FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
Eusebio Gomes
On October 3, 2021 eight persons, including four farmers were killed after a vehicle linked to the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra hit a group of farm protesters in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri. The farmers were protesting peacefully. Lakhimpur Kheri is a home to the largest Sikh population in Uttar Pradesh (6.43 lakh out of district’s total population of 40.21 lakh). This region is known as ‘mini Punjab’. The farmers of these Sikh families have supported the farmers’ agitation at the borders of Delhi from the beginning. The anti-farmers’ protesters (mainly the Hindu upper-caste community) have already labelled these Sikh farmers as radicals. At the time of Partition, a large number of Sikh families migrated from Pakistan to India and settled in the Terai region of which Lakhimpur Kheri is a part.
Starting from our freedom struggle, history is replete with instances of agitations and dharnas at public places. For example in 1930 Mahatma Gandhi led ‘Dandi March’ in protest of the British monopoly on salt and salt tax. When the public realise that the laws which the government promulgate are detrimental to their welfare, they have a constitutional right to raise their voices against such draconian laws. The farmers at Delhi borders are fighting for their rights by protesting against the three draconian farm laws. This farmers’ protest is India’s longest protest. They have been asking permission to assemble at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi or at Jantar Mantar as it were permitted to Anna Hazare’s India against Corruption at Jantar Mantar and to Ramdev to hold his sit-in at Ramlila Maidan. But till date farmers have not been given permission to protest at the aforementioned places. Why are the farmers being treated differently?
In 1960’s India was struggling to feed the millions of people in India due to scarcity of food grains and the people were starving to death due to lack of food. The country had to import the food grains to feed the hungry stomachs. In 1965 the second PM of India Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan’ to boost the morale of the soldiers to defend India and to cheer the hard-working farmers to increase the production of good grains so that everyone gets daily rotti.
In those trying days the farmers toiled in the scorching sun and splashing rains to produce the food grains and feed the people of India and eventually brought the country out of starvation. India, from a food-begging country, became a food-exporting country. 70% of the people in India belong to the farming community and for the past so many years these indefatigable farmers have been serving the nation selflessly. Instead of acknowledging the farmers’ services to the nation and saluting them, some of the BJP leaders using disparaging words labelled them as mawalis (ruffians), terrorists, goons and anarchists.
It is a tragedy that the government has no empathy toward them and not willing to listen to their cries given that they have braved scorching heat and chilling winter, rains, hail and storms for more than a year. Let us not cut the hands of our annadatas who supply us our daily bread.
