Jagjit Singh Dallewal: Helming Decisive Battle For Farmers (image:x.com/JagjitDallewal)
The hunger strike of farmer forum Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (Non-Political) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal entered its 43rd day on January 8. He started an indefinite hunger strike in support of their demands, at the Khanauri protest site in Punjab’s Sangrur district on November 26. The farmers under the banner of under the banner of SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) have been protesting over several demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. Though the 70-year-old farmer leader’s health is deteriorating, he is unwilling to concede unless the government agree with the farmer community’s demands.’
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Hailing from a farmer-family at Dallewala village in Punjab’s Faridkot district, Dallewal’s love for farming led him to pursue the vocation of a full-time agriculturist. A staunch proponent of farmers’ rights, Dallewal began to involve in the issues faced by the agricultural community in State. His work also extended to societal matters especially concerning youth which resulted in his rising fame as a farmer leader in Punjab.
In 1989, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Sidhupur) was formed, and Dallewal joined the organisation. He swiftly rose through ranks and became the chief of the union in 2017. BKU Ekta Sidhupur is one of the 32 farmer bodies from Punjab that formed Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
A follower of social activist Anna Hazare, Dallewal became huge defender of ‘Sit-ins’ and ‘hunger strikes’. In the past five years, he had conducted five hunger strikes. His first protest was in February 23, 2018 when a he along with a convoy of tractors started marching towards Delhi to demand the implementation of Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation and farm debt waiver. They were halted at Cheema Mandi in Sangrur by the then Congress government in Punjab. The convoy were stopped at Cheema Mandi for 28 days, and after that, with government permission Dallewal and his team restarted the march, and then joined Hazare’s hunger strike in Delhi on March 23, 2018.
On January 1, 2019, Dallewal went on a huger strike for five days in Chandigarh over various issues related to the farm crisis. In January 2021, farmer leader participated on a chain hunger strike at Delhi borders as part of the protest to get the scrapping of farming laws. In November 2022, he started a hunger strike following Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s attack at the farmer unions for constantly holding protests by blocking roads to get their demands accepted. On June 8, 2023, he organised fifth protest where he sat outside the head office of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office, Patiala to get his list of 21 demands to be accepted. The protest continued till June 14 when a Punjab Police team forcibly taken Dallewal to a hospital for treatment.
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Ahead of launching his current fast, Dallewal, reached his native village Faridkot and transferred his property to his son Gurpinderpal Dallewal daughter-in-law Harpreet Kaur and grandson Jigarjot Singh. He possess 17 acres of agricultural land and transferred 4.5 acres to son, two acres to daughter-in law and the remaining 10.5 acres to his grandson. “He told us that his fast unto death was going to be an aar-paar ki ladai (decisive battle) for the farmers”, his son told Indian Express.
