Landlessness and Marginalisation among Dalits in Rural Punjab

The problem of landlessness among Dalits in the Indian state of Punjab is closely entwined with the structure of caste. A majority of the farming landscape has been monopolised by the dominant caste groups, primarily Jatt Sikhs. This unbridled social inequality in land ownership in rural Punjab has strengthened the hegemonic power of agrarian elites on the one hand, while on the other hand, it has led to systemic marginalisation of landless Dalits. Drawing on multi-sited field work, encompassing semi-structured interviews, focussed group discussions and field observations, this article unpacks the linkages between land ownership and caste in order to foreground the everyday oppression inflicted upon disenfranchised Dalits in rural Punjab.