Baldev Singh Mann

Baldev Singh Mann was a left-wing activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). He was the editor of Hirawal Dasta a revolutionary journal of the Naxalites. On September 26,1990, he was killed by Khalistan movement extremists while on his way to his village, Chinna Bagga, in Amritsar district of Punjab.

Baldev Singh Mann Ji was gunned down by Khalistani terrorists on September 26, 1990 in his native village Channa Bagha near Pakistan border, doing what he always wanted to do and in the process being immortalized in the time woven pages of history.

In 1983 Mann helped Punjabi farmers oppose increases in electricity tariffs, and led a large rally as the Kisan union leader of Punjab from CPIML. Further rallies were organised on 19 March 1983 in Chandigarh and on 9 April a second big rally was held in Jalandhar which forced the government into action. Comrade Mann played a vital role in the struggle of Punjab peasants against intolerable tariff raise for electricity in 1983, furthering his belief in his cause. In 1979, he helped Punjab Police to further the process of amending the extant policies for the better functioning of the Police forces.

In 1983 when farmers of Punjab had been financially squeezed between excessive rates of power (electricity) for their largely mechanized farms and un-remunerated for their produce, a huge campaign was organized, led by him as the Kisan Union Leader of Punjab. From March 1983 the campaign had started to spread to Chandigarh and Jalandhar and was epitomized as Punjab Kisan Lehar.

In 1980, comrade Mann contested for the Punjab State Assembly where he won with a resounding 10,000 votes, a feat never witnessed before by the general masses. Again, during the communally charged atmosphere of 1985 he proved to be a strong contender for the Raja Saansi Assembly constituency. Again, in 1985, he contested for the MLA elections. He won many hearts and hence was also called the 'People’s Man'.

While at Amritsar he was held and tortured at Amritsar's interrogation center, but released in 1975.

Following his interrogation in Amritsar he was released in 1975 and cleared of all accusations, but he then plunged into the struggle for justice led by CPIML with great passion.

Soon he became the Union Leader of Nav jawan college in Kalabi Vidharthi, Punjab. After successfully completing his college in 1975, he joined Bharti Communist Party popularly known as the Linenwadi, worked to reinforce the presence of this establishment in Amritsar and the surrounding areas, including his native village. His primary agenda was to uproot corruption propounded by the then ruling party and remove them from office. For 16 years he was the Sarpanch of village Bagga Channa, Amritsar.

Baldev Singh Mann was born on July 9, 1952. He was the son of Sardar Inder Singh. He lived in the village Bagga Kalan Tehsil Ajnala, Amritsar. He completed his primary education at the village school he matriculated from government high school at Raja Sansi. He then went to Khalsa College, Amritsar, where he had to face detention from the college during the time of 'the Emergency', and graduated in 1983.