Vijay Singh (activist)

Vijay Singh (born 10 May 1962) is an anti-corruption activist in Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has been carrying out a dharna (non-violent protest) against illegal possession of public land[1] by private actors since February 1996.[2][3] His action has been recorded as the longest such protest in various books of records including the Limca Book of Records.

Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh in the early days of his protest
Born (1962-05-10) 10 May 1962
Village Chausana
NationalityIndian
Other namesMaster ji
OccupationActivist
Years activeSince 26 February 1996
Known forLongest agitation in India
Notable work
Raised voice against land mafias

Anti-corruption activism
Place of agitation, DM office Muzaffarnagar (U.P.,INDIA)

Singh was spurred to action when he saw a hungry child, who was crying for bread and asking his mother to bring flour from a neighbour. He started conducting research on land ownership in his village, and found that four thousand bighas of village assembly land was illegally occupied by private individuals. Singh resigned from his post of teacher in order to carry on his work against the illegal occupation.[4][5][6]

Singh submitted a memorandum to the administration, and in 1995, the government handed over the investigation to the Division Commissioner. Under his leadership, a team of officials began an investigation into the matter, and found the charges of illegal possession to be true. However, no action against the people involved was taken, and Singh started his protest in front of the District Magistrate office in Muzaffarnagar on 26 February 1996, with the demand to free the land for the poor so that it could be used for public development.[7][8]

Achievements by the movement

In 2008, when the erstwhile Principal Secretary Home JN Chamber was briefed on the matter, he ordered the local administration to take action in this regard. The administration team led by District Magistrate R Ramesh Kumar visited the village and freed 300 bighas of illegally encroached land. In this case, 136 cases were filed against those who had been encroaching. 3200 bighas of land encroachments in the investigation have been proved as of now.[9][10][11][12]


Other than this, in Muzaffarnagar district, there were 1250 bighas public land in the purquazi area and 50000 bighas in Ramraj and Bhopa area also freed from illegal possession. There is six revenue employees are in jail for involvement.

Walk to Lucknow
Midway to Lucknow
Start of Foot March from Muzaffarnagar
Vijay Singh at CM residence after meeting

On 30 March 2012, Singh started a foot march from Muzaffarnagar to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. He walked the 600 kilometers in 19 days. The objective was to meet State CM Akhilesh Yadav and raise public awareness of illegal encroachment onto public land.[9][10][11][12]

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References
  1. "UP govt to constitute team to save public land from mafias". WebIndia123. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. "19 years of protest: The longest one-man dharna". Indian Express. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. "A one-man army has been taking on the land mafia of Uttar Pradesh". The Week. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  4. "Keep it up Master Vijay Singh, We are proud to have people like you". Bhadas4Media. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  5. "15 yrs at DM's office, no end to land grab woes". Indian Express. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  6. "18 साल से भ्रष्टाचार के खि‍लाफ लड़ रहा दुनि‍या का सबसे बड़ा सत्‍याग्रही". Dainik Bhaskar. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. "विजय सिंह के आत्मदाह की अफवाह पर दौड़ी पुलिस". Jagran. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. "घोटाले की जानकारी देने मुजफ्फरनगर से लखनऊ पैदल आ रहे हैं विजय". OneIndia. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. "CM's prompt action raises Masterji's hope". Times of India. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  10. "धरने का 20वां साल, अभी भी नहीं मिला मुजफ्फरनगर के मास्‍टर विजय सिंह को न्‍याय". Dainik Bhaskar. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  11. "मास्टर विजय के धरने को सत्रह वर्ष पूरे". Samachar Varta. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  12. "मास्टर विजय सिंह को मिली मोहलत". Amar Ujala. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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