NEW DELHI: Raushal Alam, an MTech from Bihar, says he will go back to his village to narrate the success story of the farmers' agitation to inspire people to fight for their rights after the protest at Delhi borders was suspended on Thursday as the Centre accepted the pending demands of farmers.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, earlier in the day decided to suspend the over a year-long farmers' movement against three contentious farm laws and said farmers will head home from December 11 from the protest sites on Delhi's borders.
The announcement came after the SKM received an official letter from the central government, accepting the pending demands of farmers, including unconditional withdrawal of police cases against protesters.
In December last year, Alam, a resident of Champaran in Bihar, had come to Delhi to see off his Qatar-bound sister at the IGI airport, but decided to stay for a few days among farmers protesting at Ghazipur border, one of the three prominent venues of the anti-farm laws agitation.
"Instead of two-three days, I spent a whole year here. The success of farmers' protest has kindled hope that we can achieve similar success at other places too," said Alam, who also helped in coordinating protest-related activities and logistics at Ghazipur border.
Led by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, a large number of farmers had laid siege at Ghazipur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in November last year to protest against the Centre's farm laws.
The protest by farmers also drew many youngsters like Alam who pursued MTech after BTech.
"After doing MTech from Bhopal in 2015, I started a company that worked in the domain of power infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh. However, I fell ill just before coronavirus began to spread in early 2020," he said.
He then went back to his village and began farming after purchasing a land parcel.
"My experience at trying farming exposed me to the problems faced by farmers in our country. First two years, I struggled to get my land's mutation done as I was not ready to pay a bribe. Also, I faced apathy and saw corruption when I tried to get good quality seeds from a government agency," he said.
The protest at Delhi borders was training for him, Alam said.
"I think I am in a position now to tell my fellow villagers in Champaran how to fight and achieve success against the government machinery. I want to spread this message when I go back home," he said.
Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, started protesting at Delhi border points on November 26 last year against the three farm laws.