Many Hoosiers families trace their roots to the farming families in Punjab, and some were farmers themselves before they immigrated to US.
Maligning a peaceful grassroots movement by intentionally creating a narrative of terrorism around it might be a victory for the BJP and its extreme right wing partners but not for India’s democracy. Farmers are one of the greatest assets in creating a more peaceful and prosperous India. Every freedom loving citizen needs to stand with their calls for equity and justice.
Far too long have authorities escaped scrutiny and if the motivation behind acts like these is to quiet the voice and slow the thrust of a movement... surely it will have the opposite affect.
Historically, Mai Bhago and Gadri Gulab Kaur, a freedom fighter from Sangrur who left her husband and the prospect of a safe life in the West to join the Ghadar movement and fight the British often come to mind.
Perhaps the most glaring example to demonstrate the struggle is a cultural one and it is between authoritarianism vs the will of the people is that of Nodeep Kaur.
Talking to her made me feel like I was talking to a lioness, not a middle-aged woman. Jaswant Kaur and her family have been at the borders for the last 25 days. She, and many other women and their families, journeyed from their pind (village) to Delhi via tractor.
Did I serve 22 years in army to hear the word terrorist?
“We’re farmers not harmers” agriculturists added. But, the authorities and media houses are representing them as a “terrorist” is it a right word for the folk who feeds the whole nation?
When an elderly Sikh farmer was featured in this segment he just addressed him as a farmer and praised his patience and resolution.
Gurpreet spoke of Mata Bhag Kaur, Mata Sharan Kaur, and Mata Sulakhni, as well as fighters from 1984, weaving stories of their resilience that she remembers for inspiration. “These Sikh women have fought hard and long battles and there are many such stories that I have grown up reading about.”