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From the camps at the Delhi borders to the kisan mahapanchayats in BJP-ruled states to even weddings in Punjab, witty and sarcastic lyrics by Punjabi singers served as anthems in the fight against the farm laws.
The “farm laws” introduce deregulation and facilitate large corporations into the sector with the stated intent of “modernising systems” and “helping farmers realise better prices”.
The laws weaken state control over pricing and sale of food crops by allowing corporate retailers to directly buy from and enter into pre-agreed contracts with farmers, bypassing government marketing boards set up to ensure fair prices. They deregulate crop storage by allowing private traders to stockpile and removing restrictions meant to avoid speculation and inflation.
Farmers’ agitation against the three anti-farmer and pro-corporation laws crossed the 100-day mark in early March. In a definitive moment of the resistance, when the Modi government blocked peaceful marches to New Delhi by digging trenches and fixing nails and concertina wires, farmers responded by planting flowers and sowing crops, demonstrating a firm resilience in the face of repression.
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Mukesh Tandon
Sonepat, March 31
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) today announced that farmers would march on foot to Parliament in the first fortnight of May. However, the final date for the march would be decided soon and no vehicle would be allowed.
Besides, the SKM also decided at a meeting yesterday to block the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Western Peripheral Expressway for 24 hours on April 10.
The representatives of the morcha, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, Prem Singh Bhangu, Satnam Singh Ajnala, Buta Singh Burjgil, Ravinder Kaur, Joginder Nain, Santokh Singh and Pradeep Dhankar, announced the programmes for the next one month to intensify the protest.
Beaten, not broken: Meet Shiv Kumar and Nodeep Kaur, young labour activists inspired by Bhagat Singh
Born to Dalit farm labourers, they grew up to be industrial workers. Even police torture hasn’t dented their resolve to fight for workers’ rights. Mar 15, 2021 · 06:30 am Nodeep Kaur and Shiv Kumar at a tent in Singhu border weeks after their release from jail. | Vijayta Lalwani
In 2016, Shiv Kumar was asked what he wanted to become when he attended a career counselling session at the Industry Training Institute, Haryana, where he was learning how to make and use precision tools.
“I told them I wanted to become a baaghi,” said Kumar. A rebel.
March 2, 2021
The white hatchback slowed down as it approached the toll plaza. At the wheels was a middle-aged Sikh man and in the passenger seat an old woman with flowing grey hair. Seated behind were three more women, one middle-aged and the other two much younger, who looked barely out of their teens.
Toll plazas in Punjab—sites of permanent sit-ins by farmers protesting against the new farm laws—have been closed for months, free for vehicles to pass through without paying any fee.
Yet, the man stopped and gestured at the protesting farmers camping on one side of the highway, trying to catch their attention. One of them came over to the passenger seat window. The old woman thrust a 500 rupees ($6.84) note in his hands and caressed his head affectionately. Barely any words were exchanged. The car zoomed past soon after.
Punjab ground report: Six months on, farm protest remains strong – and united. Where is it headed?
Anger over Modi government’s farm laws is rooted in a deeper disquiet that cuts across community lines. Left unresolved, it could take a dark turn. Feb 25, 2021 · 09:00 am Farmers and agricultural workers arrive to attend a rally against farm laws, in Barnala, Punjab, onFebruary 21. | Reuters/Danish Siddiqui
The white hatchback slowed down as it approached the toll plaza. At the wheels was a middle-aged Sikh man and in the passenger seat an old woman with flowing grey hair. Seated behind were three more women, one middle aged and the other two much younger, who looked barely out of their teens.
p br When Kisan Mazdoor Ekta has already become the main slogan of the farm movement, this move is likely to further bring closer the Dalits - especially the Ravidassia community members - to the farmers. /p
JALANDHAR: Sanyukt Kisan Morcha has announced to celebrate Guru Ravidas birth anniversary at Singhu border on February 27 while also urging farmers back home to participate in these celebrations in their villages.
When Kisan Mazdoor Ekta has already become the main slogan of the farm movement, this move is likely to further bring closer the Dalits - especially the Ravidassia community members - to the farmers.
They fear the laws could shrink employment and raise prices. Feb 17, 2021 · 06:30 am Farmers block a road in Punjab's Bathinda during the nationwide 'chakka jam' demonstration on Saturday, February 6. | PTI
For 32-year-old Goldie, a tailor from Sri Muktsar Sahib district in Punjab, the slogan ‘Kisan Mazdoor Ekta’ – farmer-worker unity – rings true. “No one asks me if I am a Dalit,” he said. “Everyone eats together. It is a milestone for us.”
Goldie has been camping in Tikri village on the Delhi-Haryana border since November. It is one of the three sites on the doorstep of India’s capital where thousands of farmers have been protesting against the Modi government’s three farm laws, which they fear they will open the doors to corporate dominance of the agricultural sector and undermine their livelihoods.
Ludhiana: Civil society members took out a rally in support of farmers in the city on Monday. Holding placards of ‘No Farmer, No Food’, ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, the protesters demanded repealing of the three farm laws.
Shivam Arora, a businessman who was part of the protest, said the rally started from a gurdwara in Sarabha Nagar after prayers and reached a church, from where it went to Holika market, where Muslims had set up a water stall for them, and it culminated at Durga Mata Temple in Sarabha Nagar. He added that the rally was held in support of farmers and against the propaganda of branding protesters as anti-nationals.