Updated: December 18, 2020 1:03:37 pm
An elderly farmer shouts slogans as others listen to a speaker as they block a main road during a protest on the Delhi-Haryana border (AP photo)
Despite the limited presence of agricultural unions in the state, Haryana has seen an increase in the participation of local farmers in the protest. It is after several years that the state has seen such peasant upheaval where the common man has been leading the charge. The Indian Express look at the corpses of khap and agricultural costumes that have become the rallying point for protesters in the state.
BKU led by Chaduni
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) led by Gurnam Singh Chaduni is not affiliated with any political party. The farmers had presented Chaduni as an independent candidate from the Ladwa constituency in the 2019 Assembly elections, but he was only able to obtain 1,307 votes. However, Chaduni has led many successful agitations not only during the current BJP regime but also during the previous Hooda government. Among farmers, Chaduni is known as an “articulate, intelligent and courageous leader” who knows how to mobilize support for a particular cause and how to force the authorities to listen to the complaints of the agitators. In Haryana, first, this BKU faction had launched a sustained campaign against three controversial farm laws by staging a tractor march with 15,000 tractor cars in July this year. During the so-called “Delhi Chalo” too, the farmers led by these union leaders had broken through the police barricades despite strong resistance from the police on the Ambala-Delhi national highway on 25 November. This act is believed to have raised the morale of protesting farmers in Haryana and Punjab. However, the police had booked agitators farmers, including Chaduni, on criminal charges that included attempted murder and the police accused them of “trying to run over the policemen with speedy tractor cars”. Currently, top BKU leaders are camping on the Delhi border, but now their followers are mobilizing others to join the turmoil.
Khap panchayats
Khap panchayats are social bodies operating mainly in the areas dominated by the Jat. Many Khap leaders also have political affiliations. But now most of the Khap Panchayats have supported the farmers by sending tractor wagons to the borders of Delhi. Some of the khap leaders who also belong to the BJP have joined the farmers’ agitation such as Tek Ram Kandela from Kandela khap from Jind district. Similarly, a khap leader, Santosh Dahiya, who had contested the 2019 Assembly elections as a JJP candidate from the Ladwa constituency, has joined the farmers on the Delhi borders. It is even mobilizing women in support of the agitators.
Jai Kisan Andolan
‘Jai Kisan Andolan’ is a movement launched by activist Yogendra Yadav, who belongs to the Rewari district of Haryana. Yadav is a former leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and later formed a Swaraj India political group that has yet to prove electoral success. It has a team of dedicated volunteers like Rajeev Godara who try to raise farmers’ issues intelligently from time to time with supporting documents. Yadav himself has been visiting the Haryana grain markets to enlist the support of farmers. Now, Yadav is actively involved in the current agitation of farmers.
Haryana Kisan Sabha
Haryana Kisan Sabha is affiliated with the left-oriented All India Kisan Sabha. Actively participate in the ongoing farmer agitation. Phool Singh Sheokand, Former Employee Leader, is President of Haryana Kisan Sabha. Left-wing parties have little electoral appeal in Haryana. However, Kisan Sabha has activists in many Haryana districts, mainly in Jind, Hisar, Bhiwani and Rohtak.
The farmers had presented Chaduni as an independent candidate from the Ladwa constituency in the 2019 Assembly elections, but he was only able to obtain 1,307 votes.
Various factions of BKU
Aside from the Chaduni-led BKU, there are several other factions of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU). Rattan Mann leads a BKU faction in Haryana, while Chaudhary Joginder Ghasi Ram Nain leads another BKU faction here. Joginder is the son of the well-known Haryana farmer leader, the late Ghasi Ram Nain. A farmer leader from Charkhi Dadri Jagbir Ghasola also leads a BKU faction. There are also other farmer organizations in Haryana like Kisan Sanghrash Samiti from Fatehabad and Akhil Bhartiya Swaminathan Sanghrash Samiti from Sirsa. These factions are now part of the ongoing farmer agitation. In Haryana it is said that if you are not a member of any Kisan union, just grab a BKU flag and join the farmers’ agitation.
Common man participation
Meanwhile, the main support for the unrest comes from the “aam aadmi” in Haryana, with the feeling among farmers that corporations will eat up their farmland sooner or later. This time, young people, especially from the farming community, have participated in the agitation with great enthusiasm. Up to 600 tractor cars came from Safidon and the Pillu Khera area of Jind district to join a protest in the city of Jind on Monday. Without a significant presence of any farmer organizations in the area, farmers began to gather near the Jind Women’s Police Station. At 1 p.m., there were around 5,000 protesters who had arrived in around 1,000 vehicles. Furthermore, political leaders are not allowed to take advantage of the ongoing farmer turmoil. Senior congress Randeep Singh Surjewala was mocked when he joined a protest during Bharat Bandh on December 8. The dominant political parties also have their farmer wings, but their presence is not visible in the turmoil.
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