Won’t forgive her: 82-year-old vows to continue legal battle

At 82, Mahinder Kaur from Bahadurgarh Jandian village here walks slowly, her back bent from years of toil in the fields, but she remains firm in her resolve to pursue the defamation case she has filed against Bollywood actress and BJP MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut.

Kangana apologised in a Bathinda court today over her tweet during the 2020-21 farmers’ stir, and was granted bail after furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000.

The octogenarian speaks slowly but with confidence, “She (Kangana) has never met me. I will not forgive her. She is a big actress and political leader, while I am a small farmer. Yet she has made me come to the court at this age. She should realise how much her visit costs the state exchequer and the trouble caused to the public because of it. She says her remark was misinterpreted, but it’s not true.”

Mahinder, who could not appear in the court today due to poor health, was represented by her husband, Labh Singh, who attended the proceedings.

The elderly couple lives with their son, Gurdas, in an old, unplastered house located near a bus stop. The family owns around 13 acres of land and keeps a few milch animals to sustain its livelihood. Despite her frail health, Mahinder does most of the household chores as her daughter-in-law passed away last year.

Her son Gurdas, who suffers from a serious ailment and uses a urine bag, says, “My mother has worked all her life in the fields, but now she has turned weak. My father, too, is aged. I help them as much as I can.” The family has hired a man to work in the fields.

Labh Singh adds, “Ladayi ta ladni pendi hai (the fight has to be fought). She (Kangana) has sought an apology in the court, but only God knows what will happen now. God has given us courage, otherwise we are nothing.”

For this family of humble farmers, the legal fight is not about fame or politics. It is about dignity.