Chhavi Bhatia: Tikri—A day after the unprecedented events that unfolded during the Kisan Parade in Delhi, farmers at Tikri remained unanimous that it was “wrong”, at the same time asserting it to be a “gambit” to discredit their peaceful sit-in. The crowd at the Delhi border, meanwhile, remained large in numbers with only those who had come especially for the tractor procession having left for back home.
The protest site where farmers have pitched in for over two months now, it is business as usual though the Red Fort incident predominates their conversation. The area is choc-a-bloc with trolleys just like it was till January 25th, indicating that they are not thinning out after what transpired. They agree that what transpired on January 26—deviating from the designated route, reaching the Lal Qila and hoisting the Nishan Sahib(Sikh religious flag) atop a flagpole was “wrong” but they are “not moving” from the border.
“Going back is not an option for us and why should we go back in the first place? We are here from day one and will continue to be here till our demands are met whether it takes one year or two,” said Bhagel Singh, a farmer from Tarn Taran district, Punjab. Overhearing the conversation is Jagdeep Singh from Batala who condemns the hoisting of the flag but says it was done to bring the farmers disrepute. “It was a well planned conspiracy by those who want to undermine our cause. Red Fort is a fortress. How can a group of people climb and put up the flag while there were so many cops around?”he asks.
The farmers also took a march under the kisan ekta flags on Wednesday afternoon while leaders asked everyone to follow only those instructions that come from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. “We have maintained utmost discipline from the beginning. After yesterday’s events, our parades will be done in a more disciplined way,” Tarsem Singh, a participant in the footmarch says.
At the main stage at Pakoda chowk where the one of the two main stages by Bharatiya Kisan Union has been set up, thousands of farmers including women hear their leaders address them about the test of time thrown at them. After having distanced themselves from the group at Red Fort early on, the leaders urge people not to be “misled”. “All of us have been sitting here for two months. The BJP wanted to defame us. We aren’t the ones who could have done this(Lal Qila),” a leader says from the stage. “We have to keep fighting,” he adds as thousands sitting on the ground that is packed to full capacity, raise their hands in agreement.
Some are also enraged at being maligned unnecessarily. “We have been sitting here in such cold weather. Farmers have died even. No one bothered about us then. Now they are on a smear campaign against us,” said Naresh Ahlawat, a farmer from Meham. “This is a collective movement. There is no religious angle to it. Some miscreants do something and all of us are labelled as rioters and what not,” complained Jai Prakash, a farmer from Jind.
