Farmers Movement Archive

Live streams, pictures, videos: Farmers use social media to counter media, send news home

Ghaziabad: Nitin Sengar, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) activist from Agra, is busy relaying live streams on social media through his mobile phone on the ground-level situation at the UP Gate protest site to his friends back home. He says that there have been a lot of “controversies” created on social media, so he is giving live updates in hopes of clearing the air. “Social media is abuzz with farmers’ protests but there are certain posts which try to create controversies. I have become more active on the internet now and am live streaming the ground-level situation over the internet. Our farmers are still here and are holding peaceful protests. Everyone who has not been able to join us here needs a regular update,” he said. Hundreds of farmers are busy with ongoing protests at UP Gate since November 28, and have been joined by scores from Uttarakhand and Punjab.“We are also creating posts on various social media platforms and apprising people about the issues with the new farm bills. We also upload videos and pictures of events, whether it is about voicing issues of farmers or giving updates about performance of singers here. We also show how the food is prepared in langars (community kitchen) here and how children of nearby slums are also being served food here, as well as about the police personnel deployed,” said Baldeep Singh, from Moga in Punjab, who is a priest. His friend Jagjeet Singh, who is also a priest from Tarn Taran in Punjab, said that various controversies have been created online which claim to show the “real picture” of the farmers’ protest. “What is being held here and at other borders with Delhi is a massive movement. It is not possible to monitor everyone who comes here. However, it is going on peacefully and it is a protest by farmers. My family is at Singhu border and our groups there are also uploading a lot of videos from there,” he added. The UP Gate protest site is abuzz with activity. Different groups of farmers are tasked with different daily activities – be it holding langars or distribution of water bottles and fruits, or be it keeping an eye on outsiders. With a majority of farmers possessing smart phones, video-calling and giving live updates to kith and kin is a daily normal. “I have uploaded about 20 live videos over social media so far and am regularly updating my family and friends about our activities here. They also like it and share it with others. In this way, even a small video or picture from here can reach hundreds of people. Besides, it also serves the purpose of not having to rely purely on the media to report on every activity that is taking place here,” said Sunny Jagtap, a youngster who arrived from Muzaffarnagar. Apart from social media activities, which have become quite popular at the protest site, a group of children came with their family from nearby Trilokpuri in East Delhi and performed charkhi and daang dances, which are popular performances for Baishakhi and other festivals. “My sons as well as my daughter performed the charkhi and daang at the UP Gate site. They are still in school and we came here after their online classes got over. They learned these at a local Gurudwara and were very happy to perform at UP Gate. It was the nearest protest site to us so we came along with my 60-year-old sister, who lent a helping hand in readying vegetables for the daily kitchen here,” said Santokh Singh, who is from Jalandhar in Punjab and lives in Trilokpuri. On Monday, tonnes of fresh vegetables along with fruits such as kinnu, apples and bananas were brought in at the site. In langars, cooks also prepared loads of jalebis and gajar ka halwa, while another food camp of the BKU prepared kheer for visitors. Apart from regular food which also includes noodles, bread-pakodas, pakodis and tea are regularly served. “We have every food item available, be it different vegetables, fruits or even items such as biscuits, water bottles or fruit juices, among others. We ensure that food is served to everyone who comes. It is also helping us continue our agitation,” said Gurjeet Singh, a farmer who came from Lucknow.

Hindustan Times

14-12-2020

Noida