http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/My-voice-is-my-greatest-weapon-to-fight-injustice/articleshow/10395630.cms
'My voice is my greatest weapon to fight injustice'
TNN | Oct 18, 2011, 03.59AM IST
PUNE: The benefits of globalisation are yet to reach the common people
in villages and the inequality in distribution of wealth is growing by
the year, said well-known Dalit activist Bant Singh who is from the
village of Jabbar in Punjab's Mansa district.
In the city to release a book on crime against women by activist Mukta
Manohar, Singh was speaking with reporters during an interaction
organised by the Pune Union of Working Journalists on Monday.
Singh used to be a farm labourer, who was left to die in 2006 after
being beaten up by the village sarpanch and his cronies. His crime
being that he had protested against the rape committed on his daughter
in 2002. Things, though, have changed much since then. Today, the man
is the voice of courage and determination for 50,000 other farm
labourers through his organisation Majdoor Mukti Morcha. He even uses
his singing talent to spread revolutionary messages of social justice,
cast equality and human rights.
"The upper caste villagers in Punjab are known to snatch land from
poor farmers. We are fighting 32 different cases for such farmers and
against their wrong-doers. It's a fight for respect and rights of farm
labourers that we are engaged in. My organisation is ready to fight
for the cause of individuals in other parts of the country who have
faced similar problems," Singh said.
Having grown up in an environment imbued with revolutionary ideals and
the quest for farmers' rights, Singh has been an activist for his
farmer brethren right from his adolescence. His very zeal ruffled the
feathers of his village heads and, in 2002, Singh's eldest daughter
was raped by some village goons. It took him the next four years to
get justice with the culprits being sentenced to seven years
imprisonment. "But today they are out on bail. The sarpanch was never
convicted due to lack of evidence."
Father of four daughters and four sons, Singh said, "My both hands and
legs were amputated due to spread of gangrene, but my voice is still
intact and that is my greatest weapon to fight against injustice."
In 2006, he was awarded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. But people woke
up to his rich and soulful voice when he began singing two days after
his surgery in the hospital itself. That drew doctors, nurses, the
media and high-profile people from different fields to Singh's life.
"Since then, there have been international musicians from Canada,
France and the US visiting Singh's village to record his voice and
collaborate on music with him, one of them being The Bant Singh
Project," says fellow activist and Singh's close colleague Sudarshan
Singh.
A self-taught folk singer, Singh has been heavily influenced by the
revolutionary Punjabi folk singer Santrak Udasi. Singh is often
invited to farmers' gatherings and delivers fiery performances and
speeches on their rights and freedom. He even lyricises his own songs
that are rendered in Punjabi.
Today, Singh's activism has reached residents of six different
districts in southern Punjab. "Now people are wary of committing
heinous crimes against women because they are very well aware of our
movement that will get the better of them. The caste and class clashes
are apparent, but Singh's struggles have led to poor farmers and farm
labourers uniting with determination and confidence to fight for a
common cause," Sudarshan said.
Actor Aamir Khan, too, is collaborating with him on a television
episode on his life story, claimed Singh. The project is in the
pre-production stage with Khan's team having visited his village this
July.
Meanwhile, Singh said, "Globalisation did not elevate people's
standard of living at the grass-root level. Government benefits don't
reach us. Due to poverty, people like me can't afford to educate our
women and children despite wanting to, and even now the groundwater in
our village is salty and unfit for consumption. Poor farmers are
compelled to buy water for drinking and irrigation."
But his fight for justice has empowered the women in and around his
village. "Hordes of women, including my wife Harbans Kaur, who were
home-bound till a few years ago, are now coming out confidently and
agitating against injustice in rallies through our movement," Singh
added.
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