A 1st in 16 years in Punjab: No 5-marla plots for landless, Dalit group tries to take forcible possession

Time of India

23-05-2025

Bathinda: Punjab govt is planning to acquire 24,311 acres of land in villages around Ludhiana for developing urban estates, but the landless Dalits of the state have now been waiting for decades for the same govt to give them possession of their share of common village lands or those belonging to the erstwhile princely state of Jind.
This demand for land reached a boiling point on Tuesday, when close to 350 Dalit activists, including women from a group called Zameen Prapati Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC), were taken into custody over their call to take possession of 927 acres of land near Bir Aishwan sanctuary in Sangrur. Though contacted, police officers refused to comment on the arrests.
The name of ZPSC translates to land possession movement committee.
The call for action had come as continuous state govts in Punjab have been promising landless Dalits 5-marla (125-square-yard) residential plots out of their village's common land, but none has acted on it.
The land in Bir Aishwan initially belonged to the erstwhile Jind and Sangrur princely state, but it later came under the control of certain companies and individuals, apart from some under the control of the state govt.
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While making demands to distribute this land to the landless, ZPSC made a call to forcibly take possession of the land under the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972. The act was a reminder of what unravelled in 2008-2009, when Dalit labour group Mazdoor Mukti Morcha forcibly took possession of over 500 acres of land in various villages in Mansa and Sangrur districts.
The state govt, after a few days, took back the land by arresting hundreds of activists.
Apart from these two instances, Dalit organisations have been making efforts to get these lands vacated from panchayats or even taking possession on a small scale across Punjab over the decades.
Lachman Sewewala from Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union said no govt in Punjab had implemented the land reform law, and no excess land permissible under the act was taken back from any person, nor was any land allotted to the landless under this law.
"The govts or various authorities very conveniently prefer to avoid such issues," he said.
In their action at Bir Aishwan, ZPSC had planned to build Begumpura (a concept originating in social thought, envisioning a society characterised by equality, freedom from oppression, and free from the constraints of caste, class, and social hierarchies). However, police conducted raids at the houses of leaders before May 20.
Though leaders evaded arrest, a large number of activists started moving towards Bir Aishwan, and many of them were taken into custody. Dalit organisations have opposed the move of activists being arrested, and a protest was organised at New Delhi's Punjab Bhawan on Thursday to oppose the arrests.
The protest was organised by the Delhi Committee of CPI(ML) New Democracy, attended by leaders from other left-leaning organisations, where some activists, including Aparna (President, National Committee, IFTU), Poonam (General Secretary, PMS, Delhi), and Rajesh (General Secretary, IFTU, Delhi), were detained.
They demanded the immediate release of all ZPSC leaders and activists and the distribution of surplus public land in Sangrur to landless Dalits.
Pendu Mazdoor Union president Tarsem Peter, general secretary Avtar Singh, and functionary Kashmir Singh Ghugsher said ZPSC was demanding the land originally owned by Jind State for the landless, but instead of listening to their voices, the state made the police conduct raids at the homes of leaders and arrested over 300 protesters when they tried to take possession of the land.
"The govt should implement the land ceiling act and distribute surplus lands to the landless," said Peter.
They also described the decision of the state govt to acquire over 24,000 acres of land as an assault on agriculture and environment. They said the state can acquire such huge tracts of land for industry, but is not ready to provide land to the landless.