Chhavi Bhatia

Tikri border: The sun is barely up but the outskirts of Delhi where farmers laid siege against new farm laws a year ago, is witnessing furious activity. It is not just another day today. The peasants who fought with exemplary grit and fortitude while living on the roads will go back home tomorrow after the Fateh March (victory march)announced by the Samayukta Kisan Morcha. On Thursday, the SKM called off the farmers’ agitation on which raged here for more than a year after the central government agreed to list of demands made by the farmers including Minimum Support Price and dropping of all police cases filed against them during the course of the protest.

Surinder Singh from Sisai village near Hansi is busy dismantling the tent—his home since November 27. A few meters away, his friends are decking up tractors with tricolour for the victory march tomorrow. The air, though jubilant, hangs heavy with unspeakable sadness. “After a year of living together through thick and thin, going through police atrocities, fears and insecurities together, we will leave this family we found because of the protest,” he says referring to his next door neighbours from Pai village, Kaithal. The friend, Manoj Dalal from Rohtak, nods in agreement.
“It is a bittersweet moment for us. We are relieved to be finally going back and having won this fight. We will miss the moments we spent here. These bamboo huts were our homes. These tarpaulin sheets sheltered us when the world turned its back on us,” says Mahender Singh from Hisar.

A year ago, the farmers had brought in bamboos, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses with the resolve to stay put for as long as the laws were not repealed. As aid poured in from across the world, RO water plants, solar panels, washing machines, fridges, coolers etc turned the dusty lanes on Delhi-Hisar highway into a full-fledged village. “This was one moment I waited eagerly and now that it is upon me, I am dreading it equally. I wish we could stay here for few more days. We have so many memories of Tikri. It is not difficult to go back,” Ranjodh Singh Cheema of Punjab’s Gharachon village says fighting back tears. Tents near the