E-Paper
The two men behind the farmers’ march
The two leaders also spearheaded the two rounds of talks with the central government that ended in a deadlock on Monday.
Post the conclusion of the farm bodies’ protest on the borders of Delhi in 2021 against (repealed) three farm laws, many farm unions saw upheavals and splits leading up to present protests where two groups are at loggerheads over the ways to achieve a common goal. While Samyukt Kisan Morcha comprising Balbir Singh Rajewal head of BKU (Rajewal), Joginer Singh Ugrahan of BKU (Ugrahan) and Prem Singh Bhagu of All-India Kisan Federation, and 36 other bodies have given a call for Bharat Bandh on February 16, the other faction, consisting of 17 farm bodies, has given a call for ‘Delhi Chalo’ leading to pitched battles on the Punjab-Haryana borders throughout the day. Among the faction behind the present march, two persons--Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) president Sarwan Singh Pandher have emerged as the brains behind farmers’ mobilisation.
The two leaders also spearheaded the two rounds of talks with the central government that ended in a deadlock on Monday.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal
The 65 hails from Sadik village in district Faridkot and was elected president for BKU (Sidhupur) seven years ago when its then president Pishora Singh Sidhupur died. Dallewal, a baptised Sikh took over the reins and under him, the farm body’s ideology shifted from left-oriented to one with rightist thought. Dallewal is a postgraduate from Punjabi University and comes from a mediocre farmers’ family. An office bearer in the faction said Dallewal maintains silence on the involvement of Khalistanis and other radicals in the farm protest and is not opposed to the radical thought”. Commenting on the ongoing protest, Dallewal said someone had to make a beginning to revive the farmers’ protest after a gap of more than two years and hoped that others would come in his support.
Sarwan Singh Pandher
The 51-year-old is the president of KMSC which is said to be one of the first farm bodies’ in the Majha belt of the state. It came into existence in 2000. A native of village Pandher in Fatehgarh Churian area in Gurdaspur district, Pandher started mobilising farmers of Majha into farm protests, which in the 1990s was not a common phenomenon in that belt. A graduate, Pandher comes from a small farmers’ family that owns six acres of land. Pandher earlier worked for BKU (Ekta-Ughrahan), a left-leaning organisation which claims to have the largest support base among farmers. But Pandher’s political thought changed to right-oriented and in 2021 KMSC supported the protest march to Red Fort.
