New Delhi: What does it feel like when you are able to come together and stand your ground against the State? The Capital's borders this Friday answered this question as tens of thousands of farmers — mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Western UP descended upon the protest sites at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — but this time with a sparkle in their eyes and the joy of finally reaping the benefits of a movement — that had taken away so much from so many of them.
Tractors bedecked with lights and posters rolled through the Singhu border protest site, as many protesters at the Tikri border site arrived wearing "The Country
Won" hoodies and the Ghazipur protest site saw tractors, trolleys and cars trickling in throughout the day. All three protest sites had special langar sewa to mark one year of the protests at the Capital's gates — with the Singhu site taking their message of service
one step ahead and even organising a blood donation camp — where several farmers donated blood.
Farmers flaunted colourful turbans, sunshades, long beards and twirling moustaches as they danced on the roofs of tractors, distributed sweets and hugged each other to mark the occasion.
At Ghazipur, a man with a large conch kept playing at regular intervals as those around him kept saying, "The sound from your conch has now reached Delhi, has it not?"
The assembly area near the centrestage at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur sites saw a large gathering like the early days of the protest with farmers for as far as the eye could see. The attendees included businessmen, professionals, lawyers, teachers, among others, belonging to families of farmers.
And among those who arrived to celebrate was also Ratandeep, who cannot walk, talk, eat or defecate without help but had reached Singhu border in a wheelchair with his parents. That he is happy can be gauged by his smile and the gestures he made to his mother, Harpreet Kaur, 45.
He was a healthy child till he was four. Meningitis gave him permanent disabilities and changed the course of his life, she said. "We could have left him with his grandparents, but it would not have been the right thing to do. He cannot convey his feelings in words, but I know he is happy being part of the movement," Kaur from Ludhiana said.
On Friday morning, farmers held special prayers to pay tributes to those who died during the course of the protest. A notice board outside a tent at Singhu reminded grimly, "732 people have died in the last one year," as the outpouring of emotions at the border sites took over almost everyone present there.
Lakhan Singh, 45, from Barnala in Punjab was protesting at the Delhi-Haryana border when he lost his father early this year. "It would have been better had he been here today. But I know his soul will be at peace now," he said. Bhagwan Singh, 43, from Mavi village in Patiala lost his friend Najar Singh, 35, in the seventh month of the protest and burst into tears remembering him. "My friend, the sole breadwinner of his family, left behind three small daughters and elderly parents. We miss him," he said as many others recalled what they had to face on their way to Delhi — some showing scars — courtesy of police lathis and tear gas guns.
"Batons, barricades, treats, nails ... nothing could stop us, we won!" said Kripal Singh, 57, who had braved several bouts of lathicharging to reach Singhu in December last year.
At Ghazipur, many of the farmers brought along vegetables, sacks of flour and lentils, spices and cooking oil on their tractor-trollies, saying they have come prepared for a long haul even as Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Rakesh Tikati urged them from the stage to not let up until all their demands were met. But
even as farmers revelled in their victory, several police battalions were seen guarding
the protest site with tear gas munitions and automatic weapons
At Ghazipur, a BKU spokesperson said, "We have planned a march towards Delhi on November 29, but SKM will take a call about it on Saturday," adding that farmers are arriving in large numbers for the march.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week
announced his government's decision to withdraw the contentious laws.