The case of our country’s divide from secularism is known to all and ignored by most. News without some form of extremism is almost unheard of, even in tabloids. Everything is being sucked into the boycott culture and being stripped of its meaning to the point of being idiotic; the democracy in “too much democracy” has either become esoteric, or is slowly turning into theocracy.

Unity has become a textbook term, and the last place you’d expect to see it, is on a protest site. But see it you will, if you take some time out to visit the very widely known farmer protests situated on the borders of New Delhi. Farmers from all over India are out in the biting cold fighting against the recent farm laws. Far from being violent or aided by “anti-national” sources, as has been claimed by channels calling themselves “unbiased media”, the actual sites of protests are a beautiful sight to witness. They are a testimony to the strength of our farmers, their sense of service to the community, their ability to turn a revolution into a celebration of unified diversity, and to persevere in the face of severe odds.

“This protest has increased the brotherhood between all of us so much. We’ve become a family here, and for that we’re immensely thankful. The amount of love being shown to us by the general public has overwhelmed us. We don’t know how to thank them”, said a farmer.

Now we all know the type of comments a few media channels have been making. To put it more aptly, we know the type of propaganda that’s being spewed around to discredit an entire movement; a movement that’s said to be “the biggest protest in world history”. But no one is more against “Khalistan” or “anti-nationals” than the very people accused of being them, a.k.a. our farmers.

“No one here is from Khalistan. The government should know that in India’s history, Sikhs and everyone else have given zero support to such ideas, and are instead completely against it. All we’re asking for is our rights,” said a group of protesting farmers.

And to the accusation of being political, or “misguided”, they said,

“We do not support any parties, nor is anyone from those parties here with us. We’ve been wronged time and again, not just by the currently ruling party, but the one before that, and the one before that. We don’t care about politics. It’s a matter of our livelihood now, and we’re not going back until it’s solved.”

In fact, a lot of the farmers there have children serving the in the defence forces of India, and couldn’t be prouder of them. It’s clear, there’s no anti-national element in the protests, but there are definitely anti-farm law elements in abundance.

And there aren’t just young people protesting these laws, there are old men and women, even little kids supporting the right of farmers to protest, and dealing with the biting cold and untimely rains every day. They’ve created a system, however, that is beautiful in the way that it’s sustainable. There are langars served multiple times in a day, made by people without gender or age biases, makeshift tents have been created to provide shelter to everyone who needs it, and there are separate places for women to sleep, take baths etc. The resources, like food, milk, water etc are in plenty (it is a farmer’s protest after all), and blankets and other required items are provided through donations or by other protesters. Even books aren’t a rarity. Makeshift libraries have been created that let everyone take a break, read in peace, and satisfy their intellectual needs too. When asked if he was a farmer, a young protester said, “Koi Shak?”, in a tone that declared finality. And that’s the only answer needed by biased media houses and others making unnecessary, even outrageous, claims. The farmers aren’t there to pass time, they mean to have their demands addressed, and it’s time we stop questioning them and start listening. Because, as Tierra Kesler has said, “An industry that feeds you is an industry worth fighting for.”

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Aeiknor

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