A Firebrand Sikh Leader: Manjit Singh Grewal Dhaner

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Manjit Singh Grewal Dhaner

Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal​

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“It is a victory of the lok lehar (people’s movement)….a victory of good over evil.” This was the first reaction of farmer leader Manjeet Singh Dhaner after walking out of jail at 8.30 pm Thursday, a day after being pardoned by the state Governor. Popularly known as Dhaner, on the name of his village is a senior vice-president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda). He was falsely implicated in a murder case to avenge his forceful support for the punishment to the accused in the case of Kiranjit Kaur rape and murder case famously known as Mehal Kalan Rape and Murder case.

This case began on 29 July 1997, the day on which 17-year old Kiranjeet Kaur—daughter of physically handicapped government school teacher Master Darshan Singh, a resident of village Mahal Kalan in Barnala was returning home from her college. She was kidnapped on the way by some people. When her family and the villagers failed to find her after searching till late evening, the matter was reported to the police.
The family and villagers suspected some boys from a wealthy and feudally dominant family in the village who were already notorious for such mischief. In addition to being wealthy, their family also had high political connections, and was close to the police, administration and leaders from the political parties. As a result the police dared not question them despite the villagers’ suspicions. Instead, the police turned on the girl’s family and said that the girl must have run away with some lover. They advised the family to wait, as the girl would return by herself.



In this situation, the local people including farmers’ workers’, and people’s organizations of the area led by Manjit Dhaner organized a meeting for justice for the family, and formed a joint committee which decided to launch an agitation to force the police to find Kiranjeet. Rallies were organized and Thanas and police officers were gheraoed. SHO Inspector Daya Singh Balian of Mahal Kalan Police station did not even register the case. When a dharna (sit in) was organsed by local leaders Manjit Dhaner, Narain Dutta and Prem Kumar, a senior officer even said that it is most probable that she has eloped. This sit in strike was overwhelmed by the local support as they came enmass to seek justice to the illfated girl. Under pressure from the agitation, the police were forced to search the fields belonging to the suspected family. Ultimately the police filed the FIR, started the search. On 11 August 1997, they arrested the suspects and with their help they found the girl’s body, clothes and books buried in those fields. The girl brutally murdered by the accused after rape. The post-mortem revealed that the kidnappers had gang-raped the girl and then killed her after which they buried the body in order to erase evidence. This caused a huge anger among the people and a mass agitation was organized in the Malwa region of Punjab to get the rapist-killers punished.

As the truth came ou after deep questions of the accused. Kiranjit Kaur, the daughter of Master Darshan Singh when going to her college in Mahal Kalan, was abducted, raped and murdered on 29 July 1997 by Gurpreet Cheema and his accomplices of Mahal Kalan

An ‘Action Committee Mahal Kalan against the Kiranjeet Murder Case’ was formed which was led by Manjeet Singh Dhaner, Narayan Dutt, and Master Prem Kumar. The Action Committee organized a strong people’s movement to carry forward this struggle, as a result of which the Sessions Court Barnala found four of the accused in this case guilty of rape and murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment in August 2001. But a few days before the verdict was pronounced, an incident occurred which posed a new and serious challenge in front of the movement. The family of the perpetrators had an old enmity with some other people of the village. A court case was going on in the Barnala court between the two parties of the same village and a hearing in that case was due on 3 March 2001. The members of the perpetrators’ family clashed with members of their enemy family inside the court. 85-year old Dileep Singh from the perpetrators’ family was injured in the clashes and died in hospital after 10 days.

The perpetrators’ family hatched a conspiracy to save the 4 guilty youth through a cross case of Dileep Singh’s murder against the Action Committee leadership. They registered an FIR naming Manjeet Singh Dhaner, Narayan Dutt and Prem Kumar. This false case against the leaders of the agitation by the police in connivance with the perpetrators family further strengthened the resolve of the people’s struggle and the police were forced to enquire into the matter. The police enquiry found that these 3 leaders were innocent and were nowhere near the scene when Dileep Singh’s murder took place.

However, the judge hearing the case under pressure from the perpetrators’ family and their political big wigs demanded that the 3 leaders be produced in court, ordered for their arrest and were sent to jail despite the police enquiry report. Subsequently, the court pronounced the 3 leaders and 4 others guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. This verdict so outraged the people that thousands staged about 18 huge protests in Barnala city to demand release of the innocent leaders. Under pressure, the then Badal government submitted a recommendation to the Governor for waiver of punishment. The Governor waived their punishment on 24 July 2007 and the 3 leaders were released from jail.

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But an appeal by the perpetrators of the crime in this case was also being heard at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On 11 March 2008 the High Court ruled that the President or Governor cannot waive any punishment while the case is sub judice in a higher court. After recording this remark, the High Court acquitted Narayan Dutt and Prem Kumar but upheld the punishment for Manjeet Singh Dhaner and the 4 other villagers. An appeal against this verdict was filed in the Supreme Court.

By now Dhaner had emerged as a well-known kisan leader in Punjab and State Senior Vice President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakonda Group). 11 years later on 3 September 2019 the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on the appeal and upheld the life imprisonment sentence of Manjeet Singh Dhaner.

The Supreme Court's verdict angered the people and once again hundreds of protests and rallies were held across the State. A joint committee of 44 farmers’ and workers’ organizations decided to launch a mass people’s struggle against this unjust verdict. On 11 September a delegation met the Governor and demanded cancellation of the sentence. Holding the Punjab government responsible, it was decided to organize a protest on 20 September at CM Capt Amrinder Singh’s city Patiala. When thousands of farmers, workers, students and youth reached Patiala on 20 September they were stopped by the police some kilometers before the city where the protests continued 'sit in' the whole day. The next day an indefinite dharna began at the village (Mahamadpur) mandi.

Indefinite dharna began at the village (Mahamadpur) mandi.
When the Sangharsh Committee declared that the rally would march to Patiala on 22 September, the administration felt cowed down. The SDM Patiala came to the spot and delivered a letter fixing a meeting of the delegation with the Principal Secretary on 26 September at Chandigarh. Thousands of people including women in large numbers gathered on 26 September. It now came to light that the office of the Governor had sent this case file back to the Punjab government and it had been gathering dust for the past 2 months. The Sangharsh committee then decided that the dharna would be staged in front of the Barnala District jail instead of Patiala, because as per the SC verdict Manjeet Singh Dhaner had to be present at the Barnala Court on 30 September to be taken to jail.

On 30 September thousands of people accompanied Manjeet Singh Dhaner when he came to the door of the jail after presenting himself at the Barnala Court. The Sangharsh Committee declared that they had brought Dhaner to the jail with full enthusiasm, and would release and take him back with the same enthusiasm. The dharna continued in front of the jail and became converted into ‘Sangharsh Gram’ (Village of Struggle), attended by thousands of farmers, workers, students, youth, women, writers, theatre artists, lawyers, intellectuals, electronic and print media and all justice-loving people. Women were especially strong and vociferous in their support.

Massive rally at Barnala for the release of Manjit Singh Grewal Dhaner
On 22 October the Punjab government was forced to agree to a meeting with the Sangharsh committee, where it was decided that the Punjab government would take the case for release of Dhaner with its recommendations to the Governor within 2 weeks and would appeal for an early decision. The 62-year-old was finally pardoned again by the Governor V P Singh Badnore on November 13. The notification issued in this regard on Thursday by the Punjab government read: “Keeping in view of the relevant material and facts, mitigating factors and special circumstances of the case and reports of ADGP (Prisons) Punjab, District Magistrate Barnala and SSP, Barnala, the Governor of Punjab is pleased to grant pardon to the life convict Manjeet Singh, son of Jarnail Singh, District Jail, Barnala in exercising of the powers vested under Article 161 of the Constitution.” 22-year long people’s struggle ended when Manjeet Singh was released after 54 days and was greeted and welcomed back by the people on 15 November and accompanied to his home in village Dhaner some 40 kilometers away. The massive dharna completed 45 days on 15th November when his pardon order was signed.

Narain Dutt the other leader released earlier said, ”We all were falsely implicated as we were the leading activists in the case of brutal murder and rape of a teenager. Though I and Prem were acquitted, but Manjeet was sentenced. So we fought and finally we have won. Manjeet was pardoned not once, but twice by the Governor Punjab.”​

Manjit Sigh Grewal Dhaner Being received and honoured​

Addressing the ‘Pakka Morcha’, farmer leader Buta Singh Burjgill said: “Apart from men, women used to come in large numbers which indicated the commitment to our struggle. Dhaner was implicated falsely for staying strong against rape accused. So we had to stand by for him. It is a victory of our untiring efforts.” Another farmer union leader Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan called it a victory of the people.

“Over four crore have been spent on this morcha in which our langar used to be cooked right here. Daily people used to come and go, hence transportation cost was a lot. But all this was managed through voluntary donations,” said Narain Dutt. “Protesters observed Diwali and 550th Gurupurab here. Plays, poetry, songs on keeping the struggle strong continued throughout the morcha,” said Randeep Sangatpura, another activist.

It was not the only case where Manjt Dhaner has put even his family life at stake. Even after that Dhaner has been very active in helping those girls who had faced such type of rapes and murders and also those being harassed by police for financial reasons. Thereafter it became a passion for Manjit to help the people in trouble. Next case was to get punishment to the accused in the rape and murder case of Pinki of Breta where the FIR were lodged under his team's pressure and action taken against the accused. In another case a labour woman was made naked and paraded around the village. Those responsible were got arrested and punished. His fourth agitation was for getting arrested the political Goondas goons of Faridkot who had raped the girl and no FIR was filed since they had the backing of the ruling government. Fifth case was of a DSP of Jagraon who had raped a girl but no action was taken against him being a government official. An FIR was got registered and the case was followed till the end. Sixth case was of the murder of two men of Kirpalewal in police lock up where too no FIR was registered. The team of Manjit had to struggle very hard to get the FIR lodged and and followed the case till its logical conclusion. Seventh was the case of Kala Bula where murder was done by policemen near Sherpur Police station. No FIR was lodged. His team agitated and got FIR against a DSP and 6 Policemen who were ultimately punished.

Manjit was graded a communist y the police. He was never so when young. His grandfather S. Gajjan Singh was a die hard Akali who went to jail numerous times during Akali agitations. His father and uncle were bard Singer well known for their religious songs. Similarly, his elder brother Jagjit Singh was a Kaveeshar of great standing and acknowledged by SGPC. He himself was a Kaveeshar who sang religious songs at Gurdwara and other religious gathering from the age of 8. However, the brutal rape of Kiranjit which has turned his mind against the injustice going on in society and started fighting for getting justice to under-priviledged and obsessed.

As the farmers' agitations started, he joined Dakonda group in 2007 onwards and took active part in farmers agitations. He had become a firebrand leader. The strong agitation encouraged the other farm leaders to take up the case of 3 farm laws and MSP and they joined for withdrawal of these laws. He set up farmer union units at his village Dhaner where both men and women were very active and have done very laudable work during the Rail Roko agitation in Punjab followed by Delhi Roko agitation at Singhu and Tikri borders which went on for over one year. He has been active during the agitation reaching out to all for getting the support for agitation, collecting the required material for administration thousands of agitators. He could be heard speaking from main stage at Singhu in several videos keeping the spirit alive for the agitation. His videos were liked by millions world over. Ultimately, the farmers won the major part of the demands when Prime Minister of India Mr. Modi accepted to withdraw the three laws on farming which was one of the major demands and also to set up committees to find out solutions for MSP and other demands. Manjit Dhaner has been honored by the villages all over the Punjab for his Steller role.

Meanwhile when the election time came his association chose not to fight elections even though he was the fittest candidate as MLA. They chose to fight for the remaining demands and keep pressure on the government to accept the remaining demands. Thus he and his association chose to fight for the people's rights than for personal aggrandizement.

Dhaner, in the meantime, was seen discussing stubble burning cases and asking about the farmers who have been arrested. “We will be doing a protest against all these issues now against the Punjab government,” he said.
References
1. Punjab: Dhaner walks out of Barnala jail, calls it victory of good over evil
2.Bathinda: Freed, Manjit Singh Dhaner gets hero's welcome on road to home | Chandigarh News - Times of India
3.https://www.cpiml.net/liberation/2019/11/farmers-struggle-in-punjab-wins-justice
4. Farmers' Struggle in Punjab Wins Justice