Indian farmer, 68, refuses hospital care as hunger strike hits 44 days - Jagjit Singh Dallewal says he is ready to die if government does not heed demands of farmers

A 70-year-old farmer leader in India has been on hunger strike for more than 40 days in a bid to push the federal government to accept demands of protesting farmers. Doctors say that Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health has deteriorated and that he is "unable to speak", but he and his supporters have refused medical aid so far.

The health of farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for 41 days, deteriorated significantly in the 24 hours after his address at a mahapanchayat at the Khanauri protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border on Saturday (January 4).