Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ stir: Gurpreet’s sacrifice won’t go waste’

Tribune News ServiceJalandhar, December 23Gurpreet Singh turned 22 in the month of June this year. He was unfortunately among those 24 farmers in the state, who died amid the ongoing protest against the ‘contentious’ farm laws.The inconsolable family members of Gurpreet said while their loss was irreplaceable, the sacrifice of their son would pay off only when the black laws would be repealed.Born and brought up in a family of farmers, Gupreet was the youngest of the present generation. While his elder brother and two sisters are settled in Australia, he was the only one in his family who was doing farming. Contrary to the trend of youngsters migrating to foreign countries to start a new life, Gurpreet was passionate about cultivating crops. He wanted to remain associated with agriculture only and had also brought a new happy seeder tractor recently.His father Jagtar Singh (61) recalls the day when his son left for Singhu border: “On December 12, Gurpreet left for the protest site with his friends and other villagers. Expert in driving tractors, he had gone on his own tractor-trailer. He was happy to make his contribution in the protest and also insisted me to join. But fate had something else in store for us. As I was planning to go to Delhi-Haryana on the night of December 16, I was told that my son has passed away. A heavily loaded canter hit his tractor-trailer from the rear side near Karnal, while he was coming back with other villagers.”A resident of Makkowal in Tehsil Balachaur, the deceased was pursuing graduation. To continue with farming and spend his life in his village, he was also aspiring to join the Punjab Police. His brother Gurmukh Singh (30) says: “Despite having a three-year visa, Gurpreet never wanted to settle abroad. He came to Australia once and when I asked him to stay and pick an educational degree prior to settling, he said, instead of working hard here, he would prefer utilising his skills and retain his farm in the village. As he was 6 feet 2 inch tall, he was preparing to take part in the upcoming Punjab Police recruitment drive.”Gurpeet’s body was cremated yesterday after his brother and sisters arrived from Australia. Mourning over his sudden demise, villagers said the young blood of their village was a martyr, who lost his life while protecting their rights.Jagtar said it’s high time the government withdrew farm laws so that farmers don’t suffer more. Besides, he demanded that their tractor-trailer must be returned to them which was still in possession with the Haryana Police.

The Tribune

2020-12-24