Farmers victorious: Jind villagers still in high spirits

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, November 20

Kandela village in Jind district, which has been the nerve centre of the farmers’ movement, has been rejoicing over the decision to repeal the three “black” laws.

Backing the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), Tekram Kandela, former pradhan of the Kandela khap and convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat, said just half the work had been done and they would continue their struggle to get the other demands fulfilled. “Though the PM’s announcement came quite late, it is still a good step in the direction of the farmers’ issue. It has definitely costed the farmers immensely,” he added.

“I was at the Tikri border when the PM made the announcement and I plan to go back there tomorrow. There is no lack in the enthusiasm of Jind farmers,” he said, adding that the agenda of the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and bringing a law on the MSP were also important for the farmers’ survival.

Kandela farmers were among those at the forefront, who gave a new lease of life to the stir after it suffered a setback post the January 26 Delhi incident. As soon as a video of Rakesh Tikait in tears was flashed on television and the social media, farmers in tractor-trailers started marching towards the Delhi borders on January 29 night.

“We realised the significance of the agitation and thus took the immediate decision to march to Delhi when the UP Government was gearing up for the crackdown at the Ghazipur border. As the videos of farmers from Kandela village going towards the Delhi borders got viral on the social media soon Jind residents and the rest of Haryana too followed us,” said Ishwar Singh, a farmer.

“We know how to turn the tables when the stakes are high,” Singh said, adding that they had done so in the past as well.

Notably, a statue of a bull placed at the entrance of Kandela village signifies the contribution of these villagers in the farm stir in 2002 when they took on the then INLD government. The residents remembered that when the police wanted to unleash a crackdown on the farmers who had blocked the highway, the bull stood like a wall in front and didn’t let them enter the village. They placed a statue in the memory of the bull, who is worshiped as a deity of the village.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.