Delhi: Sons of soil stay rooted to borders, say will fight on

NEW DELHI: At Tikri border, every truck represents a village. Mansa, Hat, Maur, Lalian — the list is endless. Representatives of these villages located in the backwaters of Punjab arrived at the Delhi-Haryana border eight days ago and have since stayed put, determined to move only after the Centre repeals the three controversial farm acts.
As the talks concluded on Thursday, farmers expressed their anger at the central government’s unwillingness to listen to them, but asserted that they would continue to fight peacefully.

“Our demands remain the same. The Centre had told us earlier that it won’t get rid of the minimum support price for crops, but the same was not mentioned in the acts. They said the same thing today, but how can we trust them? This is a revolution and we want total rollback of these laws,” said Mahender Singh, a 56-year-old farmer from Ferozepur district, who reached Delhi on November 26 along with 40 other people from his village.
The truck that serves as Mahender’s temporary home is among the hundreds that occupy a 500-metre stretch. More trucks were on their way, said the farmers, mostly from Punjab, who had occupied the area to protest against the “black laws”. Wary of the government, they’ve placed their trust in their pind (village) and pradhan (leader).
“Our leaders have assured us that they will ensure that the government listens to us. In the beginning, the Centre was saying that there was nothing wrong in the acts. But now they are saying they will consider our demands. It’s not a victory for us, but shows the power of our will,” said 26-year-old Gurjar Singh, who works with his father on their two-acre farmland.
The farmers were also angry at the government’s reluctance in allowing them to march through Delhi. “Why have we been stopped at the border? Can we not go to our national capital with our demands?” asked Manhar Singh, a 48-year-old from Mansa district, pointing towards the deployment of police and security personnel.
Throughout the day, security personnel kept a close watch and monitored the protest site. Several special hire buses were on standby, the entrance to Haryana from Delhi was sealed with three lines of interlocked yellow barriers, and police had dug trenches along smaller roads leading to the sites. But the defiant “sons of the soil” were determined to continue their struggle.
“We know that the state is watching us. Efforts are being made to paint us as people with an agenda. But we are fighting for our rights and have no reason to fear any backlash. We are not scared of anyone,” said Manpreet Singh from Faridkot district.
A group from Freedom Fighters Families Association also attended the protest on Thursday to show solidarity with the farmers. “Our people fought bravely in the freedom struggle to overthrow those who oppressed the country. These laws are oppressive and the fight against them is equally important,” said Harindrapal Singh Khalsa.
“We are not scared of sacrificing our lives for the welfare of the nation. That is in our blood. We are fighting for our survival this time and won’t back down,” added Khalsa.