A new form of protest against forceful and unfair land acquisition, known as Zameen Samadhi Satyagraha was started on Gandhi Jayanti (2 October, 2017) in Neendar village located on the outskirts of Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan. Villagers are protesting against the acquisition of over 1,300 bighas of land for a housing project by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA). The protest was preceded by a 15 day dharna (peaceful sit-in), which according to the protesters had no effect. Rallies and demonstrations had started sometime in mid-September. [1] This led to the current form of protest by staging their mock burials. One of the protesters, 90-year-old Nanthi Bai, said her family has lived on the land the government wants to take away for seven generations. “I have brought up my eight sons here in this land and I have 20 grandchildren… if you take me away from my land where will I go? I don’t want the money I want my land,” she told NDTV [2]. According to Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, the leader of the Satyagraha, more than 80% of the villagers did not give consent for this forceful acquisition. The process of acquiring this land began in 2010. So far only 274 bighas of land has been surrendered. Many villagers complain of intimidation by the JDA officials for surrendering land. The farms here are rainfed, with cultivation of both rabi and kharif crops (the two seasonal harvests). The problem also intensifies because most of the families are not holders of the land titles, because of which JDA claims the houses of the villagers to be illegal [3]. On the other hand, the builders who were promised the land from JDA are also not sure about the status and are also planning to protest against JDA [3]. More than 1000 protesters are currently on the site of the mock burials, with about 650 of them being women [4]. They have been celebrating all the festivals such as Diwali, Govardhan puja and Bhai dooj while still buried. State Congress chief Sachin Pilot (from the opposition party) had said that at the time of festival season, men and women have buried themselves in pits as a mark of protest and the government was unable to resolve their problems. “The government should reach out to the protesters and amicably resolve their issues,” he had said. Nagender Shekhawat, who is heading the Nindar Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangarsh Samiti told Al Jazeera that "nearly 5,000 families, including farmers, are going to be affected by the acquisition. Farmers have been protesting since the land acquisition notice was issued in 2010. They do not want to give up their land as they use it for agriculture and animals. Government wants to destroy their source of income. We oppose the government move." [5] After 30 days of the protest, the Vasundhara Raje-led government of Rajasthan finally agreed that JDA will hold fresh survey for the land on October 30, 2017. The representatives of farmers, during the discussions, agreed that meanwhile construction work will be allowed to begin. [6]

The JDA had planned to acquire 1,300 bighas of land –1,100 bighas of which is privately owned – for a housing scheme announced in January 2011, wherein 10,000 houses would be built. It had already taken possession of 600 bighas by early October and deposited Rs 60 crore in court for the acquired land.