“Gently, you can shake the world,” Gandhi ji once said.
In over a year of agitation, against three farm laws, at three Delhi border points, farmers have shaken the world powers, media, and their own union government.
Tractors fitted with loudspeakers blared songs of victory, as a small section of farmers sat on the ground: holding posters demanding guaranteed prices, eating jalebis and laddoos, saluting the person who died in an army plane crash and the farmers who were martyred during the protest.
Farmers were now ready to get back to their respective fields and homes. There were young ones and there were old ones, but their courage was commendable.
Farmers from across the country joined hands and hearts, against the three farm laws proposed by the government. They created their on-site homes on the roads, with all the basic amenities in place.
They Won: Not The Rulers, But The Protestors
After a 15-month-long protest, they won. No, not the rulers, but the protesters. This protest proved to be the protest of hope and sweet seeds, the protest to save the agriculture. It was a protest of the providers and farmers.
Farmers, the sons and daughters of the soil, are coming back with a token of love, friendship, pride, and some promises. From this agricultural protest, we have to learn the importance of a peaceful protest, and to take a stand for your rights.
The three farm bills passed without any discussion, and the consent of opposition, in the parliament. They were not accepted by the farmers because of some major issues.
Finally, after a long time, prime minister Narendra Modi, on the auspicious day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, announced that his government would be repealing the farm laws.
It must have felt like their hearts started beating again, for all the protesting farmers and their supporters.
From suffering through heat waves and brutally cold nights; from Covid-19 to the dengue wave; from barricades to tear gas, they tolerated everything, only to assert their demands, serve the country and save the world from hunger.
After the Indian freedom movement, we hadn’t heard of a prolonged protest. But now, we have seen one a couple of times (the anti-CAA protests and the farmers’ protest).
The Role And Rise Of Alternate Media
I would like to add that the mainstream media did not play their part. So, they have been irresponsible. On the other hand, some alternate forms of media such as the Trolley Times, regional media channels, covered the farmers’ protest extensively.
What was covered? All the things happening at the farmers’ protest, that awakened the nation.
In this country, the media has always played a valuable part, but now times have changed in terms of coverage, facts, and truth. We saw the disparity created by the mainstream media during the farmers’ protest.
Due to the lack of trust in powerful and mainstream media, Trolley Times, a bi-weekly newspaper with four pages, was born. It was founded by a group of dynamic individuals such as a film script writer, video director, farmer, and two photographers.
It came into being at the height of one of the biggest protests in Indian history. They had a daily bulletin section. They discussed facts and made announcements. It also connected different regions to each other.
It was published in different languages: Punjabi, English, and Hindi.
All Sorts Of Farmers Came Together
Like the freedom struggle, women played their part this time, too. They were on the frontlines. You could see that the ratio of women was really high during the agitations. They were engaged in meetings, making decisions, and bhojan (food) too.
The whole nation should salute the farmers (men, women, and children) for their fortitude, discipline, tenacity and endurance. Even children, and the younger ones at that, fought for themselves.
Some school children joined the protest with their school books and while attending online classes. They taught the lessons of unity, peace, community living, langar (community kitchen and eating), and seva (service) to the rest of the nation.
We saw farmers from all over the country participating. There were farmers from urban areas, rural areas, and even those who owned a tiny portion of land. Beyond this, people from all cultural backgrounds, religions, and regions attended the protest.
The protest area was like a fair. You can’t win any movement without sacrifice, and in this down-to-earth movement, over 700 farmers sacrificed their lives. Salute to this army!