Why in the News?

On February 23, 2025, farmers protesting at the Punjab and Haryana borders are observing Pagri Sambhal Diwas in honor of Ajit Singh, a freedom fighter, revolutionary, and Bhagat Singh’s paternal uncle.

About the Pagri Sambhal Jatta Movement (1907)

• The Pagri Sambhal Jatta movement was a peasant uprising in Punjab against the oppressive British land laws that exploited farmers.
• The movement was led by Ajit Singh, Kishan Singh (Bhagat Singh’s father), and Lala Lajpat Rai, who mobilized farmers to resist these unfair policies.
• Farmers protested against three major British laws:

1. Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 – Restricted farmers from selling or mortgaging their land, favoring landlords and moneylenders.
2. Punjab Land Colonisation Act, 1906 – Allowed the British to take control of farmers’ land after their death instead of passing it to their heirs.
3. Doab Bari Act, 1907 – Deprived farmers of ownership rights and reduced them to contract workers.

• The British also raised taxes on agricultural land and irrigation, making it harder for farmers to sustain themselves.
• The slogan “Pagri Sambhal Jatta“, meaning “Take care of your turban, O farmer,” was coined by Banke Dayal, a nationalist poet, and became a symbol of self-respect and protest.
• The movement resulted in mass protests and acts of civil disobedience, forcing the British to roll back some clauses of these laws.
• Ajit Singh and Lala Lajpat Rai were arrested in May 1907 and exiled to Burma. Due to public pressure, they were released in November 1907.
• Fearing further persecution, Ajit Singh fled to Persia and later lived in Turkey, Brazil, Germany, and Italy, where he worked with other revolutionaries against British rule.
• The movement became a landmark in India’s freedom struggle, inspiring future farmers’ agitations, the Ghadar Movement, and Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary activities.

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