Paan Singh Tomar was an Indian soldier, athlete, and later, an outlaw. 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 Valleyrebel 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.
Early life
Paan Singh Tomar was born in the small village of Bhidosa, near Porsa city, in a Hindu Tomar family living on banks of Chambhal River in the erstwhile Tonwarghar district of the princely state of Gwalior under the rule of the British Raj in India. Tomar's father was Eashwari Singh Tomar, whose younger brother Dayaram Singh Tomar went on to 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 on to murder Babbu Singh Tomar, his nephew and Dayaram Singh Tomar's grandson, in 1977 following a shady land dispute in which Tomar was cheated out of land.
Army career
Tomar was a subedar initially enrolled into 51 Engr Regt 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.
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 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 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 Tomar before leaving him for dead. 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. 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.
Paan Singh's family
Paan Singh's son, Souram Singh Tomar is a retired Indian Army subedar who lives in Babina in the Jhansi District of Uttar Pradesh. He moved there to flee the violence in Bhidosa.
In popular culture
A biographic film, Paan Singh Tomar, was 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.
