Despite all the talk about farmers’ agitation against farm laws at Delhi’s border points, the figures raved about by the Haryana police paint a different picture. Senior state police officers estimate the presence of around 40,000 “committed supporters” of Punjab and Haryana on the Singhu and Tikri borders, even after nearly four months since the unrest moved to the National Capital in late November. from last year.
At ground level in Haryana, farmers are busy micromanaging to keep the unrest going for months, even as 25 companies of paramilitary forces are still camping in the state to help local police handle the ongoing unrest.
Currently, police officials estimate, there are 18,000-19,000 protesters sitting on the Singhu border, while another 20,000-22,000 are in Tikri. Peasant leaders, however, say the figures are much higher than the police estimates.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior Haryana police officer claimed a significant decrease in the number of farmers on the Delhi borders in the Haryana jurisdiction compared to their presence on January 26, but added that “there is still a large number of protesters at the borders. ” . “We cannot underestimate their current presence at the borders,” added the official requesting anonymity.
Peasant leaders say that large numbers of farmers were supposed to return home after attending the “tractor parade” on Republic Day.
The police officer said: “Before, people used to go to the border points as if they were going to a fair. Now, there is a less floating crowd at the protest sites, but the committed supporters of the agitation are still there. ”
The officer said that the Uttar Pradesh police move to remove protesters from the Ghazipur border on the night of January 27 had backfired in Haryana. “He had a very sharp reaction on Haryana. Many farmers were upset and several kisan mahapanchayats were organized after that episode. The turmoil grew louder after the incident in Ghazipur, where BKU leader Rakesh Tikait was seen with tears in his eyes. For the next 10 to 15 days, Haryana was very hot. However, now the pace of the unrest has slowed down, ”said the officer.
Haryana police officers claimed that they had handled the situation in the immediate aftermath of the violence in Delhi during a “tractor parade” on 26 January “very tactfully”. Instead of using force, Haryana police were seen chasing down peasant leaders to remove their dharnas from the plaza toll on 27 January.
“When the unrest was at its peak around January 26, we had 45 companies of paramilitary forces. These were basically handed over to Haryana by the Center to handle the situation in the wake of the farmers’ turmoil. They came in phases between the last week of November last year and the last week of January this year. Twenty companies withdrew after elections were announced in five states. Now, we have 25 paramilitary forces companies, mainly CRPF and RAF, in addition to BSF and ITBP ”.
Most of the paramilitary forces have been deployed in Jhajjar and Sonipat districts, where protesters are camped on the Singhu and Tikri borders in the Haryana jurisdiction.
ITBP security personnel and Haryana police had to be deployed to ensure the smooth running of a BJP training ground in Narwana town of Jind district on March 14, with angry farmers staging a protest outside the place.
On the other hand, agitated farmers have changed their strategy to maintain agitation for a long time. Farmers’ Dharnas remain at the toll plazas to ensure the free passage of vehicles. But now, the shakers go to the dharna sites in rotation with the farmers from 15 neighboring villages, making it a point to stay present on the spot every day.
In another plan, they have now focused on forming village committees to emerge as a strong pressure group for the future. Efforts are also being made to seek the active support of other sectors of society, such as workers and employees.
Farmers, workers and arhtiyas (commission agents) came together on Friday to celebrate dharnas in anaj mandis of Jind district. “This has now become a mass movement. Not only farmers, now workers and employees are also actively participating in the upheaval, ”said Azad Singh Palwa, president of BKU’s Jind district. A mahila kisan panchayat was held on Thursday in Kandela village of Jind district. Observers believe that farmers will further intensify the turmoil in May after completing the crop harvesting season.
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