Farmers Movement Archive

Farmer protests: Panjab University students set up book stall at Singhu border

As farmers are protesting at the Singhu border for nearly a month now, a few students of Panjab University (PU) have installed a book stall there for book lovers.The students associated with Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) are issuing books on literature and history of Punjab. They said that the response from the protesters who were stationed at the border was overwhelming. This comes days after the alumni of the varsity held a distribution drive at the border.Gurdeep Singh, member of ASA and student of human rights department of PU, who is at Singhu border said, “We are providing books on literature and Punjab to everyone here. We have over 350 books at our stall here and we will make more books available in the coming days.”The students of PU and other educational institutes of Punjab are taking an active part in the farmers’ agitation since the beginning. Some PU students have been at the Singhu border for weeks now.The students said that protesters, who had been there for weeks, were showing much interest in reading books. “We installed the stall today and have issued over 150 books so far. People of different age groups are taking books from us and we have also maintained a register,” said Heera Singh, a student of Persian at PU.The students said that they were also planning to set up another camp for helping people with emergency accommodations.Members of other student bodies of PU are also at the Singhu border. From youth meetings and cultural programmes, these students are at the forefront of the farm agitation. Varinder, who is the president of Students For Society (SFS), said, “We are holding regular meetings for the youth and other awareness programmes. We also provide essential items mostly to older protesters here.”Some alumni of PU have also set up camp at the Singhu border for book reading and debate sessions. Parminder Jaswal, former president of Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC), said, “We have set up a camp here from the last 13 days for book reading and debate sessions. Our volunteers are also teaching children of nearby slum areas.”

Hindustan Times

25-12-2020

Chandigarh