Delhi: A Delhi Court Tuesday granted bail to freelance journalist Mandeep Punia who was picked by the Delhi police on January 30 from the farmers’ protest site at Delhi’s Singhu border.
The Court noted that the alleged scuffle incident took place around 6.30 PM. However, the FIR was registered at around 1.21 AM on the next day.
It also observed that the complainant, victims and witnesses are police personnel only. Hence, there is no possibility that the accused/applicant can able to influence any of the police officials.
The police sought dismissal of Punia’s bail plea on the ground that he may indulge in instigating the protesters and create a nuisance at the protest site with a group of people.
They also alleged that during the investigation he neither cooperated nor did he disclose the name of his associates.
In his bail plea, Punia had contended that he was merely carrying out his journalistic duties when he was apprehended by the Delhi Police.
The plea highlighted that there was a delay of seven hours in filing the FIR and both the complainant and victim were police officers.
Earlier, Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC), Press Club of India (PCI) and the Press Association Sunday condemned the police’s action against freelance journalist Mandeep Punia, and Online News India’s Dharmender Singh, both of who were picked up by the Delhi Police on January 30 evening from the farmers protest site at the Singhu Border.
Dharmender Singh was later released by the police, but Mandeep was sent to Tihar jail.
Punia was represented by advocate Sarim Naved before the Delhi Court.
The article was originally published in The Leaflet.
Kolkata: We represent a section of independent online news and views portals, Radio stations and TV channels as well as independent citizen journalists and social media practitioners from Bengal. We are deeply concerned and vehemently opposed to the increasing attack on the freedom of press in India, particularly, the small media outlets which are operating beyond the corporatised media houses.
The onslaught on alternate media and independent journalists who dare to bring forth the truth and are critical to the regime’s pro-corporate and communal laws, policies brought in by the BJP-led Centre and State governments is very much evident.
Sedition and other grave criminal charges have been framed against several senior journalists including Siddharth Vardarajan, Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Anant Nath, Paresh Nath, and Vinod K. Jose in three BJP-ruled states.
Cases have been initiated against them for instigating violence and communal hatred etc. through their social media updates while covering the Delhi violence during the tractor rally of farmers against pro-corporate farm laws on 26th January, 2021.
Meanwhile, a young freelance reporter Mandeep Punia has been arrested and sent to jail allegedly for “misbehaving with policemen”. He was reporting for Junputhand Caravan since the beginning of the farmers movement, mostly from the Singhu border. His close colleagues said he had incurred the wrath of the regime after his footage exposed that it was BJP-RSS men and not “locals” who had tried to forcibly evict the farmers after the Republic Day parade. Another freelancer, Dharmendra Singh was also detained only to be releases later, allegedly after giving an undertaking.
Several other young foot soldiers of journalism including photojournalists and independent filmmakers were also at the receiving end of police brutality and legal harassment. They were beaten and their equipment were damaged for shooting footage of police violence on farmers. Among them were Silesh and Ajeesh, associated with Pedestrian Pictures Bangalore and currently documenting and reporting from the Tikri border led by Randeep Maddoke as the protesting farmers’ own media team. Also, independent journalist Neha Dixit has recently publicly stated that she is being physically stalked and threatened for doing her work.
Earlier, Sedition and terror laws like UAPA have been increasingly invoked against both big-house and independent journalists from Uttar Pradesh (UP) to Manipur, particularly, since the second coming of Narendra Modi government. At least 67 journalists have been detained and arrested, mostly in BJP-ruled states led by UP in 2020, an independent research estimated.
Senior journalist ParanjoyGuhathakurta is now facing an arrest warrant for having written an investigative piece on the Adani group, one of the regime’s favourite crony corporates, way back in 2017.
Let’s not forget the likes of Aasif Sultan and Siddiqui Kappan. Aasif Sultan is a journalist who was arrested in Kashmir on the August 27, 2018 for doing his job. Siddique Kappan is a journalist who was arrested in Uttar Pradesh on the October 5, 2020 for reporting on the Hathras rape-murder case. Both are in prison for doing their job.
There is a clear method in the present regime’s madness
Those who stand for secular, democratic ethos of our constitution, oppose the Sangh Parivar’s politics of religious nationalism, majoritarian supremacy and brahmanical social structures are considered mortal enemies of current rulers. Those who expose its extreme right wing pro-rich economic policies and violation of basic human rights of the poor multitude like the millions of migrant workers during the Covid lockdown are to be gagged, jailed or lynched as ‘anti-nationals’.
The 24×7 television and social media hate and disinformation factories, known as “Godi media” (puppet media) have been spitting venom against such perceived assorted ‘anti-nationals’- minorities, farmers, workers, Dalit and human rights activists, students and civil society critics. But they never faced any punitive action for instigating violence. The government is keeping mum on the claims of Arnab Goswami, the propaganda chief of the regime’s shrill hate campaign, about his prior knowledge of national security matters and major legislative and policy moves, thanks to his easy access to the prime minister, home minister and chief justice’s office.
Noose around the neck of digital media and ‘mobile journalism’
Consequently, the land of “world’s largest democracy” has been steadily slipping downwards in the ranks of the nation-states. The global press freedom index, prepared by Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers puts India at the 138th position in 2017 and at the 142th in 2020 among 180 countries. The Centre is not only happy with turning the majority of mainstream media watchdogs into its lapdogs.
It is trying hard to tighten the legal noose around the neck of small but independent online media initiatives and impose its own stringent surveillance and gag mechanism in league with US social media behemoths. The Sangh Parivar which has used proliferation of internet-connected smartphones for murderous mobilisations of lynch mobs and communal gangs are now hounding young ‘mobile journalists’ who are courting dangers at the grounds to report the multi-layered truth.
We have no qualms in counting the opposition-ruled states including West Bengal; the incumbent ruling party and its predecessors, among the violators of media and journalistic freedom and overall freedom of expression. Nevertheless, as India under Modi’s watch is fast heading towards a fascist dictatorship a la Hitler and Mussolini, we call upon the entire media fraternity and our fellow-travellers in larger civil society to protest and close ranks in resistance.
Avail every opportunity for dialogue and solidarity between mainstream and independent journos.
We are proud of Mandeep who called for a free press from a police van. His young colleagues have already hit the street in solidarity and demanded his immediate release. In the meantime, seniors at Press Club India, Editors Guild, Women corps and others held a protest meeting. Speakers decried the sedition charges against journalists as an unprecedented move by the BJP government and a more sinister design compared to Indira Gandhi’s Emergency era. Journalists, both in the mainstream and alternative media, are also coming out in protest.
Will not our Kolkata colleagues rise to the occasion?
New Delhi: “Is it not torture then what? Whatever happened with Mandeep (Punia) can also happen with you as well. How can he brutally attack 50-60 policemen? This is a baseless allegation.”
It was said by Leela Shree, wife of journalist Mandeep Punia to media persons. Mandeep was arrested on Saturday evening by Delhi police at Singhu border allegedly for obstructing police officials in their work and misbehaving with them. Shree was present along with several journalists protesting against the arresting at Delhi police headquarters.
Mandeep Punia is a freelance journalist associated with The Caravan Magazine and Junpath. He has been regularly doing ground reporting about ongoing farmers’ movement. Police charged him with IPC sections- 186, 332, 353 and 34. After presenting in a judicial court, Mandeep was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody on Sunday.
Shree told that she was in Chandigarh and rushed when she got to know about her husband’s arrest but could not track his whereabouts for hours.
Speaking to eNewsroom, Leela Shree said, “I got to know about the incident as the video (of his arrest) got viral on social media. Initially I got scared by watching it. I inquired about him from his friends till 4 am in the morning today but didn’t get his exact location. Then from one of his friends, I got to know that he was at Alipur police station where an FIR had been lodged against him.”
Objecting over charges on Mandeep, Shree reacted, “In the video itself, one can see he was trying to refrain and was misbehaving and manhandling with him. Means if any reporter wants to report the facts, you can use your power to threaten him.”
When asked whether a Facebook live by Mandeep Punia a day prior, could be the reason for his arrest, Shree replied, “Mandeep has been regularly reporting factual stories of farmers’ protest from the ground for the last two months. So it is quite possible that due to his FB live, this happened with him. Administration seems under pressure. This could be a tactic of pressure making from the regime and administration side.”
Shree also said that police didn’t allow her to meet her husband, citing “sections framed against him”. “We have submitted a bail application and I am hopeful he will get bail soon,” she hoped.
Appealing support from journalistic fraternity and civil society, Shree added, “A fair probe should be done”.
Mandeep’s FB Live
On 30th January, Mandeep did a Facebook live, informing that he witnessed a “coalition between the police and rioters” who clashed with farmers at Singhu border.
In the FB live, Mandeep narrated that on 29th January, some 50-60 men carrying tricolor reached at Singhu border asking farmers to vacate the site. “They were under the protection of policemen deployed there. They abused farmers, pelted stones on farmers, threw a petrol bomb over them and also tried to remove camps of women protesters,” as quoted as Madeep said.
Mandeep further showed the pictures of a couple of men who were among those rioters and have links with BJP leaders.
Among them one is Pradeep Khatri Tholedar who had pics with BJP former Delhi president Manoj Tiwari shared on his FB page. Khatri is district convener of BJP. Another one is Aman Dabas had pictures with Home Minister Amit Shah. He is BJP’s zonal president from Bawana. His wife is also a BJP councillor. Both were reportedly propagated as the locals by mainstream media who protested against farmers.
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri in his tweet questioned whether “Mandeep was arrested to expose the coalition between Delhi police and BJP men who unleashed violence on farmers.”
On the arrest of Mandeep, hundreds of journalists protested at Delhi police headquarters at Jai Singh road on Sunday. They demanded his immediate release while protesting against Delhi police action possibly under government’s pressure.
Vikas Kumar from Asia Ville News said on the occasion, “We are distressed over Mandeep’s arrest. Police have made a wrong arrest.”
While Ajay Prakash, Editor of Janjwar mentioned, “It is a regular attempt by the state over the journalists presenting a counter view. If any journalist is not working on the government’s toe, he or she is an enemy of it.”
Independent journalist Dilip Khan pointed out, “Actually Mandeep did not disrupt police work but it is police which disrupt Mandeep’s work. All such journalists who have been critical towards the government, are under attack.” Citing the denial of bail of Kerala journalist Kappan Siddiqui’s who is in jail for three months for reporting Hathras gang rape case, Dilip said, “It shows a nexus between judiciary and political system.”
The Caravan Magazine’s Take
On Mandeep’s arrest, Caravan’s Political Editor Hartosh Singh Bal tweeted, “In Mandeep Punia’s case metropolitan magistrate directs ‘IO to file formal reply forwarded through SHO. Put up before the concerned court for 01/02.’ hopefully he will get bail tomorrow.”
Since Republic Day choas during farmers’ tractor parade, police in three BJP ruled states—Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have also booked some senior journalists including The Caravan Magazine’s editors Paresh Nath, Ananth Nath, executive editor Vinod K. Jose under sedition charges for their alleged provoking social media posts.
Besides, Rajdeep Serdesai (India Today), National Herald’s group Editor-in-Chief Zafar Agha, senior consulting editor Mrinal Pande have also been charged under sedition (124-A), 124 (B) 153 (A), (B), 295 (A), 298, 504,506, 505 (2) and section 66 of the IT Act 2000.
[dropcap]म[/dropcap]नदीप पुनिया की गिरफ़्तारी से आहत हूँ। हाथरस केस में सिद्दीक़ कप्पन का कुछ पता नहीं चल रहा। कानपुर के अमित सिंह पर मामला दर्ज हुआ है। राजदीप सरदेसाई और सिद्धार्थ वरदराजन पर मामला दर्ज हुआ है। क्या भारत में प्रेस की आज़ादी बिल्कुल ख़त्म हो जाएगी ? आज मैंने ट्विटर पर ट्विट किया है। अगस्त 2015 के बाद आज पहली बार ट्विट किया है। वही पत्र यहाँ डाल रहा हूँ ।
जेल की दीवारें आज़ाद आवाज़ों से ऊँची नहीं हो सकती हैं। जो अभिव्यक्ति की आज़ादी पर पहरा लगाना चाहते है वो देश को जेल में बदलना चाहते हैं।
डियर जेलर साहब,
भारत का इतिहास इन काले दिनों की अमानत आपको सौंप रहा है। आज़ाद आवाज़ों और सवाल करने वाले पत्रकारों को रात में ‘उनकी’ पुलिस उठा ले जाती है। दूर दराज़ के इलाक़ों में FIR कर देती है। इन आवाज़ों को सँभाल कर रखिएगा। अपने बच्चों को व्हाट्स एप चैट में बताइयेगा कि सवाल करने वाला उनकी जेल में रखा गया है। बुरा लग रहा है लेकिन मेरी नौकरी है।जेल भिजवाने वाला कौन है, उसका नाम आपके बच्चे खुद गूगल सर्च कर लेंगे।जो आपके बड़े अफ़सर हैं, IAS और IPS, अपने बच्चों से नज़रें चुराते हुए उन्हें पत्रकार न बनने के लिए कहेंगे। समझाएँगे कि मैं नहीं तो फ़लाँ अंकल तुम्हें जेल में बंद कर देंगे। ऐसा करो तुम ग़ुलाम बनो और जेल से बाहर रहे।
भारत माता देख रही है, गोदी मीडिया के सर पर ताज पहनाया जा रहा है और आज़ाद आवाज़ें जेल भेजी जा रही हैं। डिजिटल मीडिया पर स्वतंत्र पत्रकारों ने अच्छा काम किया है।किसानों ने देखा है कि यू ट्यूब चैनल और फ़ेसबुक लाइव से किसान आंदोलन की ख़बरें गाँव गाँव पहुँची हैं। इन्हें बंद करने के लिए मामूली ग़लतियों और अलग दावों पर FIR किया जा रहा है। आज़ाद आवाज़ की इस जगह पर ‘सबसे बड़े जेलर’ की निगाहें हैं। जेलर साहब आप असली जेलर भी नहीं हैं। जेलर तो कोई और है। अगर यही अच्छा है तो इस बजट में प्रधानमंत्री जेल बंदी योजना लाँच हो,मनरेगा से गाँव गाँव जेल बने और बोलने वालों को जेल में डाल दिया जाए। जेल बनाने वाले को भी जेल में डाल दिया जाए। उन जेलों की तरफ़ देखने वाला भी जेल में बंद कर दिया जाए। मुनादी की जाए कि प्रधानमंत्री जेल बंदी योजना लाँच हो गई है। कृपया ख़ामोश रहें।
सवाल करने वाले पत्रकार जेल में रखे जाएँगे तो दो बातें होंगी। जेल से अख़बार निकलेगा और बाहर के अख़बारों में चाटुकार लिखेंगे। विश्व गुरु भारत के लिए यह अच्छी बात नहीं होगी।
मेरी गुज़ारिश है कि सिद्धार्थ वरदराजन, राजदीप सरदेसाई , अमित सिंह सहित सभी पत्रकारों के ख़िलाफ़ मामले वापस लिए जाएँ। मनदीप पुनिया को रिहा किया जाए। FIR का खेल बंद हो।
मेरी एक बात नोट कर पर्स में रख लीजिएगा। जिस दिन जनता यह खेल समझ लेगी उस दिन देश के गाँवों में ट्रैक्टरों, बसों और ट्रकों के पीछे ,हवाई जहाज़ों, बुलेट ट्रेन, मंडियों,मेलों, बाज़ारों और पेशाबघरों की दीवारों पर यह बात लिख देगी।
“ ग़ुलाम मीडिया के रहते कोई मुल्क आज़ाद नहीं होता है। गोदी मीडिया से आज़ादी से ही नई आज़ादी आएगी।”
मनदीप पुनिया की गिरफ़्तारी से आहत हूँ। हाथरस केस में सिद्दीक़ कप्पन का कुछ पता नहीं चल रहा। कानपुर के अमित सिंह पर मामला दर्ज हुआ है। राजदीप सरदेसाई और सिद्धार्थ वरदराजन पर मामला दर्ज हुआ है। क्या भारत में प्रेस की आज़ादी बिल्कुल ख़त्म हो जाएगी? आज मैंने ट्विटर पर ट्विट किया है। अगस्त 2015 के बाद आज पहली बार ट्विट किया है। वही पत्र यहाँ डाल रहा हूँ ।
जेल की दीवारें आज़ाद आवाज़ों से ऊँची नहीं हो सकती हैं। जो अभिव्यक्ति की आज़ादी पर पहरा लगाना चाहते है वो देश को जेल में बदलना चाहते हैं।
डियर जेलर साहब,
भारत का इतिहास इन काले दिनों की अमानत आपको सौंप रहा है। आज़ाद आवाज़ों और सवाल करने वाले पत्रकारों को रात में ‘उनकी’ पुलिस उठा ले जाती है। दूर दराज़ के इलाक़ों में FIR कर देती है। इन आवाज़ों को सँभाल कर रखिएगा। अपने बच्चों को व्हाट्स एप चैट में बताइयेगा कि सवाल करने वाला उनकी जेल में रखा गया है। बुरा लग रहा है लेकिन मेरी नौकरी है।जेल भिजवाने वाला कौन है, उसका नाम आपके बच्चे खुद गूगल सर्च कर लेंगे।जो आपके बड़े अफ़सर हैं, IAS और IPS, अपने बच्चों से नज़रें चुराते हुए उन्हें पत्रकार न बनने के लिए कहेंगे। समझाएँगे कि मैं नहीं तो फ़लाँ अंकल तुम्हें जेल में बंद कर देंगे। ऐसा करो तुम ग़ुलाम बनो और जेल से बाहर रहे।
भारत माता देख रही है, गोदी मीडिया के सर पर ताज पहनाया जा रहा है और आज़ाद आवाज़ें जेल भेजी जा रही हैं। डिजिटल मीडिया पर स्वतंत्र पत्रकारों ने अच्छा काम किया है।किसानों ने देखा है कि यू ट्यूब चैनल और फ़ेसबुक लाइव से किसान आंदोलन की ख़बरें गाँव गाँव पहुँची हैं। इन्हें बंद करने के लिए मामूली ग़लतियों और अलग दावों पर FIR किया जा रहा है। आज़ाद आवाज़ की इस जगह पर ‘सबसे बड़े जेलर’ की निगाहें हैं। जेलर साहब आप असली जेलर भी नहीं हैं। जेलर तो कोई और है। अगर यही अच्छा है तो इस बजट में प्रधानमंत्री जेल बंदी योजना लाँच हो,मनरेगा से गाँव गाँव जेल बने और बोलने वालों को जेल में डाल दिया जाए। जेल बनाने वाले को भी जेल में डाल दिया जाए। उन जेलों की तरफ़ देखने वाला भी जेल में बंद कर दिया जाए। मुनादी की जाए कि प्रधानमंत्री जेल बंदी योजना लाँच हो गई है। कृपया ख़ामोश रहें।
सवाल करने वाले पत्रकार जेल में रखे जाएँगे तो दो बातें होंगी। जेल से अख़बार निकलेगा और बाहर के अख़बारों में चाटुकार लिखेंगे। विश्व गुरु भारत के लिए यह अच्छी बात नहीं होगी।
मेरी गुज़ारिश है कि सिद्धार्थ वरदराजन, राजदीप सरदेसाई , अमित सिंह सहित सभी पत्रकारों के ख़िलाफ़ मामले वापस लिए जाएँ। मनदीप पुनिया को रिहा किया जाए। FIR का खेल बंद हो।
मेरी एक बात नोट कर पर्स में रख लीजिएगा। जिस दिन जनता यह खेल समझ लेगी उस दिन देश के गाँवों में ट्रैक्टरों, बसों और ट्रकों के पीछे ,हवाई जहाज़ों, बुलेट ट्रेन, मंडियों,मेलों, बाज़ारों और पेशाबघरों की दीवारों पर यह बात लिख देगी।
“ ग़ुलाम मीडिया के रहते कोई मुल्क आज़ाद नहीं होता है। गोदी मीडिया से आज़ादी से ही नई आज़ादी आएगी।”
New Delhi: As a huge controversy erupted around the farmers’ tractor parade, members of civil society have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government is “trying to break the farmers’ movement in the garb of Republic day incident”. Observing that the whole exercise shows “same pattern as adopted to break anti-CAA-NRC movement”, the group demanded a fair inquiry into the violence that took place during farmers’ tractor parade on R-Day and also the withdrawal of FIRs against farmer leaders and journalists.
The group comprising well-known economist Dr Atul Sood, senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan, secretary of the Gandhi Peace Foundation – Kumar Prashant , Professor Apoorvanand, Anhad’s founder and activist Shabnam Hashmi and Co-convener of the Nation For Farmers, Dinesh Abrol addressed the media at the Press Club of India in New Delhi.
Fake propaganda to criminalize farmers’ movement
Asserting that the farmers’ agitation has been “peaceful” since the beginning, Atul Sood alleged that the government is attempting to “defame, delegitimize and criminalize” it.
Sood said that since the government failed in its earlier attempts, “So it used 26th January as an opportunity to propagate the very fake narrative through mainstream media — first, that they are not farmers but terrorists or Khalistanis, second, that they are from any particular community or state and third, that there are anti-national elements among them.”
“Whenever any protest or movement takes place against the policy of this government then it does not want to give any reply but defames those who question. By criminalizing farmers, the government wants to break farmers’ movement and divert attention from the main issue,” Dr Sood added while maintaining that the government has no answer on the objections over the “three black farm laws”.
Similar pattern used in anti-CAA-NRC movement
A day after R-Day, Ghaziabad administration had issued a notice to the farmers to vacate the protesting site at the Ghazipur border. As the police and paramilitary forces were deployed there in large numbers, farmers refused to vacate the site. Nand Kishor Gurjar, BJP MLA from Loni also reached there along with his supporters to remove the farmers on Thursday. But instead thanks to an appeal by an emotional Rakesh Tikait, leader of Bhartiya Kisan Union, thousands more farmers also joined them from western Uttar Pradesh.
While on the Singhu border clashes erupted as hundreds of ‘locals’ reached there demanding farmers vacate the site. Some famers and police personnel were injured in the clashes.
Citing the developments taking place at both borders in the aftermath of the R-Day incident, eminent activist and writer, Apoorvanand said, “Now whenever one section of the public protests against the government, another section is mobilized just as it happened during the anti-CAA-NRC protests. This is a dangerous trend. This is hooliganism.”
Objecting to the allegations made by Delhi police commissioner SN Srivastava’s claim that farmer leaders delivered provocative speeches, Apoorvanand said, “Since the government has reached a conclusion without an inquiry, a civil society fact-finding is needed.”
Link between BJP and miscreants
Bhushan maintained that the Samyukt Kisan Morcha pursued the designated route permitted by the Delhi police. He said that the Morcha had already informed the police about a group (referring to a group of protesters led by actor Deep Sidhu) that was not part of the Morcha was adamant to go onto Outer Ring Road.
“On night of 25th January, that group had announced that they would go on Outer Ring Road. How did the police allow them to go on Ring Road and Red Fort on 26th January (R-Day), a day when normally tight security is observed?” questioned Bhushan.
“Later, it was found that Deep has very close relations with the BJP. He was the campaign manager for BJP MP Sunny Deol. He has had photos taken with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at 7 Race Course. Still these people went scot free because these are BJP people,” said Bhushan.
Demand for inquiry
Extending their solidarity with the peasants, Dinesh Abrol demanded, “The connection between the government and those who unleashed the violence has been exposed. Now, it is necessary to counter the fake narrative being built up by the godi-media and the government. A fact-finding enquiry is required because fake cases of UAPA and other sections are being slapped on innocent farmers. For whatever happened at Red Fort, Home Minister Amit Shah must resign.”
FIRs against farmer leaders, journalists should be withdrawn
Activist Shabnam Hashmi asserted, “Farmers are not fighting for themselves in this chilly winter but for every citizen of this country. Government can jail us but this is the farmers’ movement. Nobody can crush it. We want all cases against farmer leaders and journalists to be withdrawn.”
After the R-day incident Delhi police has booked many farmer leaders including Yogendra Yadav, Rakesh Tikait under UAPA and section 153 (A).
Police in three BJP ruled states—Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have also booked some senior journalists namely Rajdeep Serdesai (India Today), The Caravan Magazine’s editors Paresh Nath, Ananth Nath, executive editor Vinod K. Jose, National Herald’s group editor-in-chief Zafar Agha, senior consulting editor Mrinal Pande and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for their alleged ‘provocative’ social media posts on R-Day.
Farmers’ movement needs new Dimension
Secretary of Gandhi Peace Foundation, Kumar Prashant said that he was present at ITO when clashes between the police and farmers started on 26 January. “If the police vehicles were damaged, more tractors of farmers were also damaged. Who broke them? It is important to note that Amit Shah only visited injured policemen but not injured farmers. Is he not the Home Minister of farmers who were injured? ” Prashant asked.
He emphasized that “farmers need to give new dimension to the movement.”
Ranchi: Bandhu Parhaiya and Kabutri Devi, an elderly couple from Matnag village, have not received their pensions since June 2020. Bandhu, who can barely see due to cataract, finds the pension amount inadequate and demands Rs 2500 per month.
Tetri Devi from Kochla village in Barwadih block is not getting any pension. She is tired of running from pillar to post in government offices to find out about her application.
Anti Devi from Nawadih village, Chungru panchayat, has not received her pension for the last five years. Her head and voice shake uncontrollably as she tells the problems she faces in her old age.
Elderly people, widows and disabled persons of Barwadih block took to the streets in large numbers on Friday in Latehar district to protest against the non-payment of social security pensions for as long as six months. After a rally through the town, they sat on dharna at the Block office to voice their demands with spirited speeches and slogans.
The participants belonged to some of the poorest communities in Barwadih, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG). For many of them, especially those living alone, pensions are a critical lifeline despite the meagre amount of Rs 1,000 every month.
Joining them were hundreds of widows and elderly persons who get no pension at all. Most of them have applied, often multiple times, but they have no idea of the status of their application.
On 28 November 2001, the Supreme Order issued a strict order that pensions should be paid promptly by the 7th of each month. Twenty years later, long delays are still rampant.
The main demands of protesting people were: (1) Prompt payment of pensions by 7th of each month, as per SC orders; (2) Monthly pensions of at least Rs 2,500 per month; (3) Universal coverage; (4) Immediate sanction of all pending applications.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Hemant Soren has made bold announcements about social security pensions in recent months. On several occasions, he promised to increase pensions to Rs 2,500 every month – this promise was also part of the Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha manifesto in the 2019 Assembly elections. On 4 February 2020, in Dumka, the CM promised timely payment and even said “पहले गरीबों को पेंशन, फिर डीसी को वेतन” (pensions before the DC’s salary). On 29 December 2020, he promised universal coverage of social security pensions in Jharkhand.
During the dharna, a startling story emerged about the reason why old-age pensions have been held up for 6 months in Jharkhand, as follows. In Jharkhand, old-age pensions are paid at the rate of Rs 1,000 every month, of which Rs 300 every month comes from the central government under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and the rest from the state government. However, NSAP money was used during the national lockdown to pay two installments of Rs 500 to elderly persons under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). As a result, money ran out for the central contribution of Rs 300 every month, and pension payments stopped for months (they cannot be made until both central and state contributions are available). The problem is now being rectified through the “supplementary budget”.
Meanwhile, acting on the demands of protesters, on 29 January, DC Latehar Abu Imran issued immediate instructions for all the pending payments to be initiated.
Days after the Lal Qila incident on 26 January in Delhi, India is all set to witness a repeat of the aftermath of the infamous Reichstag fire in Hitler’s Germany. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP-RSS government and its UP and Haryana counterparts have started hounding out the leaders of the farmers’ movement against pro-corporate farm laws. Stringent terror laws are being invoked. Armed Police, paramilitary forces have been deployed to evict farmers from the borders of the national capital.
Meanwhile, ruling party leaders are instigating Hindu villagers to drive away the Sikh-dominated peasant assemblies at the borders of the national capital. They are calling the Sikh farmers anti-nationals and their movement a Khalistani-Pakistani conspiracy to threaten the security of India and its Hindu majority.
Some Sikh youth had hoisted their religious flag on a bare flagpole on the rampart of historic Lal Qila premises in Delhi on the 72nd Republic Day. It also resembles the separatist Khalistani flag. But they did not pay any disrespect to Indian national flag or replaced it with their own. The Tricolor continues to fly at the top of the Red Fort, the citadel of Mughal power-turned epitome of Indian sovereignty. It has been a prerogative of prime ministers of postcolonial India to hoist the national flag on the lower flagpole on 15 August, the Independence Day.
The RSS, the fountainhead of the majoritarian Hindutva politics and the mother of the ruling BJP had neither joined the composite national struggle against the British Raj nor accepted the Tricolor as the national flag for many years after the freedom. It still salutes Bhagwa Jhanda or Saffron flag that connotes Hindu supremacy and its followers openly want to replace the Tricolor with their own. Journalists including this writer had incurred their wrath when we declined to stand up in the honour of the RSS flag. Now the irony of time is unmistakable.
January 28 picture of Ghazipur border, heavy security were deployed I Courtesy: keralakaumudi.com
Nevertheless, the saffron gangs are spewing venom against Sikh farmers and asking their supporters to snatch away the Tricolor from the hands of the ‘traitors’. The pro-Modi TV channels are harping on the same narrative round the clock and exhorting ‘nationalists’ to close ranks. Clearly, they are preaching a recipe for communal riots, a sure-shot strategy to deflect popular attention from economic miseries and social injustice.
The German parallel
The German parliament house was put on fire on 27 February,1933 and the Nazi party quickly blamed communists. Hitler cracked down on assorted ‘anti-nationals’ and ‘Jews lobby-led conspirators’ by arresting them en masse including the Left wing MPs and non-Nazi labor and peasant leaders. He immediately amassed dictatorial power to bury the country’s fragile parliamentary democracy and divided opposition.
The communist leaders who had been put on the dock for their purported crimes were acquitted later. Except Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch communist who was said to have acted on his own, guillotined later. Many contemporary accounts described him as a mentally unstable youth who was looking for a dramatic uprising against the Nazi takeover.
William Shirer and many other journalists and historians later said that the young man, a ‘lone wolf’ in today’s anti-terror parlance, might have started a small fire. But Nazis availed the golden opportunity and stoked the fire with gallons of fuel to gut down the huge building. Hitler and his men killed two birds with one stone: the end of both the multi-party democracy and the communists-socialists who had won substantial electoral support despite their mutual acrimony.
India today has already evoked some chilling parallels with Nazi Germany, especially after the second coming of Modi in 2014. The comparison is not far-fetched. Both the ideology of RSS and the hysteric Lynch mobs that hate Muslims and worship Modi a la followers of the Nazi führer, are professedly similar.
Deep Siddhu: The Indian Marinus?
The Sikh youths at Lal Qila were hot-headed and irresponsible. They may be the agent provocateurs as the majority of farmer leaders have labelled their leader, Deep Siddhu. A minor actor-turned activist, Siddhu is no rustic rabble-rouser but an English-speaking ambitious upper middle class youth from Punjab. His interview with journalist Barkha Dutt two months back has revealed that of late he is a votary of radical restructuring of Indian Centre-state relations. But he is also an admirer of Jarnail Singh Vindranwale.
The latter was killed during military action at the centre of Sikh religion, the Golden Temple in the early eighties after he became the main proponent of separatist Khalistan movement and took to arms. The demand for more equitable powers between states and the union governments is a strong but thorny strand of Indian mainstream politics since the Nehru era. But it also runs parallel to religious, linguistic and regional fault lines in India and many other countries and has triggered sectarian violence, civil wars and separatist wars more under the dictatorial rules.
Siddhu is clearly an attention and opportunity- seeking youth who has failed in film career and now wants to pitch in politics. He had already warmed up his access to Prime Minister Modi and his home minister Amit Shah via the film star-turned BJP MP from Punjab, Sunny Deol. He claimed to have no relation to BJP and spoke against its majoritarian politics at the cost of the states with minorities like Punjab. Now, his dramatic advent at the Red Fort as a champion of Sikh pride has only portrayed him at best as a pathetic pawn in the hands of the BJP government and at worst, a paid provocateur in its service.
Import of the farmer’s protest
Last winter PM Modi faced street protests across the country against the religion-based Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) But they were forced to roll back under prolonged Corona lockdown. Peasants of Punjab and Haryana have renewed the resistance against three pro-corporate farm laws since June- September. They have put a siege on the national power centre for the last two months demanding the abrogation of these laws. The new acts cap the regime’s series of moves were passed by bulldozing the parliamentary procedures and opposition parties, all in the name of reform but only to serve its crony capitalists.
The regime could not evict the mammoth but peaceful assembly of the farmers. They did not budge despite the loss of around 150 lives under the chilly open sky and refused to climb down on their demands as the deadlock continued at talks. The regime was looking for opportunities for a crackdown. It did not want rickety opposition to gain strength from the agitating farmers that had planned a march to the parliament at the opening days of the budget session.
Farmers Mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar after the crying video of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait gone viral I Courtesy: Outlook.com
Farmers on roads have proved themselves formidable and the real opposition on roads and a prolonged nightmare to the ruling corporate-communal cabal. Modi-Shah duo apparently could not afford a violent showdown considering the sentiments of Sikh and Hindu Jat jawans in army and paramilitary forces as well as the tumultant violence that the Operation Bluestar had triggered and led to the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The 26 January violence, particularly the Lal Qila incident provided the regime what it was looking for: an opportunity for rousing emotions of Hindu majority. Particularly, that of the youth who hardly know or care for the difference between pluralist democratic nationalism of our freedom struggle that the Tricolor embodies and RSS-BJP brand of Hindu nationalism that stands for majoritarian supremacy.
Tikait holds ground
But the tearful defiance of Rakesh Tikait, a Jat farmer leader from Western UP with considerable following among Jats in surrounding states seemed to have halted the planned onslaught in the intervening night between 27-28 January. Insulted by BJP leaders who reportedly taunted him as an accomplice of anti-nationals, Tikait refused to end the assembly at Ghazipur border and court arrest which he had thought of earlier.
As his soulful cry for the peasant honour went viral, farmers who had gone home, somehow dispirited after 26 January incidents, rushed back in numbers. A war of nerves continued as both police and farmers spent a sleepless night. The farmers have prevailed so far and their depleted ranks at Singh and Tikri borders have witnessed a ripple effect of Ghazipur.
As the parliament begins its session some kilometres away, the rustic democrats and patriots are still keeping the vigil on roads. For you and me, for our children, for the future of the idea of India.
New Delhi: On the 72nd Republic Day celebration, the public of the Republic was on the street. Be it scrubby, gruff farmers or their daughters, wives, sons and brothers, all were all atop tractors heading towards Delhi for the proposed tractor parade.
The mood was light, the farmers were chirpy, as music blared while they headed towards Delhi via pre-decided routes from Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders. The mood was celebratory, farmers chanting “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” and dancing to songs like “Aisa desh hai mera” and Sare Jahan se Achcha.
But as the farmers entered the outer ring road from Ghazipur border, clashes erupted between them and police. Tear gas was fired by the police to stop them from going ahead as the peasants took on a different route from the one which was permitted to them. Scuffle broke between some farmers and policemen during which some farmers got injured.
Anguish over tear gas shelling
Speaking to eNewsroom, some farmers reacted sharply over police action.
“Is this tricolor Pakistani flag? Are we terrorists? So, this police shelling tear gas at us,” a farmer asked while showing tricolor on his tractor.
Showing a head injury of a farmer colleague, a farmer said, “Police have shelled tear gas at us while we were coming peacefully from Ghazipur border. What else we can expect from this government?”
Shelling of tear gas on farmers by police near ITO
Women farmers were also accompanied with male farmers. Women like Sarbjeet Kaur from Uttarakhand, who were accompanying their Male counterparts reacted, “We have come here for our rights and put forward our before the government – withdraw the black laws. But look, instead of listening to us, we were welcomed with tear gas.”
Shilpi Arora while driving her tractor said, “Now Modi government should listen our demands – repeal the farm laws.”
Sarvesh, a farmer from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut said, “If the modi government doesn’t withdraw the law, then we will also continue to protesting.”
Chaos at ITO
As the protesting farmers atop horses, tractors and onfoot marched towards ITO, Delhi Police tried to contain them there, so that they couldnt reach the RED fort.
During the clash that took place near Delhi’s ITO, saw some farmers take a detour Deen Dayal Upadhyaya road to reach Red Fort. The move turned futile as one of the farmers got killed barely 500 metres away from the BJP headquarters along the same street. While the police claimed that the farmer Navneet Singh (25) died after he lost control of the tractor that overturned on him, however the farmers maintained that Singh lost control of his tractor after he was shot at.
The angry farmers took his body wrapped in tricolour and kept it near ITO flyover. Fearing that the doctors would “change the autopsy reports” the farmers were not willing to let the ambulance take away the dead body.
“This incident happened in front of me. First police opened up fire on his tractor’s tire then on his head. His tractor overturned and he succumbed to death,” a farmer Harpreet Singh told eNewsroom.
“Delhi police didn’t even respect tricolor on Republic day. They open tear gas at us,” he anguished while complaining about police action.
Another angry farmer said, “This is dictatorship.”
Farmers tractor parade at ITO
As the angry protesters swelled on the streets, police took refuge of batons and tear gas to stop the farmers. Meanwhile thousands of farmers atop on their tractors managed to reach Red fort to hoist national flag.
The clash that followed saw the protesters breaking barriers and climbing poles to enter the Red Fort to hoist the Indian tricolour. The chaos that followed marred the celebratory mood of Republic Day.
Though, Delhi police claimed that protestors turned violent.
“Protesters turned violent at some places. Many police personnel were injured & public properties also damaged. I appeal to protesters to return through the designated routes & maintain peace”, Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal quoted as saying by ANI.
Anti-social elements create chaos
Samyukta Kisan Morcha spearheading the movement for two months disassociated itself from that chaos the ensued and alleged that the peaceful farmers’ demonstration had been infiltrated by anti-social elements. In a press statement issued by them, Morcha said, “We dissociate ourselves from all such elements that have violated our discipline. We appeal strongly to everyone to stick to the route and norms of the Parade, and not indulge in any violent action or anything that taints national symbols and dignity. We appeal to everyone to desist from any such acts.”
However, that didn’t deter the farmers, who been campaigning for months at Delhi borders, from making themselves heard. The farmers even now are firm on the complete withdrawal of the three Farm laws. Around eleven talks between the farm unions and cabinet ministers of Modi government took place, but fail to come to any conclusion.
Farmers are protesting against the centre’s three new contentious farm laws, which they believe will allow for the corporate takeover of farming and hurt their incomes. Eleven rounds of talks between the centre and farmers’ unions have failed so far, with the protesters insisting on a complete repeal of the laws rather than the ‘1.5-year stay’ offered by the government.
Singhu Border/New Delhi: Fifty-four-year-old truck driver, Devender Singh travelled from Pathankot to Singhu border to express his solidarity with the ongoing Farmers’ Protest. Stationed at the protest site, he mentioned that he has opted to put his regular job on hold for the time being to participate in the ‘Tractor Parade’ on Republic Day.
Speaking about the need of the rally, he stressed, “By organising the tractor rally we want to draw lines between what’s true and false before the world. We want to tell everyone that we are farmers, not terrorists. We have come out on the streets to highlight our plight. We want a peaceful tractor rally. This will strengthen our movement and also propagate the message of farmers’ unity.”
Despite Delhi Police permitting Farmers’ unions for the rally with a word of caution on Sunday, farmers are excited for the tractor parade under the leadership of Kisan Ekta Morcha, an umbrella organisation of over 40 farmer unions.
However, with the police alleging that over 300 Twitter accounts had been created in Pakistan to create unrest at the tractor parade, over 40 thousand police, CRPF and ITBP personnel are going to be deployed at Ghazipur, Singhu, Chilla and Tikri borders and the surrounding area of the national capital, to maintain law and order when the tractor parade happens.
“We want to have a peaceful but strong agitation which can force the government to roll back the controversial farm laws. Our peaceful protest so far has been a befitting reply to this government which has been ignoring our demand for the past two months. These laws are not for farmers but to benefit handful capitalists. The spark from Punjab has ignited a revolution across the country. People are going to remember the Kisan Tractor Parade for long,” said Santok Singh Sindhu, committee member of Kirti Kisan union while speaking to eNewsroom.
A (godi) media poster at Singhu border
Anguish over false propaganda
On being asked about the allegations of the farmers’ movement being funded by anti-nationals and the possibility of some unrest being triggered by Pakistan during the R-Day tractor parade, farmer Seva Singh, who hails from Faridpur, maintained that the allegations were false. “This is propaganda being made by Godi Media and the government to weaken our movement. It’s the farmers’ family that has been contributing money to support this movement. Let me be clear, the movement has absolutely nothing to do with foreign or illegal funding,” said Seva, while preparing food at a protest site langar along the Singhu border.
The anger over a section of media was evident, as Fatehgarh’s Gurpreet Singh, has gone a step ahead with displaying the logos certain TV news channels logos and pictures of certain anchors plastered over his trolly. Pointing at those, an anguished Gurpreet, said, “We are farmers, but these channels and reporters try their best to defame us regularly. They even label the hands that feed the nation as those of terrorists, anti-nationals and Naxalites etc. This Godi media is sold out.”
Angry with allegations being levelled on the farmers, Vikas, a farmer from Panipat alleged, “All this has been engineered by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah because this farmers’ agitation has become a national movement.” He further questioned, “Modi ji should stop and think – the bread that he eats, reaches his table because of the farmer. But both the saffron party and his Godi media is busy defaming our movement.”
Last week, Jaskaur Meena, a BJP MP from Dausa, had called the protesting farmers’ terrorists. “Terrorists are sitting there and the terrorists have AK-47 with them. They have pitched the Khalistan flag,” she said.
Khalsa Aid team at the site
Overwhelming Support and NIA notices
Known for its humanitarian relief work, Khalsa Aid India has been regularly providing essentials like food, water, clothes, mattresses and sanitary items to the protesting farmers.
“We have also set up shelters and washing machines at various protesting sites along the Delhi border. We have installed RO water purification machines to contain the menace of packaged drinking water bottles,” Amarpreet Singh, director of Khalsa Aid told.
Over the National Investigation Agency (NIA) notice to them, Amarpreet said, “We got notice as a witness in a third-party case. We have been doing relief work in India for several years now, but we never got such a notice. However, today when we are standing next to our farmers, we have got this notice. We are cooperating with them. Even we don’t want any miscreants to join this protest.”
Besides Khalsa Aid, Life Care foundation provides medical assistance round the clock to the farmers.
“Here we are providing all kinds of emergency health services. A team of professional doctors and paramedical staff is available 24X7. We will be here till the movement is on to provide all kind of medical support,” said Sadiq Mohammed, a member of Life Care.
Women Solidarity
Women comrades in the ongoing protest have been an interesting add on. Sixty-five-year-old Pal Kaur from Tarn Taran Sahib districts, while preparing the langar food, explains why the women joined the movement.
“Our people have sacrificed their lives for this country’s freedom. We have come here for our right,” Pal said.
Extending her full support to the farmers, Dr Uma Gupta, of Delhi University said, “No law is above the people of this country. The government should understand why the farmers of this country are on roads. It seems the government’s intention is not right.”
One demand: Laws must be withdrawn
Questioning the government’s proposal to suspend the controversial laws for one and a half year, farmer Jagmeet Singh Pullar from Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab said, “We haven’t gathered here for temporary solutions but its complete withdrawal.”
“Many farmers have been martyred on this protest site. We don’t know how many more lives this government wants to be martyred before listening to us,” said an anguished Jagmeet.
Raising slogans against the Modi government, Harvinder Singh Patiala said, “Modi government is imposing a capitalist agenda. This is not just the farmers’ issue but everyone’s issue.”
Citing that crores of farmers are associated with farming and the country’s economy depends on agriculture he asserted, “laws are not in our favour. We won’t go back until these laws are not withdrawn. For this, we are even ready to sacrifice our lives.
Determined to win
Hailing Guru Nanak Dev ji, Gardar Singh, a kabbadi sports person from Punjab said, “Our win is sure.”
While, 70-year-old Satvir Meena from Haryana’s Sonipat said, “This Modi government will bow down before us soon. It is evident from the history whosoever fought with the farmers had lost his credentials.”
