Farmers Movement Archive

‘New Year will begin only after govt. repeals all three farm laws’

For Jaipal Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, ushering in the New Year is a faraway dream. The 25-year-old, who has been camping at the Singhu border for over a month now, said his New Year will begin once the Centre accepts the farmers’ core demand of repealing the three farm laws. “Our New Year will begin only when all this ends. Once the government takes back the three laws, we will be able to celebrate properly. Legal guarantee for a minimum support price is the most substantial one,” said Mr. Singh, a BSc (Agriculture) graduate. Scores of farmers at the protest site asserted that the-re was “nothing to celebrate” at the moment even as the “challenging” year came to a close. “We are used to celebrating New Year’s Eve with our families. We have barely been able to see them all of December. There are 7-8 lakh people crying on the streets. How can we celebrate at such a juncture?” said Sukhpreet Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Bathinda district. Candlelight march Bereft of family, Gurpreet Singh has decided to look for a silver lining in celebrating with the nation this time round. The student from Tarn Taran district in Punjab plans to join a candlelight march on January 1. Nirmal Agni, a volunteer with the Working People’s Charter, said a call had been given for women, transgenders and those from the informal sector to join the protest and ring in the New Year. “Considering the manner in which this government handles issues, this is probably the first time some group has been able to stop them. If we are successful, then we will be able to win fights for other categories as well,” he said.

The Hindu

2021-01-01

NEW DELHI