiraag’ (abandoned/absentee) land in Beed Aiswaan, on the outskirts of Sangrur city. This land, officially owned by the erstwhile princely state of Jind or held as ‘benaami’ (un-registered) property, had remained without a legal heir following the death of its last ruler. Despite repeated demands for the state to declare it nazool (public) land and redistribute it among Dalits and other landless communities as per the Punjab Land Reform Act, 1972, no action was taken. In response, ZPSC stepped forward to claim this land of behalf of local landless people. 

With this decisive action, the land struggle in Punjab has entered a new phase—moving beyond the fight for Dalits’ rightful one-third share of panchayati (local government) land to directly challenging the persistence of feudal land structures and absentee ownership. The movement has also identified 153 more villages across Punjab where similar large tracts of absentee land remain, setting the stage for an even larger battle for land redistribution.

The Deep Roots of Caste-Based Land Inequality

Punjab has one of the starkest caste-based land inequalities in India. Dalits, despite comprising 38% of the state’s rural population (2011 Census)—the highest proportion of Dalits in any Indian state—own less than 3.5% of the land. Over the last decade, ZPSC and other Dalit labour organisations have led militant struggles to claim their legal entitlement to panchayati land. However, these rights have been systematically denied through violent intimidation and the fraudulent use of proxy Dalit candidates by upper-caste landowners who exercise occupation and retain control.

Beyond the panchayati land struggle, ZPSC has also pointed out how vast landholdings in Punjab violate the 17.5-acre ceiling for irrigated land set under the poorly enforced Land Ceiling Act of 1971. Studies—including the seminal 2001 volume Land Reforms in Punjab, edited by Prof. Sucha Singh Gill—have long shown that land ceiling laws have been undermined by large landowners, many of whom are also responsible for enforcing the very laws they flout.

Land, Dignity, and the Politics of Resistance

Land ownership is fundamental to human existence, its denial is the root cause of poverty. For Dalits, the struggle for land is not just about economic survival—it is a fight for dignity, self-respect, and liberation from caste oppression. Dalit women, in particular, face brutal repression when they attempt to access grass/fodder and saag (leafy greens) from dominant caste landowners’ fields. ZPSC activists have repeatedly emphasised that landlessness is central to caste subjugation, and securing land is a direct challenge to centuries of caste oppression.

This movement is also deeply connected to Punjab’s long and proud history of land struggles. ZPSC leader Mukesh Malaud has drawn links between this assertion and past movements, from the agrarian resistance led by Banda Singh Bahadur in the early 18th century to the Muzara movement of the 1930 and 40s in PEPSU (a precursor to modern Punjab) and the Naxalbari-inspired land struggles of the 1960s. The movement also invokes Manyavar Kanshi Ram’s slogan: "Jo zameen sarkari hai, wo zameen hamari hai" (The land that belongs to the state belongs to the Bahujans).

Mukesh further asserted that Dalits cannot rely on dominant caste farmers to raise demands for them. True ekta (unity) with farmers can only emerge when Dalits build independent power, rather than seeking solidarity from a position of inequality.

Begampura: A Vision Reclaimed

In a powerful symbolic gesture, the reclaimed land has been renamed Begampura—the city without sorrow—echoing the vision of Guru Ravidas, who dreamt of a place where society was casteless and classless. Today, Begampura is alive with the sounds of celebration—hundreds of Dalit labourers playing the dhol, dancing bhangra, raising revolutionary slogans, and lighting the chiraag (oil lamp) in a symbolic reversal of caste hierarchies.

This action marks not just a turning point in Punjab’s land struggles but a radical assertion of Dalit self-determination. The fight, however, is far from over. ZPSC and the Dalits must gather broader support across societal divides, and be prepared for a stiff reaction by the upper-caste and the State forces. Let us hope this marks the beginning of a broader movement to reclaim land and dignity for Punjab’s most oppressed communities and becomes a beacon for the rest of India.