13 hours agoWriters: Ashish Urmalia
On 1 January 1932, a child was born in Bhidausa village of Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. The child started running at the age of learning to walk. The people of the village used to be surprised to see a 4-year-old child running at full speed. When the child turned 17, he was selected in the Rajputana Rifles of the army. He served in the army from 1949 to 1979. While serving in the army, he became the champion of national hurdles 7 times. Also represented India at the Asian Games Tokyo, Japan.
The boy was at the height of his career. The big people of the country including Milkha Singh used to praise his race, but then some such incident happened that he had to leave the army job and move to the rugged. Had to become an enemy of the government.
Today the story of the same boy Paan Singh Tomar who became a rebel after swearing by his mother. What did he do that the Chief Minister of MP refused to light a diya on Diwali? Let’s know…
In the year 1975, then Paan Singh used to be in the army.
Joined army’s sports quota to fill stomach
Paan Singh was a 6-foot-strong young man. After joining the army, he used to work hard day and night, so there was a lot of hunger. The dosage of the general quota soldiers was fixed. Countless loaves of bread were available to eat. Paan Singh’s stomach was not filled with those rotis, so he joined the sports quota. In fact, a cook of the army canteen told him that sports people get enough food.
He was ahead in running since childhood. After joining the sports quota, Paan Singh started running and he started getting food to fill his stomach. Then he got posting in the Bengal Engineering Group of Roorkee. Participated in the internal running competitions of the army in Roorkee and went on to win. His trainer started training him in hurdles, ie steeplechase.
Paan Singh practiced hard and started participating in national level competitions. Between 1950 and 1960, he won the National Steeple Championship 7 times. After these victories, along with all the senior officers of the army, Milkha Singh himself started praising Paan Singh. Now Paan Singh had become a subedar from a common soldier.
Paan Singh had achieved worldwide fame by making many records in hurdles.
Winning and losing in the Asian Games held in Japan
In 1952, Pan Singh was sent to represent India in the Asian Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan. In those days there was no player of the level of Paan Singh in the whole world. He was considered the biggest contender for victory, but he lost.
Actually, Paan Singh had a habit of running without shoes. He had never worn shoes in any competition from practice till now. He was never comfortable in running wearing shoes, but according to the rules of the Asian Games, he was forced to run there wearing shoes. This was the biggest reason for his defeat.
Paan Singh (in red circle) with his military comrades.
Left the job prematurely, the reason was- land dispute
Paan Singh’s life was going well while working. There was wife, 2 children and mother in the house. Meanwhile, a dispute started in the village regarding his land. He decided to leave his job ahead of time and take up farming in the village.
Actually, Paan Singh and his uncle had a total of two and a half bighas of land. One and one-half bigha of Paan Singh and one and one-half bigha of his uncle. The uncle was in need of money, so he mortgaged the entire two and a half bighas of land to the village dabangs Babu Singh and Jandel Singh Tomar. After a few days, Babu Singh Tomar took over the entire land and refused to cultivate the uncle. When Paan Singh Tomar reached the village leaving his job, he called the panchayat. The panchayat ruled that Paan Singh and his uncle should pay Babu Singh his money and take back the land. Paan Singh agreed, but Babu Tomar was in no mood to return the land.
Paan Singh with his wife Indra, mother and children.
went to the police, showed the medals won for the country; no one listened
Babu Tomar was not ready to return the land even after the decision of the Panchayat. When Paan Singh’s son protested, he beat up the son fiercely. When Paan Singh went to the police, the police made fun of him on the contrary. Paan Singh showed the inspector even the medals he won for his country, but he did not pay any attention to him.
Paan Singh went to the collector. Collector sahib came to the village, he took the same decision which the panchayat had done earlier. Babu Tomar was not in the intention of returning the land. Babu set fire to the whole crop which was cultivated by uncle on that land. Paan Singh did not lose his courage, he kept on going to the big officers. Babu Tomar and his family members did not like this thing of Paan Singh.
Paan Singh’s mother was beaten up with the butt of a gun
Babu Tomar and Jandel Tomar did not like Paan Singh’s access to senior officers. One day he made a plan to kill Paan Singh by going home. He moved towards the house, wife, children and mother were at home. When the mother saw them coming towards the house in anger with guns, she asked the daughter-in-law and the grandchildren to run away from the house.
This is what Paan Singh looked like after taking retirement from the army.
Babu Tomar and his 8-10 companions entered the house breaking the door. When I saw there, only Paan Singh’s old mother was there. He was so angry that when Paan Singh was not found, he beat his mother with the butt of a gun. When Paan Singh came back home and saw his mother’s condition, his chest caught fire. The injured mother told Paan Singh with broken words, “You should have died as soon as you were born. If you haven’t avenged your mother before dawn, don’t show me your face.”
Paan Singh kills Babu Tomar before the sun rises
As soon as his mother swore by him, Paan Singh picked up the gun and left with his brother-nephew. Paan Singh shot Babu Tomar by entering his house around 4 a.m., before the next day’s sun rose. Mother dies in the morning. Paan Singh then kills Babu’s brother Jandel Singh. Within a few days, Babu also shoots Tomar’s relative Layak Singh and Havaldar Singh.
After these 4 murders, the police goes after Paan Singh. To escape the police, Paan Singh along with his brother, nephews and some family members runs away towards the ravines of Chambal.
Paan Singh Tomar
Phoolan Devi and Malkhan Singh also started taking fear.
A few days after reaching the rugged, Paan Singh formed a gang. Half the people in the gang were family members and half were those who started considering Paan Singh as their role model. The society and the police were persecuted. More than 30 people had joined his gang within a year. After this he started giving military training to his gang. Within a few months, his gang had become so powerful that even the police were afraid to face Paan Singh’s gang. Other dacoits of his gang used to call him Subedar Chacha.
DSP MP Singh, who had done the encounter of Paan Singh, had told in a media interview, “Being a military background, Paan Singh used to understand all the tricks from the police. Due to the incidents of his robbery, kidnapping and murders, he was feared in the entire Chambal valley. The policemen used to fear his name. The big dacoits of that era, Phoolan Singh and Malkhan Singh were also afraid of the 6-foot heavy-handed Paan Singh. People started calling him the Lion of the Valley.
Paan Singh, who is fond of playing cards, never missed his target.
Balwant Singh, a member of Paan Singh’s gang and his immediate nephew Balwant Singh, had told in a TV interview, “Subedar uncle was very funny. He used to talk funny things even during the biggest encounter with the police. He even used to joke with his catch, that is, the one he had kidnapped. In the matter of jokes, he did not leave even the children to the old people.
Actor Irrfan Khan played the main character in the film made on Paan Singh.
“If he used to aim at someone with a gun on his shoulder, he would never miss his target. Uncle was very fond of playing cards. To pass the free time in the ravine, he used to play cards by forcing his gang members. His favorite game was the first catch of cards. He was so sharp of mind that while living in MP, he used to get kidnapped from Rajasthan. By the year 1981, Paan Singh had done more than 50 kidnappings.
When the brother was killed, the dead bodies of 6 people were laid.
There was no place to eat and drink in the ravine, so Paan Singh’s gang used to camp in the villages around the ravine. His gang would reach the house of any influential person in the village and ask him to feed them. One day Paan Singh along with his gang reached Gurjar’s house in a village in Bhind and asked him to prepare food. The head of the house gave this information to the police. The police attack Paan Singh’s gang without delay. Paan Singh’s brother Matadeen is killed in the attack. Paan Singh and the rest of the gang escape from there.
A few days later, Paan Singh learns that Gurjar had informed him. Paan Singh reaches that village again and shoots 6 members of the Gurjar family at once. After killing him, announces with his loudspeaker in the village, “It is beyond his power to apprehend Paan Singh to inform the government and the police.” The MP government is shaken by this murder incident.
Paan Singh’s 88-year-old wife Indra.
MP CM did not light diwali lamps, spent crores on Paan Singh
In the year 1981, when Paan Singh killed 6 people at once, then the Chief Minister of MP was Arjun Singh. Arjun Singh was deeply saddened by this incident. At that time he had said, “This Diwali, I will not light diyas.”
Arjun Singh orders Paan Singh to be caught dead or alive. There is pressure on the police and then 10 units of BSF and 15 units of STF are put behind Paan Singh. At that time, the Arjun Singh government had spent more than 3 crores to find Paan Singh. Weapons of new technology were also provided to the police.
When people were lured with jobs, then the police could do the encounter
One of these units was led by DSP MP Singh. All these teams were led by SSP Raman. SSP Raman went from village to village and told the people, “The person who gives the news of Paan Singh will be given a job. People got greedy and agreed to inform the police about Paan Singh.
In October 1981, the police got information that Paan Singh was in Phalan village with 18 people. Without delay, the police reach that village with their 118 soldiers. Surrounded Paan Singh’s gang from all sides. Paan Singh Tomar was killed after an encounter of about 9 hours.
Paan Singh and his gang after the encounter.
Paan Singh Tomar’s son also joined the army
The entire family of Paan Singh Tomar was involved in the gang with him, but he never allowed his sons to become dacoits or rebels. Paan Singh has two sons. The eldest son wanted to do a police job. Paan Singh hated the police, so he asked his son to join the army. On the basis of his identity in the army, he also sent his son to the army. The son retired after reaching the rank of Subedar. Paan Singh’s family still lives in a village near Jhansi and even now the tradition of serving only in the army remains in his family.
Paan Singh movie poster
The film became a superhit
29 years after the death of Paan Singh, i.e. in the year 2010, a film was made on his life. This film named Paan Singh Tomar was directed by renowned director Tigmanshu Dhulia. Actor Irrfan Khan played the role of Paan Singh. Each and every incident related to his life has been shown closely in this film.
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