Farmers Movement Archive

Raid Fort: When rampaging mob took ramparts by storm

NEW DELHI: Chaos reigned at Red Fort on the 72nd Republic Day as the tractor rally by farmers went off the designated course and rolled into the iconic Mughal-era monument. Not only was the Nishan Sahib hoisted atop a minaret, but a mob vandalised the fort and pushed away the cops on duty. Before the situation could take an uglier turn, a group of elderly men somehow convinced the agitated protesters to move out of the place of historic importance. Around 12.45pm, a group of protesters at ITO broke ranks and headed towards Red Fort. Within 15 minutes, the road in front of the fort was swamped with tractors adorned with flags blaring music. At 1pm, the farmers entered the forecourt of the fort despite heavy police presence. Around 2pm, a couple of people climbed the minaret and tied the saffron flag amid cries of “Jo bole so nihaal”. For the past two months, the symbolism of Red Fort was clear in the minds of the protesting farmers, right from pop songs mentioning it, to artwork at Singhu border showing the Khalsa army entering the fort after defeating the Mughals. The importance of Red Fort has been in the minds of Sikhs since 1783, when Mughal emperor Shah Alam II was defeated. Kanwaljeet Singh, a young protester from Kurukshetra, said, “Red Fort is the symbol of power and every year the Prime Minister speaks from here. With us capturing it, we want to raise our voice as the PM refuses to listen to us. We are not here for fun. We are here to give a message.” Another protester at Lahori Gate, Kulbeer Singh from Jammu, said, “We, as people, have laid claim to the monument and proven that India is a democracy. We have not touched the national flag and it flutters higher than any other. With this action, we demand that the three agri laws be repealed.” He added that many would claim that this act was similar to what Khalistanis would do, “but they don’t understand that this flag is a symbol of Sikh pride.” While the identity of the person who hoisted the flag was not revealed, actor Deep Sidhu, who felicitated him, called him “our true hero.” Asking the protesters to avoid violence, he said, “We cannot be violent today as it is not in our nature.” However, violence did occur. After the flag was unfurled, many young farmers wanted to enter the Naubat Khana. Police resorted to lathi-charge, which injured protesters and cops alike. After the protesters charged at police, the latter were left with no option but to jump off a wall roughly 20 feet in height, giving open space for a mob to damage property. CCTV cameras installed there were also damaged. The ticket counter was vandalised despite elderly farmers trying to stop the mob. An ASI official told TOI, “We will assess the damage to the fort and its property in a few days.” By evening, most protesters left the fort. The remaining were removed by baton-wielding cops. Electricity supply of the Red Fort was cut off to fish them out. Later, a key farmer group called off the tractor rally, accusing anti-social elements of being responsible for the violence.

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Delhi