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What has cooled the protest of the farmers, what will be the strategy for the future?

Posted on 23rd Mar 2021 03:01 pm by rohit kumar

"If one country attacks another country, someone will say that we will fight after summer? The weather is not right now. The battle is not fought by looking at the weather and time." These words of the elderly wearing eyeglasses and kurta-pajamas caught my attention.

 

His name was Kashmir Singh. How will the movement go during the summer season? By answering my question, he again focused his attention on the newspaper.

 

Many farmers like Kashmir Singh are protesting on different boundaries of Delhi in protest against the new agricultural laws brought by the Modi government.

 

Three months after the agitation, how is the situation on the Singhu and Tikari borders now, what are the farmers and their leaders thinking now? To understand this, a BBC team visited both the borders.

 

Time: 9 am, Place: Singhu Border

 

Farmers come to the office of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (Rajewal) in a tent on the Delhi-Amritsar highway and register their presence on a register. After sitting for a while and talking, they leave. In the register, the farmers enter their name, village name, and telephone number.

 

Hardeep Singh, the in-charge of the office told us that 'they keep records of the number of farmers in the movement through it and they are informed about what is happening in the second movement. Also, if a farmer has a problem, it is solved.

 

Attendance work runs from 8 am to 8 pm.

 

But on the question of the decreasing crowd in the movement, Hardeep Singh said, "Now there are only farmers here and they will sit here till the demands are met."

 

Hardeep Singh says that wheat harvesting is about to begin, so some farmers are going towards the villages. But tractor-trolleys and farmers are present in the movement as before.

 

Hardeep Singh says, "Both the movement and the crop are important for the farmers, so we have now implemented the policy of rotation. After spending a week, one team goes to the village and then the other team comes to Delhi on the same day. So there is full enthusiasm in the movement and the farmers. "

 

Presence of security forces

 

After three months of the peasant movement, it is no longer as easy to reach the Singhu border and the Tiki border.

 

In particular, after the 26 January incident, the presence of security forces on these fronts has been greatly increased.

 

Police and paramilitary forces are present at various places. The large stones and barbed wire on these two borders separate the police and the farmers from each other.

 

Police stop the vehicles going to Singhu, about two kilometers before the Guru Tegh Bahadur memorial site.

 

Yes, other short ways leading to Singhu and Tikri lead you to the place of movement.

 

Summer preparations

 

After about 11 o'clock, as the heat of the sun started to rise, the temperature in the tent in which we were talking to the farmers started to rise and the cooler air running there also started to neutralize.

 

In response to my question of how the movement will continue during the summer season, the farmers used to say that 'We are building a tent with the help of bamboo and bulls on which the grass roof will be put. This will reduce heat. Apart from this, air conditioners are also fitting in them according to the cooler, fans, and capacity.

 

At some places, we saw that AC and coolers have been fitted in many tents.

 

Hardeep Singh says that the farmer produces crops only in the summer, so what will be the effect on us.

 

During this conversation, we met Manjeet Singh from Patiala district of Punjab.

 

Manjit Singh was preparing bamboo and grass roofs (thatch) with the help of laborers.

 

Manjeet said, "We have faced winter before. Now we will compete with the heat. After putting this thatch, tarpaulin will be put on it, so that even the rain can not spoil it."

 

He told that it will cost about 25,000 rupees to prepare this structure.

 

Manjeet said, "To save money, we are preparing a tent of three villages. Everyone has paid for it. We decided together that we will arrange a fridge, cooler and fan in our tent. Since we are in the open sky We are sitting under the floor, so if the heat is out of tolerance then we will install AC as well. "

 

But why are they doing this? In response to this, he said, "We do not think that the movement will end soon. The government is adamant. We are not able to see them. That is why we have to strengthen our place, that is why these preparations are being made. Now all these days will drag on, We are ready. "

 

Some farmers have covered their trolleys with plywood boards and have AC fitted them. Televisions have also been installed for viewing and entertainment in these.

 

What does the movement look like now?

 

The movement in which the movement is going on in the Singhu and Tikari borders has started to look like a city in itself.

 

The noise has already come down a bit. Farmers have covered their tractors with tarpaulin. Local shopkeepers and other people are seen engaged in their daily business.

 

Shops selling T-shirts, shoes, slippers, tea, sugarcane juice, and other essential items are running smoothly inside the venue of the movement.

 

But by the afternoon, the crowd starts to appear less. However, in the evening there is a fair-like atmosphere. A crowd of people starts appearing.

 

According to the protesters, this is starting to happen due to the heat. People relax in their tents during the day and in the evening do their work and discuss.

 

Apart from running the anchors, the farmers also work together to clean the site of the movement.

 

Farmers have installed borewells at both places to supply water during the summer season.

 

Along with this, there has also been a change in the food made in the langar. Now with tea, an anchor of syrup and sugarcane juice also appeared. Jalebi's langar was also seen moving in some places.

 

Some farmers have hired local men and women to help them while driving the langar.

 

Gursewak Singh says that a lot of work has to be done now, so we have hired two local people to prepare the langar'.

 

United Front unhappy with farmer leader Tikait's comment

United Kisan Morcha is not happy with the recent remarks of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait to march to Parliament.

 

Especially Dr. Darshan Pal and Balveer Singh Rajewal have expressed disagreement with this.

 

They say that whatever they wish, the final decision will be taken by the United Farmers Front.

 

Dr. Darshanpal says that Rakesh Tikait should have avoided this comment.

 

Now the efforts of farmer leaders are focused on making the Bharat Bandh of March 26 a success, which is a big event after the January 26 incident.

 

Opinion of experts

We spoke to Khaled Mohammad, Professor of the Department of Politics, Punjab University, on the current and future issues of this movement.

 

He said that from the beginning the government wanted the farmers to return home disappointed and frustrated, but seeing the way the farmers are getting support from different sections of the society, they do not think that this strategy of the government will be successful.

 

The second thing is - the criticism of the continuous government at the international level.

 

According to Khalid, voices in favor of the movement are continuously rising from different countries.

 

The voice of the movement reaches the British Parliament and the United Nations Human Rights Commission in particular, indicating that the government is under pressure.

 

Apart from this, there has also been a voice within the BJP about the movement, which shows that the government will have to make a decision soon on this.

 

At the same time, Professor Harjeshwar Singh of Punjab University says that the results of the assembly elections, especially West Bengal, will determine the future of the movement.

 

They say that it is certain that the farmers will not return empty-handed. It is now up to the government to decide whether to give a legal guarantee on all the three laws and the MSP or else it has to be resolved.

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