Updated: November 29, 2020 8:05:49 am
Farmers gathered in the camps in Burari as part of their Delhi Chalo protest against the Center’s new agricultural laws on Saturday, November 28, 2020 (Express photo by Amit Mehra).
Jagmohan Singh, 64
Secretary General, Union Bharti Kisan (Dakaunda)
Jagmohan Singh is one of Punjab’s most respected agricultural leaders. A small farmer who became a full-time activist three decades ago, he is well versed in agricultural issues and policy. Team leaders of other farmers and farm workers also admire him for chalking up agitations. Initiated into activism at a tender age, Jagmohan passed behind bars before he turned 18.
Postgraduate and graduate, he is an expert in acupuncture therapy. He joined Bharti Kisan (BKU) Ekta in 1993 after leaving his government job in the Cooperatives Department. BKU (Dakaunda) was formed about 15 years ago and is one of the most active farmers’ unions in the state. A small farmer, he owns almost 5 acres that he has leased and says he has been able to dedicate his time to the union because his wife has a secured job in the postal department.
Read | As Farmers Camp On The Delhi Border, Amit Shah Closes In: Move To Protest Site, Speak
Gurnam Singh Chaduni, 64 years old
President, BKU, Haryana
Chaduni is one of the region’s agricultural leaders who began mobilizing farmers against the three agricultural bills before they were passed. Hailing from the village of Chaduni Jatan in the Kurukshetra district, he rose to prominence when he led an agitation for the exemption of agricultural loans in 2008. After that, he has led many successful agitations, always opting for unique forms such as protest marches without shirt and dump potatoes on state highway.
In 2019, Chaduni and other farmers climbed into an 80-foot water tank demanding the purchase of the entire sunflower crop. It came only after the government agreed to buy the entire product. Haryana police booked him for attempted murder on Friday.
Mahinder Singh, 50 years old
Secretary General, Mansa District BKU, Dakaunda
Singh is an agricultural activist for the past 23 years. He has 18 cases against him in connection with protests by farmers such as rail roko, jail bharo, for which he was housed in nine different prisons, including Delhi. He himself, a registered farmer and a farmer, along with his two brothers farm on 21 acres in his home village, Bhiani Bagha in the Mansa district. “My life is dedicated to farmers and it doesn’t matter even if they reserve me in 100 cases,” he told The Indian Express.
Bhupinder Singh Longowal, 35
State Convenor, Youth Wing, Kirti Kisan Union
Active in the union for the past two years, Longowal, a Political Science graduate, has been an agricultural activist since his student days and was a member of the Punjab Student Union and Nuajwan Bharat Sabha before joining the Kirti Kisan Union. . With a family debt of Rs 7.50 lakh, the marginal farmer with 2 acres of land is fully dedicated to the cause of farmers.
Bhupinder’s education and relationship with students has helped mobilize large numbers of young people for the Delhi Chalo upheaval.
Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, 70
General secretary; BKU, Ugrahan
Kokrikalan, a retired school teacher, is the general secretary of Punjab’s largest farmers’ union, which has opposed the clash with the police during the Delhi Chalo upheaval. Kokrikalan comes from a poor family, who owned 2.5 acres in the Kokrikalan village of the Moga district. He did his BSc, BEd, and appointed a government teacher in 1972. Despite being a regular and permanent teacher, he participated in a protest led by temporary teachers in 1978, demanding regularization of jobs, and went to jail for 75 days. He quit his job at the age of 48 to work full time for the farmers’ cause.
Satnam Singh Pannu, 65
Chairman, Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee, Punjab
Pannu has been taking a hard line in protests against farm laws from the beginning. His union continued to dharna on the tracks of Jandiala Guru, near Amritsar, even after others agreed to suspend the protest last week. Formed in 2000, the team is now active in 10 districts of Punjab, including four from the Majha region and three from each of the Doaba and Malwa regions.
The organization has farmers and khet mazdoor as members. This is considered the most aggressive agricultural organization in Punjab. Pannu had launched the equipment in 2000 when the then SAD-BJP government was not removing rice from mandis. It was due to their agitation that the farmers managed to lift the paddy field. Hailing from the village of Piddi in the Tarn Taran district, Pannu graduated and has been active since his student days.
Dr. Darshan Pal, 70 years old
Member of the working group of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee; President, Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab
Dr. Pal’s team is among the 10 most active agricultural organizations in Punjab. MBBS, MD (Anesthesia), PCMS physician, retired prematurely from his job in Punjab Civil Medical Service and became a farmer as his family owned 15 acres. He began participating in farmer programs in 2007 and joined BKU.
In 2016, when the Krantikari Kisan Union was formed, he became its member and was appointed president of the union during the Covid pandemic. A very articulate leader, he has been very active in conversations with central and state leaders. His union is quite active in half a dozen districts in the Malwa region.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
