Bharat Bandh — The Farmers Protests Continue — Another Day of Police Brutality and Further Calls for Boycotts
By: Kirat Kaur
Tags: Farmers, Democracy, India, Protest, International

December 12, 2020

This past week marked one of the world’s largest protests in history. It took place in India, and the world barely took notice. More and more farmers have continued to join the protests from across India — Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh to name just a few. Some farmers were blocked from leaving their states by their police, so they sat down at their borders blocking the roads. One of the largest democracies in the world is facing major backlash within its own country. It’s facing international criticism of their handling of the farmers as they peacefully tried to enter Delhi through Haryana, a BJP led state. Narendra Modi and his BJP government also face criticism on passing the farmers bill despite opposition within Rajya Sabha against the bill — the bill is unconstitutional. The BJP government also did not hold any discussions with farmers unions prior to drafting this bill. For more information on this, you can refer back to my previous article.

Many of us were forced to rely on Instagram to provide us with daily updates because news outlets across the world were not reporting on the protest. And if they were reporting on the protest, it was inaccurate and trying to label the protesters as Khalistani terrorists. Thanks to social media we were able to change the narrative back to what it was really about — the farmers protest.

As discussions with the BJP government were coming to a standstill, the farmers announced a nationwide protest — Bharat Bandh. Many different trade unions joined the protesters on December 8th. While we were still sleeping, videos began circulating on Instagram of police in Chandigarh spraying water cannons at protesters outside of the BJP’s office. I watched videos of police beating protesters, while other protesters were trying to stop the chaos. Less than two weeks ago, protesters marching to Delhi received the same treatment with the addition of tear gas. The second upset was that the December 9th meeting with the government was cancelled.

If you didn’t know already, Chandigarh is Union Territory, which means its administration functions directly under the Central Government and not by the state of Punjab. It may be the capital of Punjab and Haryana, but it doesn’t actually belong to either state (that’s a story for another day). Minister of Parliament in Chandigarh is Bollywood actress turned politician, Ms. Kirron Kher, who has also remained deathly silent since the protests began. Her only post on Instagram or Twitter after November 27th was for Gurpurab. I really shouldn’t expect anything more from a BJP MP, but keep reading and you’ll see why I’m overly annoyed by the hypocrisy of this lady.

Let’s go back five years ago. On December 1, 2015, she spoke in Lok Sabha on the debate of intolerance within India. Lok Sabha is the lower house of Parliament and below the Rajya Sabha where the farmers bill was passed. I remember watching the video and feeling proud that someone spoke so passionately for us within the government. She spoke about Congress’s conscience not being awoken when Indira Gandhi sent in the army to attack the Golden Temple in 1984; the mass sterilizations committed by Indira Gandhi’s government during the emergency order; and the anti-Sikh riots after Gandhi’s assassination. Ms. Kher was only right about one thing — it was no riot. It was a massacre. When the opposition parties tried to speak over her, her response was essentially: we listened to you, now it’s our right to speak, and that all sides have a right to voice their opinions. Ironic isn’t it?

She talks about intolerance and people’s conscience in 2015, but where is her conscience today? Today it was your city where the police brutality occurred, Ms. Kher. Aap jatt hoke vi hun chup behti hain, kyon? When you need their votes, you remember your people and your Punjab. What happened to you these last 11 days? In 2015 you also mentioned the mass sterilizations imposed by Indira Gandhi, the emergency order, and the intolerant practices of the Congress party, but what about the BJP now? The Congress party wasn’t any better for India in the past, but it doesn’t mean that the BJP is the best option for India today. India continues to face injustices on all fronts because of your party. Today your government is oppressing all minorities. How can you be so hypocritical?

Image: screenshot of Narendra Modi’s twitter account

And Modi saab, you tweeted on May 3, 2014 about this very emergency order, and celebrating freedom of expression and freedom of press. Today you’re sending internet jammers at the protest sites and increasing police presence everywhere. Today, you’re spraying water cannons, beating, and shooting tear gas at our grandparents, parents, brothers, and sisters. The only difference between you and Indira Gandhi is that we knew what and who she was trying to suppress, but you sir are a different type of breed. You target all minorities that we can’t keep our head straight. In recent years, numerous protests have taken place against your fascist government and its policies. Time and time again, you and your supporters have shown the world how you treat your citizens — you know, the ones who have a democratic right to protest when they so chose to do so because they live in a democratic country. You detain politicians who try to support the farmers. India is still a democracy right? Legitimately, every community that stands up to you, Modi, can’t all be wrong — students, farmers, Dalits, Muslims. They’re all misguided?

Today generations and different religious groups have come together in unity. Army veterans are joining the protest. For the first time in India’s post-partition history, the country has united irrespective of their language barriers and faith. Punjab is the unsung hero of this country pre- and post-partition. Despite all this, their voices have always fallen on deaf ears — yours, your governments, and a film fraternity’s. Perhaps Dr. Ritu Singh is right — it’s time for you, Modi, to step aside. Let the Ambani’s and Adani’s lead the country since they’re the ones running the agenda anyway. The farmers can deal directly with them considering the bill you passed benefits their corporations.

Tomorrow is the start of the next phase of the farmers protest. While car rallies across the world will be taking place, the farmers have called for a different type of protest. They announced the following plan:

Blocking the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways on December 12th;

boycott of all Adani projects, malls, toll plazas and other projects that provide revenue to the BJP on December 14th (tolls will be made free for travellers on December 12);

All Jio products will be boycotted;

On December 14th, protests to be held at district BJP headquarters across the country;

Another ‘Delhi Chalo” protest will be held in Delhi’s neighbouring states in order to surround India’s capital;

Farmers across the country will continue to protest.

You have to give credit where credit is due. These farmers have come prepared — they know the country no longer trusts this government; they exposed the government controlled media groups; they have support from Punjabi artists, and they’re relying heavily on social media to get their messages across. They have received the support of independent documentary photographers and they have received external support from people and politicians across the world. While in the midst of a global pandemic, we have figured out ways to show our support relying heavily on car rallies. Last weekend past and within Canada, America, and the U.K., we say more than tens of thousands of cars come out in support. This weekend is round 2 — Ontario wide car protest starting in Windsor and heading to the Indian Consulate in Toronto while other cities join in. In Birmingham, U.K., cars will be joining from different cities, like Leicester, Coventry, Derby, Southall, etc. My hope is that we will be able to garner more attention from the mainstream media and put further pressure on the Indian government to repeal the farmers bill.

Finally, if all of the above didn’t get through to you, I hope this will. The Economist got it right when it said that the world’s largest democracy was heading into a future that is less free. Those supporting the farmers today have already come to this realization. They know they have less freedom today than they had when Modi was first elected. The unconstitutional passing of the farmers bill is a clear indication of what this country has to look forward to. Modi is attacking every group — Muslims, doctors, Dalits, farmers, students. No one is safe in this dictatorship and divisive government. However, for those that are still following this anti-national narrative — the day will come when your rights get stripped away and then you’ll realize you were on the wrong side of history. Remember the last time your basic fundamental rights were stripped away was during the Emergency Order, and then think back to how your parents and grandparents felt at the time. Today, democracy is on the brink of extinction. If you thought Trump was dangerous, you were wrong. While there may be many more Trump 2.0’s out there, Modi isn’t one of them. Modi is the Godfather. He’s learned from Trump’s mistakes, and that’s worse. After the defeat of Trump in the 2020 American elections, journalists and political scientists alike wrote about that one politician who would learn from Trump’s mistakes. Modi is that one they were all worried about and let that sink in!

#kisaanmajdoorektazindabad

#farmersprotest

#istandwithfarmers

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Footer regarding Kirron Kher’s Video:

Just a side note: I’ve linked two videos of the same speech by Kirron Kher. Please do watch both of them. I have watched the first video so many times since 2015 (highlighted under the word ‘intolerance’). When I re-watched it again to write the paragraph on her speech, I wanted to make sure that I mentioned her three points. Except the last point in her speech was muted. I kept replaying the video thinking ‘how come I can’t find that part anymore?’. At 3 minutes and 46 seconds, the video goes quiet for a full minute, but the time continues. I specifically remembered her mentioning the assassination and the Sikh’s massacred in the aftermath, but for some reason I couldn’t locate it in the first video. I had to look for other videos of the same speech and was luckily able to find the second one highlighted under ‘Gandhi’s assassination’. Watch for yourself. I don’t know what it means or if it even amounts to anything at all, but I thought it was worth mentioning that a portion of the video was now muted on BJP’s YouTube page.