Chhavi Bhatia

Tikri —IN 1857, rebel soldiers laid siege to Delhi, hoping for freedom. They were driven by great souls like Mangal Pandey.

One hundred sixty three years later, farmers have made roads leading to Delhi their temporary home to save their livelihoods. Meet the soul of the farmers’ struggle—Sardar Ganda Singh, 108-years-old and easily the oldest protester of Kisan Morcha. Not just his age, his story of reaching Tikri to join his brethren is equally awe inspiring. He may not be a soldier like Mangal Pandey but he wears the same valour with aplomb, something that has inspired a lot of youngsters at Tikri since the sardar ji reached the border.

Singh saab who hails from Malookpur village in Fazilka travelled more than 420 kilometres to Tikri, mounting many a challenges that came his way. Biting cold, staunch disapproval from his family and of course ripe old age, the centenarian braved all odds simply to be not just in spirit but in person too with lakhs of farmers who have dug in their heels at Tikri for more than a month now. His children as well as other villagers were opposed to the idea of the sardar ji going to Tikri to sit at the dharna. He, meanwhile, persisted and egging on sheer fortitude, he left for his home with nothing more than a few clothes in a small plastic bag.

His heart was set on going to Tikri. The how of it did not deter the spirited gentleman. Over the course of an arduous journey of two days, he travelled in a train, boarded a bus and hitched a ride on a trolley that was headed to Tikri, finally reaching where his heart was since November 25, on New Years’ Eve. Not carrying any phone or information about the whereabouts of people from his village, Singh saab inconspicuously slept underneath a trolley till he was spotted by a group of volunteers at Bahadurgarh. He looked drained with his feet swollen and heels injured due to walking for kilometres. His courage, though, spoke volumes of his character.

“He was so cheerful despite the back breaking expedition he has had. The only thing that mattered to him was that he was finally with his farmer brothers,” said Rajveer Kaur, a brand consultant who has been volunteering at the Kisan Morcha. “It was uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time to see the baba ji. We offered him tea and food, massaged his feet to ease his pain. Not once did he say he was tired,” she shares. In fact, he had the whole team in splits with his witty reply to why he braved biting cold, unfamiliar surroundings and strenuous journey. “Main Modi te vyaah te aayan(I have come to attend Modi’s wedding).” Singh saab was resolute that his ancestors had fought for the land with commendable bravery and he wanted to stand with his brothers at Kisan Morcha in their fight.

Having not seen him before and worried that a man as old as he had been left all alone, Kaur and her team started combing through every trolley parked at Bahadurgarh side to find people from his pind. Multiple announcements were also made from different stages at Tikri and Bahadurgarh with the hope that someone will come forward. They finally managed to locate a few people from Malookpur at Tikri after asking around for a few hours. “They were shocked and also a bit annoyed to see the baba ji. I told them instead of chiding him for coming all the way on his own and caring two hoots about his age, they should take pride in him. He is the essence of this revolution,” asserted Kaur.