Not PM’s care, but poll pressure, say farm protesters

“Everyone said that our protest will fizzle out. They said politicians will lose interest, that the media will lose interest but what will they say now,” asks Deep Singh, a 69-year old farmer from Punjab’s Roparnagar, camping at the Singhu border in Delhi.

As protesting farmers﹘many of whom are from the Sikh community﹘woke up to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a virtual address at 9 am, announced that the three contentious farm laws will be repealed.

As many broke into a dance, distributed sweets and hugged each other, the agitation against the farm laws appeared to have found a sense of relief, but not closure.

“Nearly 700 farmers lost their lives, nearly 200 were detained,” claims Mukhtyar Singh, 66, seated on a chair with a book in hand, away from the loud celebrations. “They lathicharged us, tear gassed us, called us Khalistani, Naxals and terrorists, and now, just as the election is nearing, Modi decided he cares? I don’t buy it.”

Singh, a farmer with five acres of land in Jalalabad East, was among hundreds of demonstrators who had reached Singhu on November 26 last year as part of a ‘chalo Dilli’ call to oppose the farm laws. Shuttling between the protest site and his home, the 66-year-old used to sleep inside his tractor during the initial months, but now he has a bamboo hut to himself.

Baldev Singh, 60, was among those who woke up late on Friday, around 10am. “I got a call from my house. They told me that Modi has withdrawn the laws. But I was not happy...Modi has told many lies, I don’t believe him.”

Unlike Baldev, Balweer Kaur, 60, is “happy about the repeal” as she waits for her bowl of rice and potato gravy at the langar. “As a woman, protesting is your mode of survival. We women begin to protest right from within our homes. So, if I can fight at home, then why not here,” she says.

From Taran Taran, she came to Singhu 15 days ago with her relatives to join hundreds of women at the protest, where demonstrators, over the past one year, have braved the cold, a scorching summer, the pandemic and accusations of “creating obstructions” for commuters.

‘Polls pressured government’

In his speech, the prime minister tried to defend the laws but said the government was unable to explain to a section of protesting farmers that the legislation was for their own benefit. As the government is concerned about even that section, it has decided to repeal the laws, the prime minister said.

“Even though only a section of the farmers were protesting, they were important for us...we kept trying to make them understand through different media. We left no stone unturned,” he said.

However, protesters at Singhu took the announcement with a pinch of salt, pointing to the upcoming Assembly elections in several states.

“The slap on the face that the BJP got during the recent by-elections and surveys about upcoming elections are what has pressured the government to repeal the laws. This was not about care or concern,” says Anmol Singh, 25, a volunteer at Khalsa Aid.

Demands pending, say farm unions

In his speech, the prime minister indicated that the farm legislation will be repealed during the winter session of Parliament next month. “I request you all (protesters) to return home, return to your fields, return to your families. Come let’s start afresh,” he said.

But at Singhu, loudspeakers blared, “Good news has come today, but we must wait for things to become official. Till then, I urge every village pradhan in Punjab and Haryana to send their brothers to the protest site.”

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, welcomed the government’s move but did not hint at any decision to return immediately. In a statement, the SKM said that while the crux of the protest was to repeal the three farm laws, it is also “for a statutory guarantee to remunerative prices for all agricultural produce and for all farmers. This important demand of farmers is still pending.”

Anmol points out that “if we leave, we will leave in full swing”. “This is our victory and we will celebrate it.”