Behind a successful protest: Kitchen flames burning, an army of volunteers & solidarity

New Delhi: For the past one year, an overwhelming number of farmers have been camping at the Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur borders here, braving by turns biting cold, monsoon rains, Covid pandemic scare and also accusations of "creating obstructions", but the spirit of solidarity has allowed them to soldier on against all odds - the spirit of solidarity but with flames burning in the kitchens and an army volunteers who sometimes literally held up protests sites with their bare arms.

The Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana was the fountainhead of the farmers' protest seeking repealing of the three contentious farm laws, and from there the movement had gradually expanded to Ghazipur border touching Uttar Pradesh and other sites.

On Friday morning, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, there was a sense of relief among the farmers present at these sites.

So, how did the farmers, who had left their homes and families behind, sustain this movement over the year? A likely answer is food, unrelenting spirit, and an army of volunteers who held this agitation, day in and day out. While the centrestage of this protracted battle has been on the streets but the fire in the belly of the farmers was sustained by the flames burning in the kitchens backstage.

Aggrieved farmers, mostly drawn from Punjab, had arrived at Singhu border on November 26, 2020 answering the 'Dilli Chalo' call of their leaders who have been seeking repealing of the three new farm laws, which they allege will "wreck the lives of hard-working peasants".

Community kitchens or 'langars' punctuated the sea of farmers, both men and women, who had descended upon the Capital's gates and had earlier said that they wouldn't relent or retreat until their demands were met by the Centre. They still don't intend to retreat until their demands on MSP and the Electricity Amendment Bill are met.

Palwinder Singh, 45, a farmer from Gurdaspur, who had arrived at Singhu Border on day one of the protest along with a 'jatha' to set up a kitchen right in the middle of the highway, had said in January that "a revolution cannot run on empty stomachs".

Friday was a doubly sweet day for these protesting farmers, as the government's announcement and Guru Nanak Jayanti or 'Gurpurab' fell on the same day. Some people were distributing sweets and 'jalebis' at Ghazipur border and other protest sites. Gaurav Yadav, the national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Sangathan who was also performing the special 'yagya' on Friday morning said, "We farmers, have braved monsoon, Corona, winters, and faced numerous challenges, but never gave up on our fight".

Harjiwan Singh, 25, a volunteer with US-based NGO United Sikhs, which performed yeoman service during this struggle, offering aid and succour and counselling to farmers who were suffering from depression and anxiety. "Today, I am seeing them smiling a bit, but farmers have faced a lot in this one year. They are strong and resilient by nature, but many of them buckled under harsh weather conditions and mental agony suffered due to many factors," he said.

Singh said that "hundreds of farmers have died during this struggle, and many have committed suicide", and it will be a fitting gesture, if the government can offer a job to the next of kin of these "shaheed farmers".

Clinical Psychologist Sanya Kataria, who counselled many farmers at Singhu border at the height of the protest recalled that protesters went through a "cycle of emotions" during the struggle. The announcement by the government has given them "some sense of hope" and come as a "balm on their wounds".