Court Appreciates Dallewal Ending Hunger Strike, But He Didn’t End It

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) gave a nationwide call to mark 28 Mar as ‘Anti-Repression Day’ against ‘Police Rule’ in Panjab. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and SKM (Non-Political, NP) joined the call. On 27 Mar night, the Panjab government released all farmers it had taken into custody including KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher. The govt. claimed it had never arrested SKM NP leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, but had moved him into a hospital. The protest was observed across India. When farmers were arrested on 19 Mar, Dallewal who was already on hunger strike for the last 114 days—but was being given medication—quit drinking even water. Upon all prisoners being released, Dallewal accepted water. The govt. claimed in the Supreme Court of India (SCI) that Dallewal’s fast is over. However, farmer leader Sukhjit Singh Hardo Jhande maintains the govt. is spreading misinformation to mislead the judiciary. He said, 'Dallewal has only taken a glass of water. His fast unto death, which he started on 26 Nov 2024, remains unchanged.' It is ironic that under the misimpression that Dallewal had ended his hunger strike, the SCI said septuagenarian Dallewal was a 'genuine leader without a political agenda.' Such labelling is problematic because singling out one of the leaders for praise creates a competitiveness among the farmers who have been protesting together as equals. SCI also dropped contempt proceedings against Panjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court’s order on providing medical aid to Dallewal. In a related development, the Panjab govt. justified the arrest of farmer leaders and eviction of protesters from the Panjab-Haryana interstate borders at Shambhu and Khanauri. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh submitted an application at the Punjab and Haryana High Court saying intelligence gathered from various sources pointed that the 'farmers were likely to make a violent attempt at breaching the barricading’ (earlier coverage).