On 2nd of August, I was stopped by some policeman near the bridge of Gazipur border . “No one is allowed there. ” The protest is still going on.
The permit helped us to enter the protest area . A bridge that roughly connects the two states , delhi and uttar pradesh . Our car moved through the lane which had colourful tents on both side . One of the tents had a quote ” one protests other feeds” . Not all of them were just normal tents , some of them carried hoarding like ” Medical aid “,”baba ka khana” and camps for the storage of water.
The farmers have been camping at different border points in Delhi for more than 8 months. We approached a tent where we saw and young man who welcomed us with a big smile. He told us about the black laws and how how farmers are being affected by the same. The protest started on 26th of November and since then they have been camping at several Delhi borders. Their demand of repealing the tree farm laws were totally unheard and ignored by the government. The farmers there said that these laws enacted at the centre will dismantle the minimum support price system. The corporate will dictate terms and farmers will end up getting less for their crops.
Farm protests at Delhi-Gazipur Border Photo:Soma Mukherjee
“Aap log khana khake jaane ” (Have your lunch with us before you leave “) set an old man standing right in front of a tense with a medal in his hand. He was an ex army officer who had been there during the Kargil War. He said he is adamant to protest and stay there unless and until the government repealed the laws. Few minutes walk to the bridge let us to a tent where we have our lunch.
Throughout the last eight months, they’ve constructed tents and toilets, and many people have slept in tractors. For days on end, they haven’t gone out, haven’t had any fun, and have been adamant about their decisions. Their main goal was to demand their rights on a daily basis, even in the midst of scorching heat and harsh winters.
According to a protesting farmer,debates after debates have claimed that they are fake farmers and terrorists, despite the fact that they have stood united on the Delhi borders for the past eight months to protest the ‘government’s injustice’.
Even the children who have been taking their studies online are aware of the protest and have expressed their views. When I returned, my camera caught a glimpse of our familiar symbol, our pride, our national flag, clear and soaring high among the colourful tents.
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