Peasantry relentlessly continues to burn torch in Delhi like a professional army intensifying momentum of struggle- Part 2

By Harsh Thakor

PROTEST OF FAMILIES OF DECEASED FARMERS (Tribune news service)

Many families of deceased indebted farmers who have committed suicide are gearing up to go to New Delhi to participate in the December 16 protest against farm laws. These families, along with members of BKU Ugrahan, on Monday protested in front of Sangrur DC office and demanded the immediate rollback of farm laws.

“Our family has one-and-a-half acres and it is the only source of our livelihood. My husband committed suicide in 2018 after he failed to repay Rs 8 lakh. My 17-year-old son is the only earning hand. After the implementation of the black laws, we will not get MSP and it will multiply our problems,” said Amrit Kaur, a protester.

Another widow Jagir Kaur said that her family owns 4 acres, but after the suicide of her elder son and husband, her younger son is only male member in the family. “Presently, we sell our paddy and wheat on MSP. But when MSP won’t be there, how will we recover our input cost? We are going to New Delhi tomorrow and I will come back only after the rollback of the black laws,” she said.

Amid the din of sloganeering and speeches from the rostrum, with speaker after speaker targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly trying to corporatise agriculture, anxiety is palpable among the protesting farmers as they look for a political alternative to safeguard their interests.

Do we require “our own” political outfit to stop the exploitation of farmers? If the minimum support price on wheat and rice goes, will the prices of irrigated farmland fall further? Do our farmer leaders have political vision? Such thought-provoking queries trouble the young and the elderly alike as the protesters withdraw to their base camps after the day’s hectic schedule. The questions also reflect their disenchantment with the mainstream political parties — be it the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party.

With no politician welcome on the “protest stage”, farmer union leaders, including Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, Jagmohan Singh Dakaunda and Balbir Singh Rajewal, have turned icons at the ‘kisan andolan’here. They have been grabbing space on the social media as well as the digital, print and visual media platforms.

As the youth share their concerns with their “new leaders” over the three central farm laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) chief Balbir Singh Rajewal tells them it could be a long haul.

The anger and anguish against the political system is writ large on the faces of the 3 protesters. Gurpreet, representing a group of progressive farmers from Ghanaur in Patiala, takes on the powers-that-be over their “double standards”.

“We are aware the underground water table is declining sharply due to traditional crops and there is overuse of pesticides, but the successive governments lacked in efforts to wean the farmers away from wheat and paddy. The attempts to promote diversification were half-hearted!” he maintains.

“All of them (politicians) stand exposed. The political outfits are concerned only about their own survival amid the changed dynamics,” says Parminder Singh of Chakdana village in Nawanshahr.

Otherwise owing allegiance to different political parties, the youngsters at the protest site here were no more feel proud of being identified as “Congressi” or “Akali”. “We are farmers and are united here by a common cause,” says Raju from Aulakh village in Gurdaspur. 

BHARAT BANDH IMPACT (from Tribune news service and Communist Party India (Marxist Leninist- New Democracy)

Getting widespread support from all sections of society, the Bharat bandh called by farm organisations in protest against the BJP-led NDA government’s three farm laws saw a complete shutdown in Punjab today.

The entire state echoed with the sentiments of farmers and a clarion call to repeal the laws as people in large numbers came on roads carrying placards ‘no farmer, no food’ to express solidarity with farmers who have been observing a peaceful protest at the Delhi borders.

The attendance in government offices was thin as over 50,000 state government employees were on a one-day mass leave in support of farmers. Dharnas organised at block levels at 60 locations by different farmer unions saw large gatherings.

In Patiala, the protesters blocked the main roads and highways. Residents sat on dharnas at various places while Youth Congress workers burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Fountain Chowk in Patiala.

Around 2,000 engineers wore black badges and participated in protest rallies across the state in support of the farmers’ agitation and the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill-2020. The PSEB Engineers’ Association, a body of power engineers in Punjab, also supported the struggle of farmers.

The teaching faculty members and students of Punjabi University, Patiala, came together in solidarity with farmers against the Centre. Around 300 in number, they closed the entry gates of the university and held a protest.

Dr Nishan Singh Deol, president, Punjabi University Teachers’ Association, Patiala, said all businessmen, students, farmers and people of other professions had come together against the farm laws.

The Patiala District Bar Association also led a march in support of bandh call of the farmers. Jatinderpal Singh Ghumaan of the association said the Centre should find a solution to the concerns raised by farmers. “We will provide all legal help to farmers wherever required,” Ghumaan said.

Health workers under the banner of the NHM Employees’ Union, Punjab, also burnt the effigy of the Prime Minister. Employees of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) also participated in the Bharat bandh and staged a protest outside the PRTC bus stand.

Bathinda and Mansa witnessed a complete shutdown in support of the bandh call given by farmers.

Tension erupted in the morning during the farmers’ protest at Kanhaiya Chowk in Bathinda when protesters damaged the windscreen of a private car of an Army man. He was going to Bikaner, but as farmers had given the call of a bandh, they were not ready to allow him go further. Later, senior farmer union leaders allowed passage to the car.

The supply of essential commodities was hit badly in these areas. Fruit and vegetable markets remained closed in all the cities and towns of the Malwa belt. The supply of milk was partially affected in many areas.

Farmers blocked and staged protests at various points in Bathinda district. They blocked the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway at Kanhaiya Chowk and near a toll plaza in Jeeda village. In Moga, the farm unions staged protests at 13 locations. The continuous protest outside the silo owned by a corporate giant in Dagru village also continued on the 62nd day today. The petroleum dealers also closed the filling stations to back the call for the nationwide strike. Darshan Singh Maiserkhana and Mothu Singh Kotra of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) said the Central Government brought the farm laws in haste without consulting the farm organisations. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in Ferozepur, Fazilka, Ropar, Faridkot, Muktsar and other districts as well.

More than 90 percent of public life came to a standstill in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal while the Bandh was widely observed in a total of 22 states including in Maharastra, Bihar, Tripura, Kerala etc. Most states saw massive outpouring of people in rallies and dharnas since early morning and these also included Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana and others. In major cities, markets, rural markets, tribal areas, people came out in large numbers. Major mandis including the Azadpur mandi in Delhi and several in Uttar Pradesh was closed. Those who rallied included fishermen, adivasis, stone quarry workers, sand mine workers, daily wagers, share croppers, tenant farmers and a large spectrum of industrial workers, tempo and other transport workers, students and intellectuals. More than 1000 district and tehsil Bar Associations have observed a strike in support of the farmers.

A notable feature has been the active support from people of Delhi who came out in large numbers in all industrial areas and at least a 100 other places where huge rallies in support were taken out.

State Governments of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana unleashed massive repression and made hundreds of preventive arrests as well as during protests. Still several parts of these states saw people coming out and voicing their support to the farmers. Gujarat Govt has even issued a gag order over social media posts. AIKSCC condemns these undemocratic steps, cautions these Govts that voice of people cannot be muffled by barbaric and illegal use of state power and demands immediate release of all persons detained.

AIKSCC has severely condemned PM Modi’s attempts to defend the pro-corporate laws as establishing a new system, which in fact is a new system for direct corporate control over input prices, crop purchase, marketing and take-over of farmers’ land. It is being driven by Modi Govt. to allow the Corporate including MNCs, International Food Giants, Grain Trading Giants, World Food Processing Industry and Retail trading and online MNCs go gain control over the food market and enslave the people of India.

BKU(UGRAHAN)  POLICIES COMBATING ALL OPPORTUNISM OF RULERS IN POWER

The state president Joginder Singh Urahan announced that family members of farmers who committed suicide from all over Punjab will be participating in a protest on the Tikri border on December 16 and the country will reveal the true nature of Punjab's agriculture crisis to the world. The brutal reality of families of farmers who have lost their lives due to debt will be revealed to the world and how these new agriculture laws will multiply suicides by mounting further debts. On December 13^th in the morcha, hundreds of rational activists under the leadership of Tarksheel Society from inside Punjab participated and supported the struggle. Addressing on behalf of the society, state leader Rajinder Bhador lit a spark to connect the agitation with all spheres of society and government autocracy. He said that the strong support of all the leading constituencies of Punjab will make this movement compulsory to victory. He offered hundreds of advanced books to people in the struggle by the Tarksheel Society, said the society was distributing seven lakh books among the people in Delhi Morchas which would bring a new consciousness. Surinder Kumari Kochhar, who reached Desh Bhagat Memorial Hall from Jalandhar, expressed such feelings towards this struggle. Also, today's gatherings were addressed by Santveer Poonia of Haryana Farmer Unity and Tek Chand Sirsa, five-member Farmer Sangharsh Committee Punjab's Daler Singh Rajoke and Hardeep Singh Jora. Today's gatherings were also held by the leaders of the organization Shri Shingara Singh Mann, Paramjit Kaur, Harinder Kaur Bindu, Jaswinder Singh Longowal, Amarjit Singh Saidoke, Manjit Singh Nyal, Gurpreet Kaur Bryas.

 

BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) has totally rejected the proposal sent by the central government and think that the proposal reeks of the anti-people approach of the Modi government. On the one hand, people from all over India are supporting the farmers but the government is putting all efforts to serve the corporates. BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan)’s president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that the proposal has nothing new and it has just put in writing whatever had been discussed in the meeting with the central agriculture minister. He said that despite all the resentment in the country, the central government continues to strongly advocate the farm laws in the very introduction of its proposal. The proposal states that these laws will make farmers prosperous and then proposes the amendments in order to clear the apprehensions. The proposal endorses its pro-corporate agenda, wants to break the monopoly of APMC Markets and suggests that farmers should sell their produce in the open market. These proposed amendments will not change the thrust of central laws.

 

The proposed amendment authorities state government to give the right to register private mandis to the states. It creates provision for farmers to approach the civil court in case of failure to reach a solution in the reconciliation board of SDM in cases of disputes between trader and the farmer. The proposal promises written assurance about the MSP but it neither mentions Minimum Support Price (MSP) on all the crops nor about all the states. It does not make MSP a legal right of the farmer not does it link the MSP to the Public Distribution System (PDS). The proposal does not take back any of the concessions given to the traders and hoarders in the new laws. Some of the proposals are repetitions of verbal assurances that there is no danger to the lands of the farmers. Couple of proposed amendments are mere technicalities or otherwise insignificant.

The proposed amendment don’t say anything about the Electricity Bill (Amendment)-2020 and it is mere assurance that the present system of billing will be continued and as it is privatization will remain unhindered.

The union leaders said that the discussion on these proposed amendments is meaningless as this futile exercise has happened multiple times. These proposed amendments make it obvious that the government is adamant to handover the agriculture produce market to the corporates. These insignificant proposed amendments are just lip service to pacify the strong opposition to the farm laws.

The leaders stated that farmers can’t be taken for a ride and their demands remain- repeal the five laws, make MSP on all the crops for all the states as a constitutional right and universal PDS as a legal right. The protest will continue till these demands are met. They warned that the government can’t succeed in its attempt to divide the agitation as unity remains its strength.

The leaders added that the call to intensify the agitation has got very good response from all over the country. Farmers’ Unions from all over the country are united on the issue. Yesterday hundreds of thousands of farmers participated in making the call for Bharat Bandh successful. People from other walks of life joined the farmers on the street and the mobilisation is increasing with every passing day. Ugrahan said they will continue the protest in Punjab and in Delhi.

It is worth mentioning that a big contingent of Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) participated in seven rallies

 

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY PROGRAMME

 

Celebrated International Human Rights Day - Reached the democratic constituency too.

New Delhi 10 December ------ Today also in the farmer's front in Delhi. Who is the one. U. International Human Rights Day celebrated by Unity (Ugraha) dedicated to jailed intellectuals and democratic rights activists. A huge gathering in Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Nagar, who was settled near Tikri border, demanded the Modi government to release the postpone workers from jail immediately. Addressing a big rally with pictures of arrested activists, Joginder Singh Ugraha, the organization's state president, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, said that today's day is to provide the rights of human living, fighting for the betterment of life and to maintain the glory of humanity. This is the day of Ahid. Today farmers are celebrating this day fighting for their rights. He said that the Modi government has crushed all dissent to the last dust by branding democratic intellectuals and activists as conspirators and made an axe of suppression on the country's renowned intellectuals and democratic rights activists and false cases are being put in jail. Writers, artists who pen the people’s voice are mercilessly put down. It is imperative to defend the right for people to express their views. On this occasion, a famous activist of the democratic rights movement and social science professor Nandani Sundar addressing the jail post activists. Nandani Sundar filed a petition against the Salwa Judam started in Chhattisgarh in 2007 Prof. Mahavir Narwal, father of Natasha Narwal, leader of the cage breaking campaign, addressed his daughter's democratic right to struggle. Vimal Bhai, the leader of the National Alliance of People's Movement also projected  his views. Dr. Gursharan Singh's daughter, the activist of the democratic movement and famous playwright. Navsharan demanded that all black laws including UPA should be abolished on the democratic right of people's struggle.

 

Punjab Loksabhya charak  Manch State President Amolak Singh raised the need to strengthen the relationship between public struggles and literary people. In today's unity, renowned Punjabi drama director Kewal Dhaliwal supported the farmer's struggle and the actors of his organization Manch Rang Manch presented the opera of Joginder Baharle ′′ Harhian Saunian ′′ in a kisan way

  

UNITED PROTEST OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE(From Sukhdev Singh Khokri Kalan-General secretary of BKU-Ugrahan)

 

On 14^th December many ex-servicemen, youth, artists, writers and many personalities associated with the film industry joined hands with Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) in their demand to repeal the agricultural laws along with other demands at Tikri Border in Delhi. The farmers, labourers and women involved in the agitation were encouraged by the presence of these celebrities. Addressing the gatherings at various places, union’s president, Joginder Singh Ugrahan announced that this massive and peaceful struggle of the farmers would finally force the Modi government to withdraw these black laws. He said that the families of the aggrieved farmers and labourers who had committed suicide due to deepening of the agricultural crisis resulting from the policies of globalization adopted by the governments of the country would reach the front on December 16 and will recount the stories of their pain.

Eminent playwriter Sahib Singh staged a play "Rangkarmi Da Bacha" and last night, he staged "Samman Wali Dang”. Apart from this, the team of eminent Punjabi singers - Kanwar Grewal and Harf Cheema performed their inspirational songs and Jagtar Zanjeer of Punjabi Sahitya Sabha Barnala spoke about the inseparable relationship between the people and the writers.

Addressing the gathering Capt. Gurjinder Singh Sidhu, president of Sainik Wing Punjab, Kulwinder Singh Rori of Naujwan Bharat Sabha Lalkar said that this struggle has now turned into a struggle of all the people which is a beacon of light for the people of the country and it can't be buried under their false propaganda. The leader of five member Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Sukhwant Singh, BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan)'s leader Harinder Kaur Bindu and Paramjit Kaur Pitho, peasant leader from Haryana, Baljit Singh and Joginder Singh also addressed the gathering.

 

Addressing the gathering, the State Secretary of the union Shingara Singh Mann said that despite the misleading propaganda of the Modi government to showcase the peasant struggle being hijacked by the Khalistanis and Naxalites, the arrival of artists, entertainers and writers apart from large convoys of farmers was a manifest response to government’s false propaganda. He said that the team of eminent theatre artist, Harkesh Chaudhary reached the front and staged “Uttan Da Vela” (the time to rise). Punjabi film actors Malkit Rauni and Nirmal Rishi were also present on the occasion.

 

-The End-