A New Democrat MLA in British Columbia has promised to help thousands of South Asians living in Canada who he says might be unsuspecting victims of land theft in India.

Harry Lali, MLA for Yale-Lillooet, said after six weeks travelling in India he discovered an Indian politician was conspiring to steal land worth $1 million that had been willed to Lali by his great-great-grandfather.

"It is very corrupt over there, and I would argue that if there are nearly one million South Asians living in Canada, there's got to be at least 100,000 cases of Non-Resident Indian land that is illegally being possessed by relatives or the 'land mafia' in India," he said.

Lali said he has risked his personal safety by speaking out and taking his case to police and the Indian courts.

"And if I'm the person whose had the guts enough to stand up and put his life in danger to do this, then I am willing to do that," he said.

Now that his own land controversy has been dealt with, Lali said he would be willing to hold public meetings on the issue so others in similar situations can come forward for help in Canada.

But another MLA, Liberal Dave Hayer for Surrey-Tynehead, has accused Lali of using the issue of solving Indian land disputes to make political gains at home. He said Lali's claims are unfounded.