Year-long events to mark 75th anniversary of historic Kagodu Satyagraha

Activists from various progressive organizations have decided to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the historic Kagodu Satyagraha, considered the first peasant movement in independent India, through a series of programs spanning this year. The initiative aims to revive the social memory of a movement that shaped the course of land reforms in the country.

In March 1951, tenant farmers of Kagodu village in Sagar taluk revolted against landlords over a dispute over the size of kolaga (a container used to measure and divide agricultural produce). Tenants, unhappy with landlords’ unilateral changes to yield sharing terms, refused to comply. Landowners retaliated by denying them access to land they had cultivated for generations. When farmers defied the order, they were beaten by police and landowner supporters. Mass arrests followed, and the unfolding events attracted nationwide attention.