ILS strongly condemns the arrest of Land Rights Activist Mukesh Malaud 

A Pattern of Systematic Repression

While there is not yet clarity on what specific cases have been imposed on Mukesh Malaud, we suspect these old cases are being revived to target his activism around land rights. These cases include a 2014 case stemming from a ZPSC-led agitation in Balad Kalan village, where Dalits demanded their legally mandated one-third share of panchayat land. Police have also invoked charges related to a planned protest on May 20 at Bir Eswan village, where ZPSC sought the distribution of 927 acres of land from the former Jind Riyasat (Princely State) among landless Dalits under the Land Ceiling Act. Despite Malaud not being present at that protest, police claim he issued the call for it, with over 400 activists detained during the agitation.

This arrest is not an isolated incident but part of an intensifying pattern of state repression against the Dalit land rights movement. Just last month, Bikkar Singh Hathoa, another prominent leader of ZPSC, was arrested and kept in solitary confinement for more than 70 days before being released after many days of incarceration. Earlier this year, land rights activist Harbhagwan Moonak was beaten and thrashed by landed interests for his activism demanding constitutional land rights for Dalits. These attacks reveal a systematic campaign to crush democratic dissent and intimidate those fighting for social justice and land rights for Dalits.

The manner of Malaud's arrest now—involving intelligence agencies and special police, executed outside Punjab— further exposes a deliberate strategy to break the growing Dalit land rights movement. As we documented previously, the ZPSC has waged a peaceful, democratic struggle demanding landless Dalit communities receive their lawful rights over village common lands. Dalits constitute 32% of Punjab's population yet own barely any farmland, with 94.2% of Dalit households owning no land for cultivation.

The Anti-Dalit, Anti-Worker Face of AAP

This timing and the manner of arrest lays bare the anti-Dalit, anti-worker, neoliberal character of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab. The AAP came to power on promises of equality, employment, and justice for Punjab’s working masses. Yet when Dalit agricultural labourers assert their constitutional rights to land, the AAP government responds with brutal repression indistinguishable from BJP-led governments elsewhere. On democratic rights and labour struggles, there is no difference between AAP in Punjab and authoritarian regimes across India. When workers organise for their rights, governments unite to silence resistance and protect landed elites.

Our Demands

India Labour Solidarity demands:

1. Immediate and unconditional release of Mukesh Malaud and all political prisoners

2. Full disclosure of all charges against him

3. Withdrawal of all false and fabricated cases against Mukesh and other ZPSC members and activists

4. An end to repressive tactics against Dalit and landless people's movements

5. Implementation of land reform laws, including the Land Ceiling Act, and distribution of village common lands to landless Dalit families