Farmers Movement Archive

Crowd at Singhu border swells as farmers await final repeal of farm laws

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his decision to repeal the three farm bills, more farmers could be seen pouring into Delhi at the Singhu border on Saturday, wishing to join in the celebrations with the farmers who had stayed back and to prepare for the one-year anniversary of the protest on November 26. The celebrations will begin with a nagar kirtan at Singhu border on Sunday, with the numbers expected to treble in the next few days, and the groups serving langar have already begun to load up on stock. Jagdev Singh, a farmer from Dharamkot in Moga, Punjab, says the gruelling part is now over, but instructions from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha are clear – to not desert the protest site, but instead, calling other farmers back, who had gone back to harvest their crop. “We kept taking turns to stay at the protest site and when one group would stay, the other would go back home to do chores and take care of the village crop. We have asked all of them to return now,” said Singh. He was joined this morning by another farmer from his village in Gurmukh Singh, with more set to be on the way. “The women are booking trains to come, while those who can come by road are willing to take the one or two-day journey. As soon as I got to know about the decision, I set out from my village immediately,” said Gurmukh. Kabul Singh, who arrived in the early hours of Saturday from Verka in Amritsar, Punjab, said the mood has completely transformed at the border. “I came to provide support to all my brothers and friends at the protest site. For those who have stayed here for nearly a year, this is a mini victory of sorts, but the real battle is not yet won and we will wait patiently for the Parliament session to take place now,” he said.Harvinder Singh from Tarn Taran district in Punjab said no farmer is willing to abandon the protest site at such a junction, with only a verbal agreement in place so far. “We have already waited a year. We can wait a few more weeks too. Once the Parliament session is held, we will know if those words hold true or not.”As HT took a walk around the Singhu border, no visible decorations were in place at any point. The old placards, posters and demands to repeal the three farm laws were still hanging over the tents, tractors and bamboo houses erected that the farmers have been calling their home for the past year. The only decorations that stood out had been done at the main stage of the protest. However, farmers were quick to point out that this was done to celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti on Friday and not for the Prime Minister’s decision.“Nothing has changed at the site of the protest visually. We are not putting up posters to celebrate our win or to gloat, as it is not a victory yet. The bills are yet to be taken back and so for us, status quo still exists,” explains 38-year-old Mehtab Singh, stationed near the stage. Santokh Singh from Patiala, who has adorned his bamboo hut with posters bearing words such as “take back these black farm laws” and “no farmers, no food” along with the names of some of the farmers who died at the Singhu border as part of the protest, says it is not easy to celebrate such a victory. “We have lost nearly 700 farmers in our fight against these bills. We cannot put up decorations just yet, until we are sure that they are indeed off the books,” said Santokh, adamant he will only return when the repeal process is over.From serving special menu items to loading up on more stock, those serving langar at the protest sites say they are already seeing an increase in the number of people wishing to eat food at these community kitchens. Lakhbir Singh, who has set up the “Mohali langar sewa” at the site, said the protest site was buzzing since Friday morning, with numbers only set to increase further in the next few days. “We will order more food stock. So far, there was largely a fixed numbe of people coming for food, but this is set to increase massively in the next few days. We may prepare special items too,” he said. At the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) langar service, kheer and matar paneer were the special items prepared for Saturday, with more delicacies planned for the week ahead. “This is the time to celebrate. We were serving rice and sabzi earlier, but special food items will now be planned,” said a volunteer at the stall. Joginder Singh from Ropar in Punjab says fresh vegetables had already arrived at their langar service on Saturday, with flour and rice expected by the evening. “The quantity has been increased manifold. More will be done based on the demand. We plan to hold a grand langar service for the one-year anniversary,” he says.

Hindustan Times

21-11-2021

Delhi