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The PEPSU Muzhara Movement, commemorated annually on March 19, was a significant agrarian uprising by landless tenant farmers (muzharas) in Punjab demanding ownership rights over the land they cultivated. It stands as a historic resistance against feudal and colonial exploitation.

Background & Region

• Initiation: Started in the 1930s in the Patiala princely state.
• Expanded Across: 784 villages in present-day Patiala, Barnala, Mansa, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot (Punjab), and Jind (now in Haryana).
• After independence, the region was reorganized into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), where the movement intensified.

Who Were the Muzharas?

• Muzharas were landless tenant farmers who cultivated land owned by biswedars (feudal landlords).
• They were forced to give one-third of their produce to landlords, who further paid a share to princely rulers, who in turn paid the British.
• Even after Independence (1947), landlords continued this exploitative practice, leading to widespread unrest.

Causes of the Movement

• Feudal oppression and loss of ancestral land.
• Colonial revenue structure perpetuated peasant poverty.
• Post-independence continuation of feudal demands.
• Denial of land ownership despite generations of cultivation.

Key Leaders

• Jagir Singh Joga – Organised and united tenant farmers.
• Buta Singh – Advocate for land redistribution.
• Teja Singh Sutantar – Linked the struggle with broader peasant movements.
• Sewa Singh Thikriwala – Anti-feudal ideologue and early inspiration.
• Bhai Jodh Singh – Strengthened the movement through grassroots mobilisation.

Phases and Nature of the Movement

• Peaceful Protests: Initial petitions and mobilisations.
• Armed Resistance: Tenant farmers took up arms for self-defense as repression increased.
• Mass Mobilisation: Conferences, rallies, and united action across villages.

Significance of March 19

• In March 1949, landlords attempted to reclaim cultivated lands in Kishangarh (Mansa district).
• The muzharas resisted by harvesting crops themselves, leading to a violent standoff.
• On March 17, a police officer was killed, resulting in the arrest of 35 muzharas—all acquitted by 1950.
• On March 19, 1949, the army surrounded the village, and four muzharas were killed.
• Since 1953, March 19 has been observed as “Muzhara Shaheedi Diwas”, honouring martyrs of the movement.

Outcome

• Land Reforms (1952): The movement culminated in reforms granting ownership rights to tenant farmers.
• Became a symbol of peasant resistance against exploitation and injustice.