Sarabjeet has been protesting at Singhu Border against the agricultural laws of the center.
“We don’t want to fight, we just want to be heard,” says Sarabjeet, a farmer protesting against the agricultural laws of the center in the Singhu border area of Delhi. Farmers have been protesting on Delhi’s borders since November 26 against the center’s three recent agricultural laws. Today, as Kisan Diwas or National Farmer’s Day is celebrated across the country, ‘Humans of Bombay’ spoke with Sarabjeet about protests against farm laws and more.
“I have dedicated my whole life to kheti (agriculture), “she says. The only girl among four children, she says she was raised as a boy by her father, who insisted that she accompany him to his farms instead of cooking at home.
His love of agriculture was such that when he married, he made it a condition that he would continue working. The money she earned from each year’s harvest helped to support the home.
“I did everything from sowing the seeds to growing the harvest,” says Sarabjeet, opening up about the struggles farmers face. “Sometimes it rains, sometimes pests destroy our crops, but we keep working.”
However, he says, “when farm laws were passed without taking us farmers into consideration, I was not going to stay home and do nothing.”
She insisted on being part of the protests against the laws unfolding in Delhi. Despite her son’s reservations, Sarabjeet reached the Singhu border a week after the protests started.
Speaking about the place of the protest, he says that every night, farmers gather to sing Punjabi folk songs. In Gurupurab, even the police joined in their celebrations.
“They are not wrong, beta – woh apni roti ke liye yahan hai aur hum apni roti ke liye (The police are not mistaken, beta – They are here because it is their duty and we are here because it is ours) ”, he says, adding that farmers want their voice to be heard.
And if making sure her voice is heard means sitting in the biting cold of Delhi that makes it hard to breathe, Sarabjeet says she’s ready for it. “We barely win, but we fill their plates with food every day. I understand that money is important; everyone wants to win it. But beta, money does not satisfy their hunger, our grains do.”
“I’m not leaving until they listen to us, until we win,” he says.
The Mumbai Humans Facebook post documenting his interview with Sarabjeet has been shared more than 200 times in two hours.
“Thank you for your determination! We will always be indebted for your sacrifices for us,” wrote one person in the comment section.
“Thanks for sharing this story,” said another.
Kisan Diwas is observed every year on December 23 to honor Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary. The peasant leader is remembered for his commitment to the millions of peasants in India. During his short term as prime minister, from July 1979 to January 1980, Chaudhary Charan Singh worked hard for Indian farmers, introducing various welfare schemes.
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