10 Ways India’s Farmer Protest is Celebrating Humanity (Part 2)
Latest — March 21 marks the 114th Day of the farmer protest in India. There’s still a count to the few millions that sit, eat and pray each day on the National Highway skirting Delhi. But there’s no count to the painstaking sacrifices each protestor makes each day, without abandoning their humanity.
It’s no Guinness World record yet, but 300 people have lost their lives so far. #300DeathsAtProtest trended on Twitter on March 18th.
Continuing the two-part series on 10 Ways India’s Farmer Protest is Celebrating Humanity (Part 1), let’s see why the farmers and their families, deserve your attention.
6. Sanjhi Sathh — The Tent School Setup at the Protest Site
Singhu, a small village at the periphery of Delhi, is home to thousands of children who haven’t seen their school in ages. Many of them who haven’t even been to a school ever, can be seen wandering at the protest site, collecting plastic bottles and garbage.
When Gurdeep Singh (volunteer at the protest) saw them picking litter, he brought them to one of the tents and took the onus of educating them. Because why not? The protest is all about securing a brighter future for all of us and who better to start with other than underprivileged children.
The tent school, now named “Sanjhi Sathh” (People’s Plaza), grew from 8 students to 167. Children belonging to families of slum-dwellers, factory workers, and wage laborers attend daily classes from 10:30 am to 2 pm. Most children are below 13 years of age.
Baljeet Kaur is a volunteer teacher at Sanji Sathh. She can be seen sitting with the children who learn English, Hindi, Mathematics, and Science. They can also be seen, painting and drawing in her company.
Currently, the tent school is a bandaid wrapped around the children’s educational needs. But Amninder Kaur Kang (volunteer teacher) claims that talks are underway with NGOs based in New Delhi to help the children once the protest is over.
Before the protest, these children had no hopes of attaining education. Now, a ray of sunlight has shone through. A ray of humanity.
7. Full Page Ad in New York Times
Since 1851, New York Times has stood against sensationalism and reported the plain, non-glamorized truth. On February 16th, it displayed a full-page ad aimed to represent the farmer protest with a boldened message -
“We — farmers, activists and citizens of the World — stand in solidarity with farmers in India protesting to protect their livelihoods.”
The ad is sponsored by Justice for Migrant Women — an organization dedicated to raising voices for migrant women.
The ad represents two things — the massive scale of the protest and the dreadful silence it is receiving in India.
To date, only very few newspapers have covered the protest. But look at the scheme of things — where India’s most trusted dailies aren’t ready to write a small sidelined column for the protest, the world’s most revered newspaper has displayed a full front-page advertisement.
The 75 civil rights organizations that have signed the advertisement, all stand for the human rights at stake here. Remember that no ill-intentioned, tactfully waged mass movement, will ever do so. It’s the people’s undying will to stand for their rights, that makes it to NY Times.
8. Langar — The Free Community Kitchen
If you’ve seen this video by Best Ever Food Review Show — How India Cooks Lunch for 50,000 People for FREE! The MIRACLE in Punjab, India — you already know what langar is.
It basically means a shared kitchen that is completely run by the community and is 100% voluntary and serves 100% free food to 100% of people that come to eat at the langar.
As there is heavy participation of the Sikh community in the protest, langar is prepared in un-abound proportions.
Times of India reports that the langar at the protest sites feeds the participants with no questions asked. There are fresh vegetables, chapati, stew, dry fruits, desserts, and even Pizza — each ingredient of which is hand-grown by farmers themselves.
Trolleys containing milk for the daily tea, flour for chappatis, and oil for cooking the food pace up and down the protest each day.
My friends Shivam, Gurvinder, and Ginder who visited the Singhu border area gave in a hand in the langar preparation, were awestruck by how good it tasted.
You may wonder at the point, who is getting free food for so many people? The answer is — the very people who produce food for the planet on all days — the farmers.
9. Iron Nails Vs Flowers
How do you stop such a giant protest? One way is to line the roads leading to the protest site with iron spikes so that no supply vehicles reach the waiting protestors.
Was it the government authorities who did so? You tell me.
In any case, the protestors retaliated with an even cruel measure. One that would send anyone into a state of bitterness.
They planted marigolds, potatoes, and sugarcanes along with the 10-inch tall iron nails. This is to tell whosoever had installed the impediments, what farmers do for humanity. If you’ll block our supplies, we’ll still flourish and we’ll do it with a flower, not thorns in return.
Ramraji, a farmer from the state of Haryana, told Outlook India,
“Our motivation is simple. The government had fixed iron nails. But we are planting flowers, fruits, and crops. We are farmers, this is what we do.”
Quite a Gandhian way of dealing with the brutality. Back then it was about freeing India from tyrants, and now it’s about freeing India’s food. But the methodology hasn’t changed, humanity hasn’t been forgotten.
10. The Immeasurable Sacrifices of Millions
Lastly, humanity is being celebrated by each protestor who either joins the crowd in braving the unforgiving weather or toils hard to cook for the langar.
Remember that these are men and women who have quit their livelihood to support the protest. They’re pouring in not only their time but their health, their families, their peace of mind, and their life.
They clean-up the garbage when they vacate a site and make sure no one sleeps empty-stomach at the end of a hopeful day. It all started in the biting cold of December when temperatures drop to 0° C and now they’re up against the wrath of June, wherein the heat usually jumps to 45° C.
The sacrifice can not be put into words or displayed via videos on the internet; it can only be felt. Not to forget the death toll, and not to forget the pandemic.
Despite everything — you will find more smiling faces in the crowd than lamenting ones. This is the largest human protest on planet Earth, and it’s a gentle reminder for all of us, what it takes to be human.
Spread the word by sharing this article. Do your bit in helping the world notice the farmer’s protest. It’s only the humanity we are advocating, no propaganda.
