Every year on December 23, observed as Kisan Diwas, the national contributions of farmers are acknowledged. In 2020, however, the irony is that lakhs of farmers have been protesting against three farm laws for close to a month, primarily at the Singhu and Tikri borders. Amarpreet Singh, Asia Pacific, Director, Khalsa Aid, India, also feels that the present scenario has totally changed the meaning of Kisan Day.
“It should be a black day. The farmers who were once celebrated and a day was created for them, are spending nights on the roads... people are dying,” says Singh, adding that Khalsa Aid will launch a Kisan Mall at the Tikri border today to mark Kisan Diwas. “We chose Tikri border because it has more people, covering a stretch of 27 km, while the blocked stretch on Singhu border is just 10km. We have made a proper shopping mall type set up. We arranged it in a professional way, and people will be able to take things from under one roof.
We did this to streamline things as there was a lot of wastage. Now, the items will be given after noting down the person’s details,” adds Singh. “For a farmer, every day is Farmer’s Day because they toil on their fields daily. But at present, they have left everything behind to fight for their rights. So, how will we celebrate Kisan Day, when the farmers are distressed?” said Rashpal Hakuwala, Punjab University Student Union of India Ex-president, who hails from a farmer family in Muktsar.
He had come to the Singhu border just two days ago, but for the past 15 days has been working with his friends to stock up essentials for the crowds. Hakuwala further shared that the government had sent a letter to hold a meeting on Monday. “But there was no mention of a time or place of meeting, and who will talk to us.” The agitation has intensified as on Tuesday, the road leading to Gurugram from Singhu border was also blocked, informs Paramjeet Singh Katyal, member of the Jai Kisan Andolan that is led by Yogendra Yadav. Katyal says, “We are a part of Sanyukta Kisan Morcha that comprises 500 jathebandian (farmer groups). Our team is working at one side of the Gurugram-Jaipur border, which was blocked eight days ago. We have set up a two-km tent using a tarpaulin for the farmers.
Gurdwaras from Kota and even people and businessmen from nearby areas are providing food, milk and vegetables.” About Kisan Diwas, he muses, “Sarkar hal ke samna jhukna nahi chahti, sarkar ne naak ka sawal bnaya hua hai. (Government doesn’t want to bow down before the plough. They have made it a matter of ego.) But we are ready for a long fight, whether it takes two months or six.”Meanwhile, another group is working with famous sportsmen and singers from Punjab and Haryana to arrange facilities and organise talk sessions, and cultural programmes.
A member of that team, Tony Sandhu, who is also the general secretary of Major League Kabaddi Federation, says, “The government says it’s an international movement, but we want to prove that it’s a movement by the people of India for their rights. These players and artists are our messengers. They will give our message to the public and government in a better way. Yesterday, Punjabi singer Jazzy Bains had come to talk to people. Some players are even staying here, and a gym has been made for them by another organisation, where they work out every morning.” Sandhu feels that Kisan Day has come at a time when the agitation is on its peak.
And farmers are just demanding the government to not violate their rights, he shares. Another effort that is bringing about a revolution is the Kisan Ekta Morcha Facebook page set up by the Sanyukta Kisan Union six days ago that was taken down by the social media giant for 2.5 hours. Katyal says, “The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha wanted to take Yogendra Yadav for the talks that were to happen earlier, but Amit Shah disagreed about him representing us.
And that day, Yadav had started a live video after Modi’s sudden visit to Rakabganj Gurdwara, at 5:00pm. When he questioned the visit, the Facebook page was disabled, 17 minutes after the live video had started, and was enabled later in the evening.” Meanwhile, Baljeet Singh, IT head of the digital platform, says, “We are planning something for Kisan Day on the Facebook page of Kisan Ekta Morcha. But our major effort is to make sure that we clarify whatever is being wrongly said by the government about us.”