Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on repealing the controversial farm laws was met with relief and caution in equal measures at the site of farmers’ year-long protest at Delhi’s Singhu border.
Slogans of ‘Kisan Zindabad‘ and chants of the Guru Granth Sahib rent the air briefly following the announcement made on Gurupurab. Except for a small group of young farmers who broke into song and dance driving their tractor through the protest area, the response was mostly calm and collected. “We heard the announcement. Let the laws be repealed on the floor of Parliament first, only then will we leave,” said a farmer, echoing the decision of majority of protesters.
Gurdweep Singh Sidhu was among those celebrating atop the tractor. Pointing to the machine, he said, “This is one of the first tractors that broke the barricades and has stayed here all these months,” he said. Celebrating the announcement as well as the occasion of Gurupurab, Sidhu said he was happy but “cannot even think” of going back to Punjab before the laws are repealed in Parliament.
Kamdan, a small-scale farmer from Haryana’s Sonepat, agrees and refuses to turn back till there is “concrete action”. “This is a small victory. They lost in Bengal. They will lose in UP and Haryana. Who knows whether this announcement will hold or not,” he said before leaving with the others for the community langar.
At a small distance from the langar, a group of farmers listened to a recording of the PM’s speech from Friday morning, asking mediapersons present if the laws would actually be repealed. None of them is ready to go back home.
Joga Singh, a Nihang Sikh, said leaving the protest was out of the question before the withdrawal of the laws was given in writing. “The Prime Minister has said they will take back the black laws, but haven’t done so yet. How can we leave,” he said.
Raghuveer Singh is another small-scale farmer protesting at the Singhu border. His father Baldev Singh had fallen ill at the protest site and died while being taken back to his village in Sangrur in December last year. Raghuveer then took his father’s place at the protest. Refusing to return, he said the government must also provide debt relief to farmers and bring a law on MSP, along with jobs to the families of deceased farmers.
There were few women at the protest site since most had returned to their villages to tend to their fields. But many are slated to return on November 26 to mark one year since the protest was launched.
Parminder Kaur Gosal from Goslan village in district Ludhiana has been to Singhu 16 times. She has no land to cultivate but says her soul is bound to the protest. Her brother owns around four acres of land. “Today, on a holy day, the birthday of our first Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, we are at victory’s door. This is a holy gift from our Gurus. I am thankful to our youth as well as our elders. It is the victory of truth, our patience has won today,” she said.
Munni Kaur is a senior citizen who has been at the protest for one year. “This is good news. Today is Guru Nanak’s birthday… We have struggled hard. So many farmers have lost their lives. We will leave only when the laws are repealed in Parliament,” she says firmly.
Farmers say they have lost count of the number of protesters at Singhu. The trolleys, tractors, makeshift tents, free medical camps, stalls providing footwear, and flags of various unions on protest remain exactly where they have been, only with firmer structures. Many have gone home to tend to their fields for the sowing season and are expected back when the season ends.
In a statement, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha welcomed the decision. “SKM welcomes this decision and will wait for the announcement to take effect through parliamentary procedures. If this happens, it will be a historic victory for the year-long farmers’ struggle in India,” the statement said.
“Nearly 700 farmers have been martyred in this struggle. The central government’s obstinacy is responsible for these avoidable deaths, including the murders at Lakhimpur Kheri,” the statement added.
The SKM also reminded the government that a law on MSP and the withdrawal of electricity ordinance amendment bill were still pending.
Meanwhile, Anil Ghanwat of the Shetkari Sanghathan, one of the members of the SC-appointed panel, termed the decision to repeal the laws as “unfortunate”. Ghanwat said that if the Supreme Court does not release the panel’s report, he would do so.
Hannan Mollah of the CPI(M), who was part of the 12 rounds of negotiations between farmers and the government, said he was always confident of a win. “We told Modi that you have known a lot of people but you have not known farmers. Farmers will force you to bend and that’s what’s happening.”
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