Balbir Singh Rajewal is an Indian politician and founder of the Kisan Union (BKU) Rajewal of India. He is popular for his active participation in the 2020 farmers’ protests in India. In December 2021, he became the chief ministerial candidate of the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) party for the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections.
Wiki/Biography
Balbir Singh Rajewal was born on Friday, August 20, 1943 in Rajewal, Ludhiana, Punjab (age 78; as of 2021). His zodiac sign is Leo. After attending AS Sr Sec School at Khanna in Ludhiana district of Punjab, he attended AS College at Khanna.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5’8”
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Balbir Singh Rajwal was born into a Sikh family in Ludhiana, Punjab. His father Asa Singh was a farmer. Little is known about his mother. He grew up with two older brothers. Rajewal’s entire family has been active in the farmers’ movement, so much so that his father, brother and even sister-in-law have been jailed for fighting for farm rights.
wife and children
Balbir Singh Rajewal is married. He has a son who quit his job as a commercial pilot to pursue farming.
Profession
Rajewal started his career as a telegraph operator but resigned in 1968. He is also a former employee of Punjab Telephone Department. Later, he started farming in his hometown Rajewal village in Ludhiana, Punjab. Besides, he is also the owner of two rice mills located near Rajewal. For some time, he also worked as an ‘Arhtiya’ (commission agent) at Khanna Mandi in Ludhiana. Soon, he abandoned this profession to keep pace with members of the farmers’ union. He serves as the Chairman of the Managing Committee of Malwa College, Deli Samrala, Punjab, a leading educational institution in Samrala district.
Malwa College Bondri Samralla
Rajewal runs an honest stationery store for students called ‘Sach Di Dukan’ (Shop of Truth) in his village. This store is not managed by any store owner. Instead, it has a box into which customers can voluntarily deposit money for their purchases.
Activism
Rajewal is a brilliant orator and has been a farm union leader in Punjab since the 1970s. In 1972, 11 farmer groups in Chandigarh jointly formed the Punjab Khetti Bari Zamindari Union, which was later renamed the Punjab Khetti Bari Union (PKU). Rajewal is one of the founding members of the alliance. In December 1978, PKU was renamed Kisan Union of India (BKU) to create a National Farmers Forum. Thereafter, Rajewal was appointed as secretary of BKU. At BKU, Rajewal worked with prominent Indian farmer leaders such as Mahendra Singh Tikait, Sharad Anantrao Joshi and Narayan Swami, who were actively involved in the farmer agitation movement. Working with BKU (Lakhowal) from 1974 to 1988 and then with BKU (Mann), in 2001 he launched his own brand BKU (Rajewal). In 1974, when farmers were restricted from selling wheat outside the state, they launched a campaign. Rajewal was actively involved in the agitation in defiance of regional restrictions on wheat sales. Rajewal drafted the constitution of the Khetiwari Union, which was adopted by the BKU in 1978. He fought in 1983 over farmers’ electricity bills. Despite the split of various farmer groups from the BKU in 1988, Rajewal’s ties with the BKU remained intact. In 2013, he went on a hunger strike demanding relief for farmers through a drought fund and relief on tubewell bills. With his perseverance, he succeeded in obtaining relief of Rs. 8 billion for farmers.
Balbir Singh Rajewal (wearing orange turban) goes on hunger strike in 2013
In 2020, the Indian Parliament launched protests against the Indian Farm Bill 2020 (commonly known as the Farm Bill) in September 2020. Soon after the Farm Bills were introduced, several unions began holding local protests in Punjab. After two months of protests, tens of thousands of farm union members, mainly from the states of Punjab and Haryana, marched towards the country’s capital Delhi, where they coordinated civil disobedience at the city’s borders. Various BKU factions also joined the protests, including the BKU (Rajewal) led by Balbir Singh Rajewal.
Farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait and Balbir Singh Rajewal at the Ghazipur border during the 2020 farmers’ protest in India
Earlier, BKU (Rajewal) had not many organizations and was mainly active in Patiala, Sangrur, Mohali, Ropar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Ferro Several areas in Zeepur, Nawanshahr, Jalandhar and Malwa districts. However, during the Indian farmers’ protests in 2020, it quickly grew into one of the leading farmers’ organizations in Punjab. BKU (Rajwal) activists picket political leaders whenever they visit Punjab for any political function or event, especially those from the BJP and SUDPU. This led to a significant rise in Rajewal’s popularity as a leading farmer leader in Punjab, as earlier, he was considered more of a businessman. Rajewal’s deft articulation of the farmers’ point of view played a key role during negotiations with the government over the farm bills. In addition, his leadership skills came in handy in the planning and execution of protests. In November 2020, amid the protests, an alliance of more than 40 Indian farmer unions was formed called the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), of which Rajewal is a prominent leader. During the protest, he expressed his views on the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and said that since 1976, farmers have been exercising their right to sell their produce anywhere in the country. In addition, he claimed that the Modi government introduced the farm bill precisely to cater to businesses. In an interview, explaining the redundancy of the bill, he said,
We had this facility in 1976, when the courts gave farmers the freedom to sell their goods anywhere, but the government only wanted to promote business. These laws are not for the welfare of farmers but for the welfare of corporations. “
Narendra Modi announced in a televised speech on November 19, 2021 that the government will repeal the farm bills.
politics
Although he has shown flexibility in his political leanings from Congress to Shiromani Akali Dal to Aam Aadmi Party over the past few decades, he is opposed to any political participation until the farm laws are officially repealed on November 29, 2021. In 2002, Rajewal supported the Congress government on some farmers’ issues, but the Congress refused to release Rs. He launched an agitation against farmers as compensation of Rs 110 crore for loss of paddy fields. In 2014, the then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal offered the post of ‘Halka Incharge’ (constituency in-charge) of Samrala Assembly segment to Rajewal, but Rajewal refused Accepted because he did not want to go to the polls. During the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Rajewal started supporting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and later, he became close to Shiromani Akali Dal president Amarinder Singh. According to reports, as the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections approached, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed to make Rajwal the prime ministerial candidate, but he did not accept it due to pressure from farmer unions . On December 26, 2021, 22 SKM factions led by Rajewal came up with their own political front called Samyukta Samaj Morcha (SSM), announcing their intention to contest the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections. It was announced that SSM will contest from all constituencies in the 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly.
dispute
- Accused of raising funds from NRIs: In early December 2021, Jagjit Singh Dallewal of Sidhupur, Kisan Union of India (BKU), while addressing the media, claimed that the Kisan Union of India (BKU) )’s various factions receive huge amounts of money from NRIs to live abroad. Dhalewal claimed in the video that he did not ask for a single penny from NRIs during the farmers’ protests in India in 2020. Dhalewal indirectly referred to Balbir Singh Rajewal, who is expected to contest the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections, but said:
Some of us are too eager to become the chief minister. “
Adding to this jibe, Dhalewal asked the National RI, which had generously provided funds during the protests, not to provide any funds to political parties to contest the elections.
- Jailed for participating in various protests: Rajewal was jailed several times for raising farm issues. Rajewal was jailed during the 1974 riots, which were launched against zonal restrictions on farmers selling wheat outside the state.
- Accused of making shady deal with Amit Shah: On December 29, 2021, Indian politician and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed that Balbir Singh Balbir Singh Rajewal made shady deals with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, undermining India’s influence. Farmers’ protests in India reach peak. Sukhbir Singh Badal told media persons,
The contents of the now-public letter are even more shocking. They revealed that Rajewal and his close group were willing to sacrifice the welfare of farmers and even agreed to a partial rollback of the farm laws, which was in direct violation of the public stance of the kisan andolan (farmers’ protest) that they would only agree to a complete overturn of the three black laws. “
assets/property
Balbir Singh Rajewal owns 60 acres of land in his hometown Rajewal in Ludhiana, Punjab.
Facts/Trivia
- Ironically, a few months before forming his own BKU (Rajewal), Balbir Singh had opposed the political ambitions of Haryana farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni.
- On December 13, 2021, the Sahnewal Nagar Committee, Gurdwara Reru Sahib Committee and Kar Sewa Samudaye recognized Balbir Singh Rajewal for his activist actions during the farmers’ protests in India.
In December 2021, Balbir Singh Rajewal was inducted by Nagar Committee Chairman Sukhjit Singh Hara and Kar Sewa Chief Baba Mej Singh (Baba Major Singh) Commendation
- Balbir Singh Rajewal was paid homage by Muslims at Jama Masjid in Ludhiana on December 20, 2021, where he paid homage to the late Punjab Maulana Ha Salute of Shahi Imam of Maulana Habib Ur Rehman Sani Ludhianvi.
Balbir Singh Rajewal honored by Muslim community at Jama Masjid, Ludhiana in 2021
- After the establishment of the new political party SSM, SKM distanced itself from it. The SKM Coordination Committee issued a statement prohibiting any political party from using the SKM logo.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education