52 Days of Hunger Strike Completed, Farmers Continue to Gather

Media Report, Khanauri Border

On the 52nd day, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s indefinite hunger strike continued at the Datasinghwala-Khanauri farmer protest site. Farmer leaders expressed surprise at the Punjab government’s lawyer stating in the Honorable Supreme Court that Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s health is improving. The leaders questioned whether a hunger strike leads to health improvement or deterioration.

They sarcastically added that if hunger strikes improve health, as claimed by the lawyers, then hospitals across the country should be shut down, and sick people should be made to sit on hunger strikes to recover. The farmer leaders shared that when Jagjit Singh Dallewal began his hunger strike, his weight was 86.900 kg, which has now dropped to 66.400 kg—a loss of 20.500 kg.

The leaders revealed that Dallewal’s latest medical reports show a kidney and liver test result of 1.75, whereas it should ideally be below 1.00 in normal conditions. They accused the government of deliberately presenting only those test results before the Supreme Court that take longer to show decline. For instance, they explained that red blood cells (which contain hemoglobin) have an average lifespan of 120 days. Therefore, during the 52 days of the hunger strike, no significant drop in hemoglobin levels has been observed.

On the other hand, they pointed out that the ketone body test, which should ideally range between 0.02 and 0.27 in a healthy person, has consistently shown results above 6.50 for Dallewal. However, such critical test results are not being presented before the Supreme Court.

The farmer leaders further stated that out of the 111 farmers participating in the hunger strike, one young farmer, Pritpal Singh, suddenly fell ill yesterday. Dr. Sawaiman Singh’s team managed Pritpal Singh’s condition through physical therapy. A team of doctors from Haryana also arrived at the protest site to assist, and the farmer leaders appreciated their efforts.