Farmers Movement Archive

How BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) outdid many other farm outfits in Punjab

BATHINDA: Coming out of Bhartaiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) in 2002, farmer organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has turned out to be a force to reckon with. Having started from scratch, the farm organisation in the last 18 years has made rapid strides to emerge as the leading farm organisation of Punjab. There are even claims that it has as many members as all other big farm organisations of Punjab combined together. BKU Ugrahan has mobilised almost equal numbers at Bahadurgarh as done by other organisations together at Singhu border. Before the birth of Ekta Ugrahan, BKU Sidhupur led by Pishora Singh (now deceased), BKU Lakhowal, BKU Rajewal and BKU Bhupinder Singh Mann were the biggest such entities in the state. Balbir Singh Rajewal, Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, Bhupinder Singh Mann were considered the biggest farm leaders. Later BKU Ekta Dakonda, Punjab Kisan Union, BKU Krantikari, BKU Mansa too came out of BKU Ekta Sidhupur. Due to such splits, there are nearly three dozen farm organisation in Punjab. Ekta Ugrahan at present has network in over 1,600 villages spanning over 16 districts of Punjab and as per rough estimates it has nearly 5 lakh activists though last compilation of membership was done in 2017 and over 2 lakh members counted. It has grown with every major big protest in past two decades. It all started after Sukhdev Singh Kokri, then state treasurer of BKU Sidhupur, was expelled from the organisation. He was accused of running a protest against some commission agents of Maur town in Bathinda over the suicide by a farmer from Sandoha village. Even before that some fissures had started in the body as debate was on whether to take part in the elections or not. After coming out of BKU Sidhupur, Kokri joined hands with ex-serviceman turned farm activist Joginder Singh Ugrahan. Though the farm organisation started with opposing the restarting the power bills for farm sector in 2004-05 and auction of lands but made it big by opposing acquisition of 376 acres at three villages of Dhaula, Fatehgarh Chhanna and Sanghera in Barnala for for Trident Group. Having started in late 2005, the protests continued till 2007, when Parkash Singh Badal-led government agreed for enhancing the compensation by 70%. Then in 2010-11, the organisation opposed the land acquisition for India Bulls for setting up power plant at Gobindpura village in Mansa and ended the protest by making government considerably enhancing the compensation, along with displacement allowance to land owners. In 2013, it fought for families of farmers, who had committed suicides. In 2015 when the cotton crop was extensively damaged due to white fly, BKU Ekta Ugrahan held protest for over a month by blocking one side of the road outside Bathinda district administrative complex in October 2015. The government later disbursed Rs 640 crore to farmers at Rs 8,000 per acre. “When the opposition to three farm laws started, BKU Ekta Ugrahan has come as a bigger force to take on the central government. We will stop only when our demand of repeal of laws is met,” say Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Sukhdev Singh Kokri, who are together in lead role in the organisation for the last 18 years. “The last democratic process of electing our various bodies from village to state level was done three years ago when Ekta Ugrahan had over 2 lakh members in about 500 villages, which now has reached over 1,600 villages. Fresh internal elections will be held after this struggle. Apart from collecting Rs 10 as membership fee, the organisation collects funds twice a year at every kharif and rabi crops from every village where it has units and funds are duly audited in transparent manner,” they said. The body has also faced criticism for waving pictures of those facing UAPA and Delhi Riot cases at at Tikri border. Earlier, they had gone to Delhi to support Shaheen Bagh protest in early 2020. The women wing of Ekta Ugrahan is led by Harinder Kaur Bindu. During any demonstrations for the compensation to suicide-hit farm families, the women in large numbers participate and play proactive role, says Kaur, who is at the Delhi border protest since November 27, 2020.

The Times of India

2021-02-10

Amritsar