Paan Singh Tomar

Paan Singh Tomar (January 1, 1932 – October 1, 1981) was an Indian

Paan Singh Tomar
soldier, athlete, and baaghi (rebel). He served in the Indian Army, where
his talent for running was discovered. He was a seven-time national
steeplechase champion in the 1950s and 1960s, and represented India at
the 1958 Asian Games. After a premature retirement from the army,
Tomar returned to his native village. He later gained notoriety as a
Chambal Valley rebel when he resorted to violence after a land feud
there. In late 1981, Tomar lost his life in a shootout with hundreds of
armed members of a police task force sent to capture him.[3]

Personal information
Contents Nationality British Indian
Early life (1932-1947)
Army career Indian (1947-
1981; his death)
Sports career
Born 1 January 1932
After retirement
Bhidosa, Tonwarghar
Death of Paan Singh Tomar District,[1] Northern
Family members of Paan Singh's family Gwalior Division,
In popular culture Gwalior State, British
Indian Empire
See also
(modern-day Morena
References District, Madhya Pradesh,
India)

Early life Died 1 October 1981 (aged

49)
Paan Singh Tomar was born in the small village of Bhidosa, near Porsa Rathia Ka Pura, Bhind
city, in a Tomar Rajput Hindu family living on banks of Chambhal River District, Madhya
in the erstwhile Tonwarghar district of the princely state of Gwalior Pradesh, India
under the rule of the British Raj in India. Tomar's father was Eashwari Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Singh Tomar, whose younger brother Dayaram Singh Tomar went on to
Sport
sire a branch of the Tomar family that owns most of the fertile
agricultural land in and around the Bhidosa area. Tomar would later go Sport Track and field
on to murder Babbu Singh Tomar, his nephew and Dayaram Singh Event(s) 3000 Metres
Tomar's grandson, in 1977 following a shady land dispute in which Steeplechase
Tomar was cheated out of land.[4] Medal record
Representing India
Army career
Tomar was a subedar (Warrant Officer) under the Bengal Engineers Regiment at Roorkee. He was a
champion sportsman, a national-ranking athlete, back in the 1950s and '60s. Legend has it that his initiation
into serious running came off a dispute. When Tomar had just enrolled in the army in his regiment, he got
into an argument with an instructor. As punishment, Tomar was asked to run numerous laps of the parade
ground. As he ran, he caught the eye of the other officers. What they saw impressed them. Soon Tomar,
exempt from regular duties, was put on the special diet for army sportsmen, even enjoying other perks and
benefits.[5]
Sports career
He represented India at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan.[6] Tomar was not interested in steeplechase
running at first but discovered it in the military. He went on to be the national champion of steeplechasing for
seven years. His national record of 9 minutes and 2 seconds in the 3000-meter steeplechase event remained
unbroken for 10 years. He was not allowed to fight in the 1962 Sino-Indian War and Indo-Pakistani War of
1965 due to his career in sports, which ended in 1972.

After retirement
Upon retiring in 1977, Tomar returned to Bhidosa village. There arose a land dispute between him and his
nephews Jandel Singh, Havaldar Singh, and Babbu Singh Tomar. Babbu Singh Tomar was a powerful
landowner who owned seven licensed guns and was the then head of the 200-member extended Tomar
family. To solve the dispute, a panchayat (congregational meeting) was held with the collector where Paan
Singh was asked to give ₹3,000 to Babbu Singh Tomar and his siblings to keep his own land; Tomar obliged.
However, his own nephew Balwant Singh Tomar retaliated for the duplicity. The collector promised to return
in 15 days. In the meantime, Babbu Singh Tomar came to Tomar's house and assaulted his 95-year-old
mother who was alone in the household at the time. Following Tomar's return, his mother commanded him
to take revenge and return her izzat (honor) by the morning if he was truly her son. Balwant and Tomar went
to the fields armed where they espied Babbu Singh. Tomar then vigorously opened fire on Babbu Singh, who
continued to run for about a kilometer before he collapsed despite being shot several times. Tomar would
later give an interview with a local newspaper in Gwalior which may have prompted the administration to
start taking his case seriously, considering this an act of defiance. At that time, there was a price of ₹10,000
on his head. As per the interview, he did not want to kill the eight villagers whose family tip-off led to the
killing of his elder brother Matadin Singh Tomar, who initially sold the land to Babbu Singh Tomar, setting
off the dispute. But he could not stop his nephew Balwant, who was Matadin's son. During the entire
interview, he toyed with a bullet.

Death of Paan Singh Tomar

On October 1, 1981, the Circle Inspector Mahendra Pratap Singh Chauhan and his special task force of 500
gendarmes cornered and shot dead Tomar. 14 other members of his crew were also killed. The standoff and
gunfight lasted over 12 hours. Chauhan had been tipped off about Tomar's arrival by Motiram Jatav, one of
the village Dalits who was angered by Tomar's discriminatory attitude.[7][8]

According to newspaper reports, Tomar was shot when he was alive and was asking for water: "Any Rajput
here who could please give me some water?"; Hawaldar Tribhuwan Singh started walking towards Tomar
with some water but Circle Inspector Chauhan shouted at him: "Tribhuwan, dacoits have no caste." And he
was left to die.

Family members of Paan Singh's family

Paan Singh's son, Souram Singh Tomar (b. 1959) is a retired Indian Army subedar (captain) who lives in
Babina in the Jhansi District of Uttar Pradesh. He moved there to flee the violence in Bhidosa.[9]

In popular culture
A biographic film, Paan Singh Tomar, released in 2012 to much critical acclaim. It was written by Sanjay
Chouhan and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. It starred Irrfan Khan as Paan Singh Tomar, and Mahie Gill as
his wife.

On 18 March 2013, actor Irrfan Khan received the Best Actor Award for 'Paan Singh Tomar' at the India
National Film Awards. The award citation reads, "A unique delineation of a transformation of an
international sportsperson to a dacoit. A difficult role very convincingly played. A well-calibrated
performance that was masked by remarkably subtle underplay."[10]
See also
Jagga Jatt Phoolan Devi
Jatt Jeona Morh Seema Parihar
References
1. Mention of Tonwarghar District - Imperial
Gazetteer Article (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=FHZDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA434&lpg=PA434&
dq=Tonwarghar+district&source=bl&ots=mQLRO
EaF4L&sig=jxruYBJA1BIU04X1EKV-JxU-nCw&hl
=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiU_a-L39nfAhXI7IMK
HY32ACkQ6AEwBHoECAQQAQ)
2. "Paan Singh Tomar" (http://www.timescrest.com/s
ports/who-was-this-man-7394). Who was this
man?. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
3. "Betrayal, caste haunt village where Paan Singh
Tomar was killed" (http://www.hindustantimes.co
m/bhopal/betrayal-caste-haunt-village-where-paa
n-singh-tomar-was-killed/story-oBevIl7CrH72f2fr5
hWkBO.html). hindustantimes.com/. Retrieved
2016-03-20.
4. "Paan Singh. Tomar" (https://www.indiatimes.co
m/others/who-was-this-man-15427.html). Who
was this man?. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
5. "Who was this man?" (http://www.timescrest.com/
sports/who-was-this-man-7394).
timesccrest.com. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
Retrieved 1 March 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paan_Singh_Tomar&oldid=928907565"
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organization.
Sucha Singh Soorma
Veerappan
6. "From the king of the track to the ruler of the
ravines – Times of India" (http://timesofindia.indiat
imes.com/india/From-the-king-of-the-track-to-the-
ruler-of-the-ravines/articleshow/12118994.cms).
The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
7. Mukherjee, Arindam. "The Last Moments of
Paana" (http://www.openthemagazine.com/articl
e/nation/the-last-moments-of-paana). Open
Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
8. Betrayal of Paan Singh Haunts Dalit Community
of Rathiyan Ka Pura To This Day - By Hindustan
Times (https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/b
etrayal-caste-haunt-village-where-paan-singh-to
mar-was-killed/story-oBevIl7CrH72f2fr5hWkBO.ht
ml)
9. Tomar Shruti (23 March 2012). "The police create
dacoits in Chambal: Paan Singh Tomar's son" (htt
p://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-polic
e-create-dacoits-in-chambal-paan-singh-tomar-s-
son/article1-829811.aspx). Hindustan Times.
Retrieved 6 May 2014.
10. "List of Awards Announced in various categories
for the 60th National Film Awards" (http://pib.nic.i
n/archieve/others/2013/mar/d2013031801.pdf)
(PDF).