Dehati Mazdoor Sabha hails Indo-Pak ceasefire

During its state working committee meeting, the Dehati Mazdoor Sabha (DMS), under the leadership of president Darshan Nahar, welcomed the temporary ceasefire between India and Pakistan and urged both nations to take permanent steps to end what it described as a bloody, destructive war.

Addressing the meeting, Gurnam Singh Daud, general secretary of DMS, said the ongoing conflict had become a source of suffering for innocent people on both sides of the border and had worsened the conditions of the working poor, particularly landless daily wage labourers.

The DMS announced a three-day continuous dharna to be held outside the office of the Divisional Commissioner in Jalandhar from May 26 to 29, demanding urgent action from the administration to address the long-pending issues of landless rural workers in Punjab.

The committee unanimously adopted a resolution listing several key demands such as guaranteed full-year employment for all adult members of rural worker households under MNREGA, with a minimum daily wage of Rs 700, free quality education, healthcare, and drinking water for all citizens. A minimum social security pension of Rs 5,000 per month for every Indian. All landless and economically weak families to be granted at least 10 marlas of residential land and a Rs 5 lakh housing grant for home construction.

The meeting also condemned caste and gender-based atrocities, as well as police brutality against marginalised communities and called for decisive government action to stop such abuses. Additionally, the DMS expressed its support for the nationwide strike announced by central trade unions and independent federations, scheduled for May 20, 2025.

The meeting decided to send youth activists in the convention going to held at Jalandhar on May 24, to observe the birth anniversary of martyr Kartar Singh Sarabha.