Farmers Movement Archive

A year that was...

Rousing welcome to Olympic hockey heroes at MithapurAugust 5, 2021 went as a historic day for Jalandhar as four Olympians from here were a part of the Men’s Hockey squad that won a bronze in Tokyo Olympics. Skipper Manpreet Singh and his team mates Mandeep Singh and Varun Kumar hail from Mithapur village that erupted into celebrations. The fourth local lad was Hardik Singh from Khusropur village. Days later, the team returned to a heroes welcome. The Indian team Captain got a third reward in the year as he also became the proud recipient of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.Parkash Kaur got Padma ShriA mother to 100 abandoned girls, Parkash Kaur, who runs Unique Home in Jalandhar, got selected for Padma Shri for her social work in January. As she received the award from the President this November, everyone called it a well-deserved recognition. City artist Kimi Juneja showed her talent as she painted her portrait and gifted it to her on the momentous occasion.Palak Kohli in paralympicsThe 19-year-old girl from Jalandhar became the youngest player from India to participate in the Paralympics. She won a special applause at a party hosted by PM Narendra Modi.Braveheart Kusum got bravery awardTeenage girl Kusum, who had last year fought bravely with the mobile phone snatchers, this year won the prestigious National Bravery Award. She received the award from the Indian Council for Child Welfare.Golden boy’s city connectOlympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra too had a Jalandhar connect as he is a student of Lovely Professional University. In fact, LPU had as many as 13 Olympians going to Tokyo this year.Politically speaking BAD YEAR FOR BJPIt remained a politically bad year for BJP leaders whose activity remained suppressed due to protests by the farmers, who were squatting on the Delhi borders demanding repeal of the farm laws. The farmers blocked all their rallies and movement of the leaders remained affected due to massive protests.Jalandhar got its minister – Pargat SinghEver since the Congress government took over in 2017, it did not have any representation in the Punjab Cabinet. It was after Capt Amarinder Singh’s resignation as the CM that he finally had his way and became the minister. He managed to get four major portfolios including those of Education, Higher Education, Sports and NRIs. On a flip side, his elevation made city a hub of protests by teachers.Sukhpal Khaira in ED netMonths after Bholath ex-MLA Sukhpal Khaira made a re-entry into the Congress, his path was besieged with thorns. His membership of the Legislative Assembly got cancelled. Days later on November 11, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He still remains behind bars.Rana gets advantage of rejigIn the rejig that happened, Rana Gurjeet Singh, who had to step down unceremoniously from the Cabinet earlier, managed to get elevated as the minister again. His elevation, however, came despite a lot of resistance from within.FARMERS RETURN TRIUMPHANTSeveral farm leaders from the region led the year-long protest in Delhi. Manjit Rai of Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee became a face of the protest. Simultaneous protests were even carried out in Jalandhar as the unions blocked rail and road for almost a week demanding sugarcane MSP hike. The protest held near Dhannowali rail track paralysed movement of the people badly. But they emerged winners everywhere, including in Delhi and Jalandhar, as most of their demands were accepted by the central and the state govts.Covid pangsEven as 2021 started on a good note, some things did not go the way as expected. The second phase of Covid that hit the city around March led to cancellation of all board exams for the students this year. Their entrance tests got delayed by several months and many students lost their steam.Artist Amit Zauff succumbs to CovidCovid snuffed out 1,496 lives in Jalandhar. Among some prominent city-based people to lose their lives was artist Amit Zauff. The artist made three paintings while taking treatment in the ICU. He, however, left an incomplete fourth painting.

The Tribune

2021-12-30