Farmers Movement Archive

Protest using strings: Elderly man returns to Singhu with his iktara to motivate farmers

He plays iktara at the Singhu border, where he has been camping at regular intervals since the start of the protest against the three agri laws. With his songs of victory, Jagar Singh, 75, is back at the site, motivating the protesters to continue their struggle.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a rollback of the three agri laws at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year.On his fourth visit to the Singhu border, the epicentre of farmers’ protest, Singh, a resident of Patiala district in Punjab, seems happy and in a celebratory mood.“We have won half the battle but there is still some time for us to return home triumphant. We want the government to bring in a legislation to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP),” he said.He said he has stayed at the Singhu border for a week each on his three earlier visits. A day after the Centre’s announcement of the three contentious laws, Singh reached the site on Saturday to sing songs of victory and to motivate the protesters to continue their struggle.“Playing iktara is my hobby and from the past few years, I have gradually started singing as well. This is the fourth time I have come to the Singhu border since the protest started. I have family responsibilities back home,” he said.Singh said he has also performed at the main stage at the Singhu border protest site.Malkit Singh (58), a resident of Ropar, said ‘nagar kirtan’ was organised at the border on Sunday morning.“Today, nagar kirtan was organised two days after the Gurpurb. It was started from the main stage, we did ‘sewa’ in the kirtan and sweets were distributed during the procession. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfil our other demands also so that we would go back to our respective homes,” he said.The protesters are refusing to move from the site till their demands are met.Chad Singh (70), a resident of Patiala, said the protesters have achieved one demand, however, “there are others which have to be accepted by the government”.“Repealing of the three farm laws is one step. There are other demands of MSP guarantee etc. The government should also compensate the family members of the protesters who died here and give jobs to their kin. The farmers have spent a lot of money in the protest and the government should also waive loans of all farmers,” Chad said.Chad said he has celebrated Lohri and Diwali at the Singhu border.“I went back to my home in Patiala twice and later came here. For the first time, I celebrated Lohri and Diwali away from my home. My family has supported me a lot. They said I should be at the protest site and win the battle,” Chad said. —PTI

The Tribune

2021-11-21

New Delhi