Behind the facade of voluntarism in Punjab’s land pooling policy
The Punjab government has notified large chunks of prime agricultural land covering over 65,000 acres with the potential of wiping more than 50 villages off the map.
Updated At : 05:53 AM Jul 18, 2025 IST
Stir: Residents of Jodhan village protest against the land pooling policy in Ludhiana. File photo
THE Punjab land pooling policy, 2025, has generated much debate, marked by gram sabha resolutions and protests by farmers and political parties. One would like to assume that despite disagreements on issues, such engagements do rest on a tacit trust in the overall working of a democratic system. But we need to watch out as democracies all over are increasingly succumbing to self-serving machinations. Political rhetoric and propaganda often tend to cloak the real agenda. So, we need to look at the triggers of the policy rather than just the adverse outcomes for the stakeholders, which the protests have made evident.
