Punjab Dalit land rights activist's arrest sparks responses from civil society groups

By A Representative

Mukesh Malaud, president of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC), was arrested by the Punjab Police on December 30 at Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi while returning to Punjab after attending a programme related to the Ambedkar Mission in Maharashtra.

According to the police, the arrest is linked to multiple cases registered earlier in Sangrur district. These include a 2014 case connected to a ZPSC-led agitation in Balad Kalan village, where Dalit residents had demanded their legally mandated one-third share of panchayat land. Police have also cited a case related to a proposed protest on May 20 at Bir Eswan village, where ZPSC had called for the distribution of 927 acres of land belonging to the former Jind Riyasat among landless Dalits under provisions of the Land Ceiling Act. Although Malaud was not physically present at the protest, police stated that he had issued the call for the agitation. More than 400 activists were reportedly detained during that protest.

Malaud is a known figure in Punjab’s Dalit land rights movement and has been associated with campaigns seeking access to village common lands for landless Dalit families. The ZPSC has been active for several years, organising protests and mobilisations around land entitlements provided under existing laws.

The arrest has drawn criticism from several rights groups and civil society organisations. The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a collective of various organisations, issued a statement condemning the arrest and demanding Malaud’s immediate release, withdrawal of cases against ZPSC activists, and an end to what it described as repression of Dalit and landless people’s movements. The group alleged that similar cases had earlier been filed against ZPSC members during land rights agitations.

There has been no immediate response from the Punjab government on the allegations raised by CASR. Police officials have maintained that the arrest was carried out in connection with pending cases and followed due legal procedure.

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