He was no less than the western outlaws like Ned Kelly, Jesse James and Salvatore Guilliano.
He was a seven-time national steeplechase champion in the 1950s and 1960s.
Represented India at the 1958 Asian Games.
He later gained notoriety as a rebel of Chambal Valley, when he resorted to violence after a land feud there.
Unlike other dacoits, Paan Singh Tomar was an army man and a sports Champion Athlete equal to other popular sports personality like Milkha Singh Rathore. Paan Singh Tomar even represented India at the 1958 Asian games in Tokyo. Despite being such a dedicated sports athlete, Tomar never got his due and recognition in world of sports.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar, the champion, strives hard to serve his country as a Jawaan so that he could bring home bread and pride. But, much to his own dismay, paan singh is allowed to pursue glory only on the track and not in the battlefield.
His story is only about the forgotten hero, Paan Singh, loved and admired by his people. A man who later is forced to choose the outlaw route partly driven by vengeance and partly by helplessness.
Eventually our very likable hero relinquishes his beloved army life in order to settle longstanding family matters. Paan Singh returns to his village only to enter a life of brigandry. Family feuds turn bitter, and things turn ugly when Tomar’s family is attacked and his crops destroyed by mean nasty relatives. Paan Singh, finds himself impotent as a law-abiding national champion. Unable to find help or justice from he government or police forces, he decides to take matters (and a rifle) into his own hands.
Subedar Paan Singh with all his flaws, his simple logic, his adherence to Rajput tradition and loving and sincere attitude towards his family.
His life’s story was inspiration to make a biopic on.
The 2012 movie – Paan Singh Tomar was highly appreciated by the movie audience. Actor Irfan Khan portrayed the role of Paan Singh Tomar. The movie presents two very distinct chapters of the man’s life. One that celebrates the man and the other that celebrates his infamy. Dhulia tells the unlikely heroic tale of the forgotten sports hero, the brigand, his rise and his inevitable fall. Dhulia’s admiration for the dacoit Tomar is pretty obvious. The biopic on Tomar was a realistic take on the life of unsung sportsmen who never got the deserved due. The 80’s Bollywood movies like Dacait and Ghulami were inspired by lives of rebellious bandits like Raja Man Singh Rathore and Paan Singh Tomar.
During the pre-independence era, farmers were highly ill-treated by rich landlords. They not only physically humiliated the poor farmers, but also seized their land. Post-independence, many dacoits like Man Singh struck a terror in hearts of landlords by killing them in cold blooded manner. These dacoits were also once a victim of injustice which compelled them to pick up guns. Paan Singh Tomar was also one such man who became dacoit due to injustice and unfavorable circumstances.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar (1 January 1932 — 1 October 1981) was an Subedar in Indian Army, Champion Athlete and later Baaghi (rebel/outlaw) turned Dacoit for many And Subject of a hit Bollywood Movie ,Paan Singh Tomar.
He was born on 1 January 1932 in a Tomar Hindu Rajput family, living on banks of Chambal river in village Bhidosa, Tonwarghar District, Northern Gwalior Division, Gwalior State, British India (present-day Morena District, Madhya Pradesh, India). Agriculture & joining the Army were the main source of income for all those settled in this village. For someone who initially comes across as a simpleton in an army ‘wardi’, Paan Singh’s character is all about unabashed sincerity and devotion to his people and duty.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar in 1956.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar [ Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) ] career started off in the Rajputana Rifes of the Indian Army – Paan Singh Tomar – surprises his seniors with his athletic ability and his insatiable appetite. Our hero is driven to excellence on account of his eating habits!! so let’s just accept that he is not a simple man but a man of simple needs and goals. Paan Singh manages to get a transfer to the athletic division just so he could eat more. Fortunately for the Indian Army, Paan Singh just so happens to awesome at running long distances in record breaking time. Paan Singh Tomar later served in 51 Engineer Regiment, where he trained as a long distance runner. He was promoted as a Subedar and posted in Bengal Engineers at Roorkee, and he represented India in sports when he was serving in the army. He retired from the army in 1972, due to his land dispute.
His own son Hanumant & Souram had joined the army. Subedar Paan Singh's son, Souram Singh Tomar (b. 1959) is also 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.
The Hero.
He served in the Indian Army, where his talent for running was discovered. 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 his regiment, he got into an argument with an instructor. As punishment, Tomar was ordered to run numerous laps of the parade ground. As he ran, he caught the eye of the other officers. What they saw, impressed them and soon Tomar was exempted from his regular duties and was put on the special diet for army sportsmen and enjoyed other perks and benefits. Achieving what should have been appropriate for him, so as to channelize his energy n enhance his talent as a runner with vigorous stamina.
He represented India at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, but couldn't win because of his inability to adjust with the track spikes which were given to him only in the final event.
Suberdar Pan Singh starts climbing the ladder of laurels, thou his achievements as an athlete hinders him from participating in the 1962 Indo-China war nor in 165 Indo-Pak war. Being a Rajput soldier it must have been a hard hitting blow for him to digest the fact that he could not fight for his motherland.
Post the war Subedar Paan Singh Tomar went on to win an International Gold Medal for India in steeplechase.
Intially Subedar Paan Singh 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.
Family of Paan Singh.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar was born in the small village of Bhidosa, near Porsa, in a Hindu Rajput family, living on banks of the Chambal 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.
When Paan Singh was serving in the army he received news that his elder brother, Matadeen, had sold off their 2.25 Bigha land to his uncle Babu Singh & his brothers Hawaldar & Jandel. This land belonged to both the brothers and Matadeen had illegally sold of his brother’s share too.
Subedar Paan Singh went to the collector, court and police only to see himself & the certificates & medals which he had won for his country, insulted.
When Paan Singh came home on leave, he took the way of law and believed the administration would help him get back his land. Babbu Singh Tomar was a powerful landowner, who owned seven licensed guns and was the head of the 200-strong extended Tomar family.
To solve this dispute, a panchayat was held where Tomar was asked to give Rs. 3,000 to Babu Singh for his own land which Paan Singh agreed to, but his own nephew, Balwant Singh Tomar, retaliated for the duplicity to which Babu Singh did not give the ownership of the land & the Panchayat did not support Paan Singh.
The collector promised to return in 15 days. One night when Paan Singh was away Babu Singh came to his home and beat up his old mother. In this land of Chambal women were never considered a target. His son Hanumant Singh was also brutally beaten. 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 asked him to take revenge and return her izzat (honor) by the morning. Balwant and Tomar went to the fields armed where they found Babbu Singh. Tomar then shot at Babbu Singh, who continued to run for about a kilometer before he collapsed, despite being shot several times.
His mother made him promise her that he would take revenge by sunrise. His family’s honour and pride were insulted. The Rajput soldier had to comply & he had his revenge by shooting down Babu Singh and his brothers. Then there was no looking back. He went into Chambal ravines, the most feared place in India. No common civilian can dare to roam this location which was once ruled by notorious bandits like Raja Man Singh Rathore and others. But circumstances make the kind hearted sportsman turned into a wanted rebel or baaghi, from killing the corrupt villagers who were responsible for the death of his elder brother. Paan Singh’s notoriety grew day by day. He was a menace for the local police.
The Rebel/Outlaw.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar was an armyman and an international award-winning athlete who became a dacoit (locals prefer the term ‘baagi’ or rebel) after alleged oppression and violence against his family.
Subedar Paan Singh Tomar became a baaghi(rebel) and an outlaw. He took to the ravines & formed his own gang of dacoit. His exploits became legendary & became a hero & a cult figure. His nephew Balwant who was Matadeen’s son was his trusted aide and accomplice, along with Matadeen. His gang of dacoits had 28 members.
The photo of Subedar Paan Singh Tomar
Dasyuraj Paan Singh, Chambal ka Sher,( Dasyuraj-Lion of Chambal) was the name he adopted for himself. He kept a megaphone with him and announced his name whenever he felt like doing so.
In 1977, Paan Singh's brother Matadeen was killed by the police. Paan Singh thought his Matadeen had been betrayed to the police by the village Sarpanch.
So he and his gang of 28 killed 9 Gujjar men in Pawa Pota village, 40 km north of Gwalior, to avenge the death of his brother.
And he gave an interview to a local newspaper in Gwalior where he said that he did not want to kill the nine villagers whose family tip-off led to the killing of his elder brother Matadeen, but he could not stop his nephew Balwant.
The news of these killings & this interview prompted the administration to start taking his case seriously, considering this crime, & put a price of ₹10,000 on his head.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh vowed,
“I will not light a lamp on Diwali until Paan Singh is caught.
The Capture.
Inspector Chauhan took up the challenge. He came across a police record of a local Dalit who had been kidnapped and released on a ransom paid to Paan Singh.
The kidnappers had taken their victim blindfolded along a secret route which went past a canal next to a Dalit settlement that had a well its centre.
From the sound of trucks & train, he assumed that the village was near a highway, and a railway track.
Inspector Chauhan put together a police party, and zeroed in on a Dalit village that fit the kidnap victim’s description called Rathiankapura.
The village elders welcomed Inspector Chauhan, offered food and water but were unsure whether a Khastriya would eat and drink from the home of a Dalit.
Inspector Chauhan said,
We are the police and we have no caste. And ate what was offered.
One of the elders of the village, Motiram Jadav, asked the inspector,
Saahib, can we do something for you that may get you a promotion?
Sure, what’s on your mind?” asked Chauhan.
“Uska karwa dein? (Shall we get him for you?)” offered Moti, referring to Paan Singh.
What could be better than that?” answered Chauhan.
“In return, would you enrol four of our boys in police jobs?”
“Done.”
“What’s the reward on his head?”
“Must be around Rs 1-2 lakh,” the inspector lied.
And the deal was struck.
On 1 October 1981, the gang of 14 members( 4 had been killed by the police & 10 were at their hideout) had headed to Rathiankapura as the village was a secluded hence an ideal place for rest.
Motiram & his brother welcomed the gang and said that a goat had been sacrificed as an offering to Goddess Durga.
The police were informed and they reached the village by evening. Special Armed Forces (SAF) battalions were deployed around the village.
Subedar Paan Singh & his gang realised they were surrounded. Over the next few hours rounds of gunfire were exchanged.
Around midnight Paan Singh used his megaphone and said,
You dogs who drink thin lentil soup, run away!
This is Subedar Paan Singh Tomar of Bhidosa.
You will all be killed!
Using the megaphone gave way his location, and the police fired which killed Paan Singh.
Died 1 October 1981 (aged 49), Rathia ka pura, Bhind District, Madhya Pradesh, India.
According to newspaper reports, after Paan Singh was gunned down, he asked for water with the words,
Any rajput here who could please give me some water?
Hawaldar Tribhuwan Singh tried to offer some water but was stopped by the inspector
Tribhuwan, a dacoit has no caste.
And he was left to die. The standoff and gunfight lasted over 12 hours. Paan Singh Tomar succumbed to the bullets. What an irony of fate that such a celebrated sportsman became a victim of police encounter. He was just a dreaded and wanted dacoit in eyes of the Police force. Had Paan Singh Tomar got justice over his land dispute with his cousins, the history would have been different.
It is a sad irony that Subedar Paan Singh Tomar is just remembered as a dreaded dacoit but not as a Champion sportsman who once represented India at Asian games.
If the unfortunate turn of events had not converted Paan Singh into a Rabel/Outlaw, who knows Paan Singh Tomar would have had an stadium named after him like the legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand or could have been a living legend like the Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh but destiny had other plans for him!!!
Aftermath.
Motiram Jatav the man who gave the tip-off to police about Subedar Paan Singh Tomar. (Seated)
The government rewarded Motiram Jatav with Rs 10,000/ cash, a plot of land, three rifles & jobs to two of his sons in the police department.
The family feud of Paan Singh Tomar continued even after his death.
A six-member-gang from Babu Singh's family came to the house of Paan Singh's grand nephews Vrindavan & Rahul, and shot them. Two other family members were also murdered. The attackers then vanished in to the ravines never to be caught.
