Farmers Movement Archive

Home away from home: Village names dot Delhi border protests

BATHINDA: Four months have passed into the struggle at the borders of Delhi against three contentious farm laws and with the matter far from being resolved, the protesting farmer have taken along their village names into the protest. Activists from some villages have set up separate enclosures under the banners of their villages while many have put up bamboo structures naming these as rest house. It has been done to give a distinct identity to their villages and give a feeling that they (protesters) are putting up at their own villages while holding protests against the Union government. Even as the farmers have been putting up for long at the borders of Delhi that has been witnessing protesters from various places holding agitation jointly, the farmers want to keep the identity of their respective villages intact. Hence, the farmers have put up tents or different structures under the names of their villages and some have even parked their tractor trolleys in the space around their temporarily set up “villages” at Delhi borders, said farm leader Shingara Singh, who is putting up at Tikri. The protesters from Kanjhla village of Sangrur district have named an enclosure in the name of their village and a gate has been prepared marking the “village” territory where trolleys have been parked with some even having air conditioner fitted in these. At the said gate, “Kisan ekta zindabad” banner has been put up with a photo of Bhagat Singh on one side and of a farmer on the other. A bamboo enclosure has been prepared by activists from Jalalabad East village in Dharamkot sub division of Moga district. Along with putting up a solar panel for electricity, they have also set up a dish antenna for watching television inside the enclosure. Similarly, activists from Behrampur village of Gurdaspur have set up a rest house by putting up structure with bamboo sticks and marking the roof with stubble.“The love for ones village becomes more intense when you are away from it for a long period of time that has happening due to longevity of the protest,” said Randeep from Sangatpura village in Sangrur, who had spent many days in the farmers’ protest as an ardent activist.

The Times of India

2021-04-06

Amritsar