Latest developments - with 26 updates. Saturday 13th Feb : Be Informed, Be Active
1. While many know about 200 farmers passing away, many are not aware that 4061 sikh youth have been booked under UAPA. An appalling statistic that shows huge organised repression of sikh youth during these farmers protests.
2. 143 farmer protestors have now been arrested. Many have been severely tortured. During 1978 -1995, many sikh youth who were arrested returned home disabled due to torture, or did not return home.
3. While in Tihar jail @mandeeppunia1 met many innocent farmers who’d also been illegally arrested. Their wounds is very serious due to police torture. These farmers were innocent protestors & had no business being locked up. Sometimes the farmers would cry- but their spirits remained unbroken
4. 80 year old Gurmukh Singh & 70 year old Jeet Singh were released today from Tihar jail due to legal assistance from DSGPC. Both said they were beaten and tortured inside. Both are former Indian soldiers who fought in Indo Pak wars. But both now retired are farmers.
5. Very thick fog at morcha sites today made conditions very difficult for farmers and families.
6. Massive crowd saw performance of Kanwar Grewal at Gadri Gulab Nagar, Tikri Border. Promoting Unity among different unions and motivating people to join protest. A large gathering of local people along with protestors are a proof of the movement growing day by day.
7. Many farmers concerned that morcha does not go into Vaisakhi as many will have to return for harvest. At the moment many fields are being attended to by bibian or extended families.
8. In Punjab the farmers are still facing the shortage of Bardana. Sheller association is playing the blame games with govt and farmers or their families/ workers who are on the fields facing troubles. The govt and sheller associations are laying waste all the hard worrk done by farmers and making them suffer financially.
9. The numbers continue to swell at Bahadurgarh after massive Mahapanchayat yesterday. Large number of people expected on weekends from Punjab via trains.
10. Haryana Agriculture Minister JP Dalal has being caught on video making fun of the death of more than 200 people who have lost their lives so far in the farmer movement. He mocks their commitment to the cause.
11. As per reports Haryana BJP Chief Minister Khattar govt is planning to bring a law which will penalise the protesting farmers for losses incurred to Haryana govt due to protests. It’s ironic as he was the person who had the motorways dug up and brought huge amounts of police against the farmers, now he wants to farmers to pay for it.
12. Delhi Police Commissioner chaired an important meeting to review the situation on the borders of Delhi ie Ghazipur, Singhu, Tikri and Shahjahanpur.
13. #FarmersProtest has entered day 143 in Punjab. A protest march led by advocate Lakhbir singh was taken out in Amritsar near golden gate.
14. Supreme Court bench with CJI has sought replies on delay in payment of dues of Rs 15,683 crores to sugarcane farmers. Please know that sugarcane farmers have been protesting for FRP (Fair & remunerative price). Farmers of West UP are majorly impacted.
15. Rakesh Tikait has said that Mahapanchayats have rattled govt and that this is a beginning. He also announced his intentions to organise Mahapanchayats in Gujarat.
16. Sikh PA - "Police should shoot them" These are the words of BJP politician Nand Kishor Gurjar (pictured), said recently in regards to the farmer protesters in-and-around Delhi.'The farmers who are sitting are hundred percent terrorists. The police should shoot them' - quoted by Indian media outlets from a video Gurjar spoke in. We share this as an example of what influences the state perpetrated violence towards the #FarmersProtest. This was said in a video by Gurjar in which he demanded an end to protests. He is one of many high profile Indians, including Bollywood stars, provoking violence towards the protesters.These kinds of statements are regularly directed towards minority communities (or movements driven by/in support of minorities) in India.
17. Vocal MP Claudia Webbe wrote a full page article in Morning Star supporting on farmers protests. She has faced a lot of hate as a Leicester East MP, but has stood strong for farmers. The article - The international community must show solidarity with Indian farmers. As socialists, we must stand alongside workers who are resisting the undemocratic imposition of even more extractive forms of capitalism and neoliberalism. “It is also important that we recognise the role of Britain in materially supporting violence and oppression across the globe. Britain was the world’s second-biggest arms exporter behind the United States over the past decade. Orders worth £11 billion were won by UK arms manufacturers in 2019 alone, which represents 16 per cent of all weapons sold across the world in that year. Britain has licensed £550 million worth of arms to India since May 2015.”
18. Meanwhile in Germany, Farmers are protesting against the corporatisation of agriculture & new environment laws that mandate them to be slaves of seed mafia. Agriculture issues are global.
19. Some of B.C.’s most powerful unions are throwing their support behind protesters in India amid growing concerns about censorship of the social media movement in solidarity with those farmers.The B.C. Federation of Labour (BCFED) has planned a car rally and protest for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Surrey at Nordel Way and Scott Road.
20. According to media reports, Deep Sidhu and Iqbal Singh were brought to the Red Fort to recreate the January 26 events and the involvement of Deep Sidhu. The Delhi Crime Branch attempted to understand the events that took place on Deep Sidhu.
21. Baaz news - Koo, the Indian Twitter alternative, has gotten into controversies right at the beginning of its big moment, including a data leak row and the revealing of having a Chinese investment.
22. Many UK citizens are waking up to BJP fascism in Tory party, with appalling remarks by Home Minister Priti Patel on Black Lives Matter and taking the knee. Many calling for her resignation on social media. As one anti racism campaigner stated, “The biggest victory of racism is to have a token brown person churn out and try to normalize racist policies and statements.”
23. Sikh Council UK tweeted, “We would like to thank @pritipatel for being honest in her opinions on #BLM, we wouldn't expect anything different from an admirer of #RSS & #MODI. Would she now also endorse the views of #Modi that protestors are PARASITES?”
24. Haryana Jaat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan gave a public statement that he is leaving Hinduism to embrace Sikhi with 300 of his supporters. They are going to Siri Akal Thakht Sahib on 21st April.
25. Ravi Singh Khalsa Aid said,”The hate from the right wing indian fanatics motivates us to do more for humanity..... ! Their hate for minorities is nothing short of the Nazi ideology!”
26. Lastly below are some pictures dedicated to the children of the morcha.
