Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Sunday ended his hunger strike which he had started on November 26 last year to press for various demands of agitating farmers including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops.The announcement came a day after Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu appealed to him to end his fast-unto-death.
Dallewal announced that he will quickly end his indefinite period at the “Kisan Mahapanchayat” organized by Sirhind in the Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab. Meanwhile, he asserted that their struggle for crops and other required MSP legal guarantees continues.
“You all say (to me) ended with a quick death. To me, ‘sangat’ (man) is ‘rabb da rop’ (a form of God). I want to thank you for taking care of excitement in the way I say. I respect your point of view.
“‘Morcha’ (excited) continues. Even today, I don’t want to end the indefinite end quickly, but you ask me again and again (quick end) and I respect it. The battle begins. MSP must be taken (guaranteed) and the larger “Moorcha” must be enlarged. Do you agree to hold a larger “Morcha”,” he asked the party.
“The government is agile and knows that farmers can fight. The government has seen the ‘Moorcha’ way,” he said. He asked the farmers to gather and raise their hands to show support for the incitement. “Dear friend, your commands are like the direction of God,” said Daleval, who was obviously emotional.
“It’s not my wish, but a heavy heart, I accept your order.” Dalewar said with his folded hands, the cereal market echoed with the slogan of ‘Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Zindabad and said “Sardar Jagjit Singh Dallewal Zindabad”.
The development came for more than a week or two after the Punjab police cracked down on inciting farmers, when they returned from a central delegation meeting led by Chouhan, the Minister of Agriculture in Chandigarh, detained their leaders in Mohali.
A March 19 meeting was organized to discuss farmers’ requirements, especially the MSP guarantee. Police also expelled farmers and demolished temporary buildings from the shambhu and Khanauri border point where they sat. On Saturday, Union Minister Chouhan called on Dallewal to end his hunger strike.
“There was an ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the Indian government and the representatives of the farmers’ organizations on their requests.” Farmer leader Shri Jagjit Singh Dallewal has now returned from the hospital and we hope he will recover quickly. We also asked him to end his hunger strike, and we will meet with representatives from the farmers’ organizations at 11 a.m. on May 4 at 11 a.m. to have decided on the date. ”
Union Minister Bitu filed a similar appeal on Saturday. Dallewal is a senior leader of the joint forums of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), who were pioneering the excitement on the Shambhu and Khanauri borders to support their various needs.
Dallewal began an indefinite hunger strike on November 26 last year to urge the centre to accept the demands of farmers. His health “deteriorated” over his long pace, but he continued to resist medical assistance until the government accepted the demands of farmers. A group of doctors were also deployed at the Khanauri site to take care of him.
His fragile health caught the attention of the Supreme Court earlier, which led to decisions on his hospitalization by Punjab government officials and doctors. Even a high-power committee designated by the Supreme Court, led by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nawab Singh, met with Dallewal on the protest grounds to urge him to receive medical assistance.
After the centre invited farmers’ leaders to meet in January, Dahlwar began receiving medical assistance at the Khanauri protest site, but did not fast. Dallewal is the president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), who comes from the village of Dallewal, Faridkot. Whether it is insufficient compensation for the acquisition of farmland, Dalevar has been at the forefront of raising these questions before payments or farmers’ suicide cases.
Earlier, he had quickly supported the farmers’ issues in March 2018 (January 2019, January 2021, November 2022 and June 2023). Before the rapid start of last November, Dallewal transferred his 17 acres to his son, daughter and grandson.
Dallewal’s BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) is part of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which led the 2020 sensation among farmers over the now refeudal three central farm laws. But after SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal formed Samyukta Samaj Morcha, it broke down, confronting the Punjab Parliament in 2022. Dallewal later formed SKM (non-political) through like-minded peasant leaders.
