How a protest changed shapes from a farmers’ movement to a to a political movement to a Khalistani group to finally a gang of vandals

The Farmers’ protest started against the revolutionary farm bills brought in by the Union Government to liberalise the regressive and ancient agriculture sector of India has now entered into its fifth week. The protests started by few genuine farmers looking to bridge the knowledge vacuum about the nitty-gritty of the farm bill have now been hijacked by several anti-national forces, one week after another. From a farmers’ movement to a political movement to a Khalistani group to finally a gang of vandals – their fall and fall of the farmers’ protest have been spectacular, to say the least. 

Even before the protestors landed near the borders of Delhi, the radical Khalistani elements had already seized the opportunity to infiltrate the ranks. The rail line services in Punjab were brought to a halt by these elements, bringing a substantial amount of losses to the exchequer.

Khalistani elements and their emergence

However, it was the emergence of the Khalistani forces that derailed the momentum of the protests in the first place. The layman sitting in front of their TV sets got put off, by the sole reason that such nefarious elements that troubled Punjab with terrorism and bloodshed in the late 80s and 90s tried to fashion a comeback by hiding in plain sight amongst farmers.

The mask of Deep Sidhu who was championed by the liberals of the country for sermonizing heavy phrases like ‘geopolitics of South Asia’ was seemingly peeled off by none other than Barkha Dutt. Sidhu openly pledged his allegiances to Bhindranwale and since his confession hasn’t appeared anywhere near the protests. 

In one of the videos from the protests, one of the demonstrators could be seen threatening PM Modi with dire consequences if an immediate solution is not reached in the upcoming meeting between the farmers and the Centre on December 3 over the farm laws. 

An alleged farmer was heard saying, “December 3 ko meeting hai, agar hal koi hua toh thik hai nahin toh…aap jaante nahin…hamare shaheed Udham Singh ne goro ko Canada me jake thoka…Indira thok di…Modi ki chhati mein…”(If no solution is reached at in the December 3 meeting, you don’t know, our shaheed Udham Singh shot the colonisers in Canada. Indira Gandhi was taken down. Similarly, in Modi’s chest…”).

Read More: Bhindranwale 2.0: Congress is repeating the same mistake it had made in Punjab which led to Indira Gandhi’s death

And if the reader had any doubt about the hijacking of the protests by Khalistani elements – a couple of days back, a poster of Jagtar Singh Haward, terrorist of Babbar Khalsa- the mastermind behind the assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh- had been displayed on the site of farmer’s protest, Singhu border.

Belittling Hindus, PM Modi and HM Amit Shah

Previously Yograj Singh – the father of cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who himself is a celebrated actor and was a first-class cricketer, spewed venom against Hindus while he spoke in support of the ongoing farmer’s protest.

“Ye Hindu gaddar hai, sau saal mughalon ki ghulami ki,” said Yograj Singh. “Inki auraten take-take ke bhaw bikti,” he added. He also made racist comments against Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and said, “These people would take a u-turn even if they swore on their mothers, sisters, and daughters,” said Yograj whilst referring to Gujaratis.

The litmus test of Left-lobby connection – the Award Wapasi Gang

After the entry of the Khalistani angle in the farmers’ protests, there is the litmus test to understand if the left-liberal lobby has joined the protest or not. The moment a protest in the country sees ‘eminent personalities’ returning their awards, one can decipher that the vultures of Indian democracy have swooped in to push their agendas.

However, this tactic didn’t work in the Modi government’s first tenure when in the garb of intolerance, a Tsunami of award ‘wapasi’ coterie returned their shiny silverwares after basking in its glory for all the prior years. This time around, even the media failed to give them any space and eventually, this shindig also died down. 

Former Olympic hockey player and Arjuna awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema accompanied by wrestler and Padma Shri awardee Kartar Singh, Olympic gold medallist hockey player Gurmail Singh, who is also an Arjuna awardee, and former Indian hockey captain Rajbir Kaur were few of the personalities that returned their awards this time around. 

The supporters of the protest included singer Diljit Dosanjh, former England Cricketer Monty Panesar, and many others who on several occasions have been seen rubbing shoulders with Khalistani elements. 

https://twitter.com/anmolmehta5056/status/1332179516089716738

Shaheen Bagh 2.0

The methodologies of the two protests also bear a striking resemblance to each other. It must be remembered that during the Shaheen Bagh protests, an arterial road connecting Noida and Delhi was blocked by misinformed and freelance protestors. 

Read More: The striking similarities between Shaheen Bagh and Farmers’ protests

The protests of alleged farmers are seeing the same now unfold. While there is no ‘blockade’ of roads per se, nevertheless, the national capital has been somewhat gheraoed and can be blocked if the protestors so decide. Nevertheless, in Punjab, the farmers have already accomplished denting the state’s economy by blockading crucial rail lines for a prolonged period. Only late last month, the rail blockade by farm unions was called off.

Demanding release of Urban Naxals

After the Khalistani link destabilized the protests, the Bharatiya Kisan Union further derailed the cause by seeking the release of Urban Naxals and the Delhi Riots accused. Just the way Shaheen Bagh was operated where the cabal constantly demanded its so-called ‘heroes’ to be released from the prisons, the farmers’ protest took a similar turn.

Read: The farmers protest now reveals its true colours as farmers demand the release of Urban Naxals and Delhi Riots accused

The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) pitched up the photos of more than 20 Urban Naxals booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly having links with Naxals on the occasion of Human Rights Day. Urban Naxals like Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira were remembered by the protestors at the Tikri border.

Continuing the protests – just for the optics

The 24-hours relay strike orchestrated by seasonal politician/psephologist/TV expert Yogendra Yadav is yet another milestone in the farmers’ protest, which is only being done to keep the media camera lens on the protests that are disintegrating because of the lack of interest from the stakeholders itself. 

The wealthy middlemen and landlord farmers can only sit on the borders for some time whereas the honest, hardworking farmers of the country are busy ploughing and tiling their lands, rather than creating a ruckus for the common people. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (ASSOCHAM) rough estimates, a daily loss of Rs 3,000-3500 crore is resulting in the economies of the region from the value chain and transport disruption because of the protests.

Read: India is incurring a daily loss of 3500 crores, thanks to fake and overly sensationalised farmer protests

There have been several instances where the government has tried to meet the farmers midway. The 4 December meeting where Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar offered to concede to a few demands of the farmers, was outrightly rejected by the non-state actors looking to elongate the farmers’ protests to eternity. 

The three laws cannot be repealed and expecting the government to do so will be foolishness on the part of the non-state actors masquerading as farmers. The Modi government doesn’t yield before such hostilities, as the last six years have sufficiently proven.