Farmer Leader Dallewal Ends 130-Day Fast, Vows to Keep Fighting for MSP Rights

On Sunday, April 6, 2025, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a farmer leader from Punjab, ended his hunger strike after 130 days. He had started this fast on November 26, 2024, to demand that the government legally promise a minimum support price (MSP) for crops and address other important issues faced by farmers. The MSP is a price set by the government to ensure farmers get fair money for their crops. Dallewal made this announcement at a large farmers’ gathering called the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Sirhind, a town in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab.

The decision to stop the hunger strike came after Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu asked him to end it on Saturday, April 5. They urged him to stop fasting and come back to talks with the government. Dallewal, who is 70 years old, spoke to the crowd from a stretcher because his health had become very weak after fasting for over four months. Even though he ended the fast, he made it clear that the farmers’ fight for their demands, especially the legal guarantee on MSP, is not over.

Dallewal told the farmers that he was stopping his hunger strike because they had asked him to. He said he sees the people as a form of God and respects their wishes. He thanked them for supporting the farmers’ movement and taking care of it while he was fasting. However, he also asked the crowd for a promise that they would continue the struggle with even more strength. He said they need to build a bigger movement to force the government to agree to their demands, and the farmers in the gathering agreed with him.

The farmer leader explained that he did not want to end his fast, but many people, including farmers from different states, had been calling him and asking him to stop so he could travel across the country and unite more farmers for a national-level fight. He believes the demand for MSP and economic independence for farmers will take a long time to achieve, and he wants to work hard for the future of farming families. Dallewal is a key leader of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), a group that has been leading these protests.

The government has been holding talks with farmer leaders to solve these issues. The last meeting happened on March 19, 2025, and another one is planned for May 4, 2025, at 11 a.m. Union Minister Chouhan has said the government is serious about helping farmers and that discussions will keep going. On Saturday, he wrote on X that he was happy Dallewal was out of the hospital and wished him a quick recovery. He also repeated his request for Dallewal to end the hunger strike and join the talks.

Dallewal’s health had suffered a lot during his 132-day fast. At one point, he started taking medical help at the Khanauri protest site after the government invited farmer leaders for talks in January, but he still kept fasting until now. The farmers’ movement has been strong in Punjab, with many activists from groups like the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha supporting it. Dallewal warned that if needed, they would start another sit-in protest at the right time to keep pushing for their 12 main demands, including the MSP law.

Even as he ended his fast, Dallewal remained firm that the struggle is far from over. He told the farmers that the government knows they can fight hard because of how well they managed the movement. Thousands of people have shown their support, calling him “bapu” (father), and he feels responsible for working for the next generation. The end of his hunger strike is a big moment, but it is clear that the farmers, led by Dallewal, are ready to keep fighting for their rights.