Dalit Singer Dalit Dignity: Bant Singh after the amputation of his hands and a leg in PGI, Chandigarh
Bant Singh is a revolutionary Dalit singer from Mansa, Punjab. He is a supporter of the CPI (ML-Liberation), an overground Naxalite organisation. He became active in 2000 when his minor daughter was raped: therein begun the protracted struggle of the dalits for self dignity and human rights against Jat landlords, in this case, backed by the ruling Congress regime in the state. Punjab's huge dalit population has been fighting a running battle for land, wages and fundamental rights against the landlords, who control land and political power. The rapists were given life sentence in 2002. On January 5, 2006, Sarpanch Jaswant Singh and former Sarpanch Niranjan Singh of Jhabbar village allegedly conspired a brutal attack on Bant Singh as revenge, according to the CPI(ML). The party has alleged that a critically injured Bant Singh was left for 36 hours in the Mansa Civil Hospital, while the hospital authorities, influenced by Congress leaders, refused him treatment. Eventually, he was taken to the PGI in Chandigarh, where both his arms and one leg had to be amputated because gangrene had set in. He is still fighting for his life, but says, "I have my voice, they can't stop my songs." _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
