Farmers Movement Archive

Uttarakhand: Couple dedicates wedding to protest

RUDRAPUR: Sivaljeet Singh and Sandeep Kaur tied the knot at a simple ceremony on Saturday night in a gurudwara in Bazpur, Udham Singh Nagar, an area which has seen thousands of farmers leave for Ghazipur border to join the protest against the Centre’s agri reform laws. As the couple had decided to dedicate their wedding to protesting farmers, songs supporting the farmers’ cause played at the venue and the attendees raised slogans for the cause. A video of the newlyweds returning from the wedding venue on a tractor instead of a car — a symbolic gesture to show solidarity with farmers — has since gone viral on social media. “We did not spend lavishly on the wedding. The money we saved will be donated to gurdwaras arranging langar for protesting farmers,” said Tarsem Singh, the bride’s father. Groom Sivaljeet Singh, a resident of village Tanda Dabhaura in Kashipur, told TOI that he had gone to Ghazipur border last week and was deeply pained to see farmers camping in biting cold. “Thousands of farmers have been protesting for two months at various Delhi borders for the past two months and are yet to be heard. I narrated their ordeal to my fiancée and as both of us hail from farmers’ families, we decided to show them support through our wedding,” said Singh. Bride Sandeep Kaur, a resident of Keshowala village, Bazpur, echoed her husband’s concerns. “It’s appalling to see elderly persons, men, women and kids in dire straits over the last two months. They are protesting not just for themselves. If these draconian laws aren’t repealed, the entire country will bear the brunt. We wanted to extend our support,” she said. State president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Karm Singh Padda, told TOI over the phone that even though he couldn’t be at the couple’s wedding as he was camping at Ghazipur border, he wished the couple a happy married life. “All of us agitating at Ghazipur border have sent the couple our blessings. The way they have shown support is invaluable. I will meet the couple personally once the laws are repealed and I am back in US Nagar,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-02-01

Dehradun