The words of Avtar Singh Sandhu, better known as Paash, have travelled far beyond Talwandi Salem, his birthplace in Jalandhar district. Nearly four decades after he was killed, his poetry continues to surface wherever people gather around democratic rights and resistance — at farmers’ protests, workers’ meetings, student gatherings and literary forums.For generations of readers, Paash was not merely a poet who wrote about struggle; he was a poet who participated in it.Ahead of his birth anniversary on September 9, however, his legacy has become the centre of a dispute in his native village. Tension erupted after the village panchayat allegedly tried to stop members of the Paash-Hans Raj Memorial Committee from erecting a pandal at an eponymous complex for the celebrations. Allegations of manhandling prompted the local administration to deploy police to prevent a confrontation.The dispute centres around two kanals of land at the entrance of Talwandi Salem, where the Pash-Hans Raj Memorial has stood for 26 years. The committee says the land was allotted to it in 2000 through a written panchayat resolution. The panchayat, however, maintains that the land belongs to it. A poster of his poem Sab ton KhatarnaakHow the dispute beganThe confrontation dates back to early August, when the Paash Memorial International Trust, the Paash-Hans Raj Shaheedi Yaadgar Committee and several unions approached the Nakodar SDM and local MLA with allegations of vandalism. According to their complaint, panchayat representatives broke the locks of the memorial gate. When the committee replaced them, one side of the gate was allegedly removed and panchayat representatives entered the premises and installed swings, pipes and open-gym equipment.Local administrative officials initially maintained that the land belonged to the panchayat, while indicating that the matter was close to resolution. The dispute flared again when committee members arrived to prepare for Paash’s September 9 birth anniversary. A group led by sarpanch Pardeep Singh allegedly confronted them, including veteran activist Jhanda Singh Jethuke. Committee members alleged that some activists were pushed and that mobile phones were confiscated.For villagers and Paash’s admirers, the confrontation has taken on a larger meaning. “It is a great disrespect to a great poet, and that too by the people and the panchayat of his own village,” said a local resident.Story continues below this adA memorial built over decadesThe memorial complex was initially undeveloped land. According to trust members, it was transformed over the years through voluntary contributions from admirers in Punjab and abroad, including supporters in the US, Canada and the UK. Today, the site includes an open-air theatre, green rooms and a library housing Paash’s writings, besides basic utilities. It has hosted memorial programmes, theatre performances and literary gatherings.Paash and his close friend Hans Raj were assassinated by militants on March 23, 1988. Paash was 37. The committee says it has no objection to recreational facilities for villagers but argues that a cultural institution built over decades should not be altered without consultation.“The issue is not about opposing swings or an open gym,” said Amolak Singh, trustee and committee member. “The question is why these facilities must be installed inside a memorial when the village has other public parks. There is no reason to disturb its character.”He also questioned the circumstances in which the locks and part of the gate were allegedly removed and recreational equipment installed in the complex.Story continues below this adThis year’s birth anniversary celebrations are planned both at the memorial and at the site where Paash and Hans Raj were killed, in the fields near a tubewell in the village.A poet whose voice outlived himBorn on September 9, 1950, Paash emerged as one of modern Punjabi literature’s most distinctive voices. His poetry placed workers, farmers and the disenfranchised at the centre of literary expression. Sab Ton Khatarnak (The Most Dangerous), his best-known poem, remains a powerful warning against apathy and the loss of conscience.Dr Kuldeep Singh, a Punjabi literature scholar and former professor at Punjabi University, Patiala, said Paash’s enduring influence could be compared with that of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Pablo Neruda.“Paash belongs to the people. Whenever resistance emerges, his poetry returns. His legacy should be expanded through a meaningful memorial, not reduced to a petty land dispute,” he said.Story continues below this ad“His poems questioned oppression, communalism and the silencing of dissent, and his own life reflected that spirit of resistance. During the turbulent years of militancy in Punjab, he openly opposed Khalistani extremism and used his writing to challenge communal politics’,” he added.His family is now working to preserve another part of that history. His wife and daughter, based in the US, have dedicated two acres of ancestral land — including the site near the tubewell where Paash and Hans Raj were killed — to the Avtar Singh Paash Memorial Trust for a second memorial.For Sucha Singh, convenor of the committee and Paash’s cousin, the issue is also one of village identity. “People across the world know Talwandi Salem because Paash was born here,” he said.Who preserves literary heritage?The dispute has also raised a broader question about who should protect literary heritage.Story continues below this adAmolak Singh said political figures are often commemorated through government-backed memorials, while the preservation of literary legacies is frequently left to writers, admirers and civil society groups. Farmer, student and labour unions have since launched awareness campaigns in villages to build support for the memorial.Nakodar SDM Simranjeet Singh said the administration was aware of the confrontation and that police had been deployed to maintain peace during the September 9 programme.AAP chief spokesperson Neel Garg said the local administration should provide greater clarity on the dispute, while acknowledging that the controversy should not have arisen.“What is happening in Talwandi Salem should not happen. Paash is an international poet whose work instills the spirit to fight for rights,” Garg said. He added that the matter would be brought to the notice of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.