In the village of Maujo Kalan in Punjab, India, a Dalit family faced discrimination for 25 years as Jatt Sikh households did not allow them to open the main gate of their house. The dominant caste households had erected a cement platform with an idol of Hanuman, obstructing their access to the street. In December 2021, activists from agricultural labor unions, farmers, and students gathered to demolish the platform, but local officials were unwilling to intervene. Eventually, the protesters took matters into their own hands and demolished the structure, except for the part holding the idol.

Rajdeep Kaur, a Jatt Sikh woman and the village's sarpanch (elected head), supported the agitation, which led to her ostracization by her community. She faced harassment and false corruption charges, and a year later, she attempted suicide but was saved by timely medical treatment.

The protests in Maujo Kalan highlighted the formation of a joint front called the Action Committee for Justice for Sarpanch Rajdeep Kaur, comprising Dalits and non-Dalits. This collaboration between different groups aimed to fight against caste oppression, with a victory for Kaur also challenging the oppressors of the Dalit family. The protest, which began in December 2022, aimed to pressure the police to file charges and arrest the accused individuals and is still ongoing.

While the formation of joint fronts or support from non-Dalit organizations is not new in rural labor union struggles, the participation of socially and economically dominant Jatt Sikhs in such collaborations has an influential impact. These collaborations can potentially challenge the caste structure in Punjab, where one-third of the population is Dalit. However, these protests often focus on addressing specific cases of atrocity against Dalits rather than contesting the role of landed Jatt Sikhs in maintaining the caste system.

Efforts were made to appeal to farmers' unions, predominantly composed of Jatt Sikhs, to support the struggles of Dalits. The protests in Maujo Kalan aimed to go beyond the rhetoric of unity between farmers and laborers and emphasized the need to overcome caste-based barriers. Left-leaning farm unions often support these protests based on their theoretical understanding of India as a semi-feudal country and the importance of a class alliance between landless Dalit agricultural laborers and poor peasants. However, non-left farmers' unions sometimes oppose laborers' protests, creating challenges for rural Dalits.

The protests in Maujo Kalan tried to awaken the moral conscience of Jatt Sikhs by invoking the anticaste character of Sikhism. The narrative emphasized condemning specific Jatt Sikh families involved in discrimination, denouncing local institutions and police for perpetuating casteism, urging unity among different sections of society, and invoking Sikhism's philosophy of equality. However, the discourse often absolved the majority of Jatt Sikhs from practicing caste in everyday life by attributing the blame to specific rich and powerful individuals.

The protests failed to create a public discourse on the everyday caste humiliation faced by Dalits at the hands of the Jatt Sikh community and their role in maintaining caste-based social stratification. The history of exploitation and oppression of agricultural laborers was also largely absent from public speeches. The dominant narrative focused on unity with Jatt Sikhs but did not emphasize the need for unity among different Dalit communities to confront caste oppression effectively. The presence of socially and economically dominant Jatt Sikhs on joint fronts weakened the autonomy of Dalit laborers. Overcoming these limitations is essential for Punjab to witness a militant anticaste movement.

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