Day 344

Toll 658

Light

As darkness spreads over India, the farmers hold on to light. Their protest has become part of everyday life and important rituals in north India. When my Bhua (father’s sister) passed away last February, at her daughter Minni Jaspreet Kaur’s home in village Chaklan, the Antim Ardas, final prayers, included supplication for the farmers on protest.

In Sikh families, actually other communities too, at weddings, there is a tradition of the groom carrying the sword. In the course of the protests – since they are avowedly non-violent – grooms carry the farmers’ flag. Earlier this year, we learnt, Gajjan Singh – the Indian Army sepoy who died in Poonch – had carried the farmers’ flag to his wedding. It has become customary for couples to marry with the flag, collect funds for the protests, and come to the Morchas to pay homage and offer the collected money. Two days back, Manpreet Kaur and Harjot Sangha, who got married on October 18, paid obeisance at the Singhu border and received blessings from the farmers.

The SKM had made a call to light lamps in memory of the slain farmers in the protest. My timeline is full of diyas and candles at farm wells and parapets of homes and open spaces. No one burst crackers. This is how the protests have now become part of people’s culture.

However, last night at Singhu there was a big fire incident. Hutments are inflammable and they caught fire quickly. Witnesses are testifying that it was a deliberate attempt to not only set fire to hutments but also a nearby temple and spark riots. So many arson incidents at the borders have now pushed farmers to be ready with hoses and fire extinguishers. The farmers controlled the fire. Luckily the huts were empty. Once again the dark designs of the conspirators failed.

While farmers have incorporated the protests into their way of life, the relentless forces of darkness do not cease. Instead of minister Teni resigning, two more farmers have been arrested in Lakhimpur Kheri. We can see in the tussle between light and darkness, who stands where. May there be light.