On protest for last 200 days, Ferozepur octogenarian’s demand strikes emotional chord
Among other demands, Madan Lal Narula has been demanding to reunite India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to create a greater India, as it was before the British divided it into separate nations
It has been 200 days since 81-year-old Madan Lal Narula has been protesting at Railway Children's Park in Ferozepur’s Guru Har Sahai, raising several civic issues, including improvements in sanitation, proper roads and streetlights, relocation of the dumping site, among other demands.
However, one of his demands strikes an emotional chord with many passersby, especially old-timers.
Narula has been demanding to reunite India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to create a greater India, as it was before the British divided it into separate nations. Against all odds, his dream of reuniting the belligerent nations refuses to fade.
It has now become his daily ritual. Narula comes to his small protest site carrying placards highlighting his demands. From morning till evening, he sits quietly as hundreds of people pass through the area.
Narula began his indefinite protest on October 25, 2025, and despite repeated requests from officials to end it, he has remained steadfast in his demands and continues to sit there without a break.
“Until all my demands are fulfilled, my movement will continue,” he said.
And Narula is not alone. His friend, Muraleedharan Nair, 60, has come all the way from Kerala to support him. While Narula sits at the protest site from 10 am to 5 pm, Nair replaces him in the evening and stays there until the next morning.
Over the last six months, Narula has met several public representatives, including MLA Fauja Singh Sarari and District Planning Board Chairman Harjinder Singh Ghagga, but claims that none of his demands have been addressed so far.
Along with his call for a united subcontinent, Narula has also been demanding completion of the railway skywalk bridge project in Guruharsahai, early completion of the Mallanwala Khas–Patti rail link, implementation of the SYL Canal project as per Supreme Court directions, better financial assistance for widows, the elderly and persons with disabilities on the lines of schemes in Delhi and Haryana, monthly aid for women, a government college for girls, and relocation of the dumping site.
Now, he says, many public leaders have started ignoring him, but he continues his protest unrelentingly and unfazed, hoping that someday both the authorities and society will listen to the voice of an elderly man fighting not only for social issues, but also for a dream of a “United Bharat” that he still believes in.
