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In the 1920s, tenant farmers of pre-Partition Punjab demanded land ownership rights from the kings, zamindars and British authorities, in what came to be known as the Muzara Movement
About the movement
- The Muzara movement had started in the 1930s in Punjab villages which were under Patiala Riyasat.
- The entire province was called PEPSU soon after Independence before finally being named Punjab in the mid-50s.
- Muzara was the word used for landless farmers who worked on someone’s land.
- This movement was started to take ownership rights of the land after tilling it for years together.
- People got ownership rights in 1952 after paying one-time compensation. Earlier, the peasantry was facing slavery, exploitation and was not even able to take full produce out of their land
- Kishangarh village was the epicentre of protests and four farmers were killed here on March 19, 1949.
PEPSU
- The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a state of India, uniting eight princely states between 1948 and 1956.
- The capital and principal city was Patiala. The state covered an area of 26,208 km². Shimla, Kasauli, Kandaghat and Chail also became part of the PEPSU.
- After Independence, 784 villages of Patiala Riyasat were named as PEPSU province. In October 1948, the then Patiala Maharaja had passed orders of giving one third land of villages to Jagridars.
Source: Indian Express
