Dear Prof. Saluja,

Greetings.

The Vaisakhi special edition, dedicated to the agitating Indian farmers, seeking revocation of the three laws, made interesting reading, indeed. Your remarkable editorial has presented a very balanced account of the entire scenario.

Really commendable are the initiatives of Senators Charles Schumer and Robert Menendez writing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Congressman Andrew Garbarino’s letter to Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Similarly, several world leaders, celebrities and the public of many nations have condemned the highhandedness of the Union government of India.

The People’s Power of Peaceful Protest has been reinforced through an unprecedented agitation of such immense magnitude. A momentous chapter in the history of protests, worldwide, is in the making, whereby democratic norms are being re-emphasized by the farming community in India.  “No farmer, no food” is the slogan which emanated from Punjab, India, and soon it started resonating well, deeply and absolutely, with the populace of the entire world.

During the agitation, the farmers, including women, children and the old, were subjected to excruciating tortures like baton-charge, water-cannons and tear-gas shells. And during the camping on several locations, on the Delhi borders, they were further bullied when basic amenities like water, electricity and internet connections were severed, in a blatant violation of human rights

Accomplishment of the aspirations of the already marginalized farmers is being further crushed by the excruciating pain inflicted upon them. However, their resilience and indomitable fortitude, facing all adversity, shall serve as an inspiration for many to emulate.

Protests, by Indians, are being organized worldwide and outside the New York based headquarters of the United Nations Organization, to register a vociferous opposition to the draconian laws, enacted by the autocratic Indian regime, which is also resorting to atrocious measures and machinations to discredit the agitation.

Over two hundred people have succumbed to the extremities of weather. One religious leader and preacher committed suicide, leaving a note that he was sacrificing his life for the cause of the fundamental right to speech and expression, when democratic norms are thrown to the wind, by an autocratic regime. One young farmer was shot dead, while he was driving his tractor.

Most certainly, they can be awarded the rank of “farming soldiers on the interstate borders of Delhi”. The farmers are in a warzone of sorts, battling it out, “with weapons of words and demands”, of course, protesting against their own elected government, demanding their very legitimate fundamental rights, that have been guaranteed in the Indian Constitution but which are not being implemented and given to the distressed farmers. All of the happenings are really an unfortunate and unwarranted situation, especially considering the fact that India has a parliamentary form of government and the following golden words are enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution: “Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic”.

This is an unusually dark phase in the history of the Indian polity, post 1947 independent India, when the programs, policies, procedures and decisions of the government are being denounced by the people. The earlier such black period was the EmergencyEra in 1975 to 1977.

On the 26th of January 2021, all eyes were glued towards the grand spectacle, to be staged on ‘The Rajpath’ (implying the Pathway to the Seat of Power) in Delhi, where the prowess of the Indian Defense Forces, during the Parade is showcased, in a gesture denoting National Glory & Esteem, while celebrating freedom and also saluting the Warrior-Defenders of the Indian populace and Indian territorial sovereignty.

A small group of protestors forced their way, into the historic Red Fort complex, hoisted the ‘Nishaan Sahib’, the Religious-Insignia of the Sikhs, that is visible atop every Gurdwara, around the world. The ‘Nishaan-Sahib’ was deliberately labeled as the ‘Flag of Khalistan’ (an alleged separatist militant movement) even though the entire world is aware of the ‘Nishaan-Sahib’ being the Insignia of the 551-year-old religion, which is the 5th largest, in terms of numbers, and whose adherents reside globally. This saffron-colored insignia is very joyously hoisted by the Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army, wherever it is posted. This flag was hoisted on the ramparts of the very same Red Fort, in a historic commemoration in 2014, to mark the conquest of Delhi by Sikh Generals Bhagel Singh, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who vanquished the Mughals.

They hoisted the ‘Nishaan-Sahib’, at the very spot where the Prime Minister of India unfurls the Tricolor National Flag, every year, on the 15th of August, India’s Independence Day and it is folded and stored, after the ceremony. One Tricolor is always fluttering on another pole. Although this flag was untouched, yet the protestors were charged with desecration of the National Flag.

Hence, the charges of sedition are, absolutely, ill-founded and hold no water.

Amarjit Singh Anand

amar1ujagar1pritam@gmail.com