ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂਜੀਕਾਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ॥ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂਜੀਕੀਫ਼ਤਹਿ ॥
We hope everyone has been keeping well during, what has been, a very unprecedented term. Despite all these new challenges, we hope you have all enjoyed your Michaelmas, and should take pride in being able to enjoy the holidays safely.
We also hope that you have enjoyed our welfare packages, and we’d love to see your colourings in.
Our weekly Rehraas Sahib sessions will continue over the holidays, the details of which you can find over on our Facebook page. We’ll also be keeping the Virtual Common Room open if you’d like an informal space to meet, work or talk with one another. As a committee, we will be hard at work over the holidays to plan more events and projects for Lent – there’s a lot to be excited for.
For this month’s bulletin, we wanted to cover an issue that’s being covered widely across social media and the news. As we speak, farmers from Panjab are marching to Delhi, in order to protest ongoing agricultural reforms. We covered this back in October as protests were taking place across the Panjab, and since then, things have progressed further as demands haven’t been met.
Over 300,000 farmers have marched to the capital during the past week in order to demand change to these new farm bills, which, if implemented, would remove structures put in place for safekeeping, as well as allow large corporations access to trade directly with farmers. Whilst the current system is far from perfect, with rising levels of debt, addiction, environmental damage, and economic dependency, it is clear these proposed changes will only make this system worse. These farmers have faced media backlash, as well as violence at the hands of police, including lathi (baton) beatings, water cannons, and roadblocks.
Farmers and farm unions from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana have joined the march, alongside support from farmers in South India (e.g. in Tamil Nadu). Alongside this, other faith groups and unions have chosen to stand alongside these farmers, in a display of unity. The Panjabi music industry has also taken up this struggle, making music in support of these farmers.
On the 26th November, workers across India had gone on a general strike in support of these protests. With over 250 million taking part, this has become one of the largest strikes in history. [LeftVoice] This is part of wider resistance against the ruling BJP party, and the agenda of Hindu nationalists; as well as neoliberal policy aiming to place control in the hands of the wealthy.
At the same time, there is a unique Sikh perspective to this movement. Being spearheaded by Panjab’s farmers, agriculture has been central to Sikh political movements in the past. The 1973 Anandpur Sahib Resolution called for reforms to this sector to promote greater equity within society. At the same time, the farmers on the frontline, many of whom are women and the elderly, have taken up a revolutionary spirit that has been rooted in Sikhi since 1469. Despite facing water cannons, roadblocks, and police violence, the protesters have been undeterred in their march to Delhi. Alongside this, the protesters have continued their Nitnem and Langar, as well as keeping faith with folk songs and kirtan. It is clear that the fight for justice enshrined in our faith has motivated these farmers on the frontline. Nihang groups have also shown their support, with various dals already joining the protesters.
In that spirit, we wanted to provide you with some useful resources around the current protest in Delhi. This is an accompaniment to our earlier bulletin on the protest, and as such we have not included academic texts, but rather more journalistic material we thought was relevant and pertinent.
Resources
A video by Jagjit Singh from the Khalsa Foundation, aimed at middle-class Indians, explaining reasons why farmers are protesting – and the threat posed by large corporations to the agricultural industry. [YouTube]
A December 2020 news report from Germany, explaining the current situation with interviews with protesting farmers. [DW News]
A mega-thread by photographer Har1karan (artist) filled with first-hand videos, interviews, and photos from the scene of the protests. [Twitter]
A podcast series by Sial Mirza Goraya featuring protesters, academics and journalists who are reporting on the ground. Since the 29th November they have been uploading daily content covering the protests, as well as discussing the movement’s representation in the media; as well as what the diaspora can do. Podcasts are both in Panjabi and English. [Anchor]
An article from Dr. Shreya Sinha, who’s a post-doctorate researcher at Cambridge University’s Department of Geography. Her article places the farm protests in the context of ongoing economic change in the Panjabi farming sector – whilst also exploring the intersections between caste, class, and gender. A must read. [The India Forum]
A compilation of videos from the protester’s march to Delhi, facing roadblocks and water cannons. [Quint]
An article examining a photo that went viral, of an Indian policeman attempting to hit an elderly Sikh, its origins, and the opposing narratives that have emerged from the protesters and the government. [BBC]
An article answering frequently-asked-questions concerning the protests. [Al-Jazeera]
An article placing the government’s proposed farm bills in the context of COVID-19, and the ways in which the pandemic is affecting the Indian economy. [The Express Tribune]
A playlist put together by the National Sikh Youth Federation, with music inspired by the protests, and political struggle within Panjab [Spotify]
An article exploring the farmer’s demands, and comparing the current farming system with the proposed reforms. The article concludes with the dangers of leaving the agricultural sector to the free market. [BBC]
An article exploring the makeup of the protests, the various unions taking part, and the interactions these groups had with the police on their way to Delhi [Caravan]
An article featuring interviews from farmers, and exploring their anger at the movement’s portrayal in Indian media. [Caravan]
A video from Gurdwara Manju ka Tila in Delhi, who are providing Langar to the frontlines of the protest. A testament to the power of Langar within political movements. [YouTube]
An article from the National Sikh Youth Federation, drawing the links between the farmer’s protest, and the greater struggle for Sikh sovereignty in the Panjab. [NSYF]
A poetic piece of prose from Inni Kaur, reflecting on the farmer’s protests, and the writings of Sikh scholars and the political struggle.[Sikh Research Institute]
As we reflect on this movement, one that will most likely affect our families, and many of our families may even be a part of, it is important to reflect on the various struggles we as Sikhs have faced in the past, and the power of our faith in granting us the resilience in overcoming then. This weekend, across the diaspora, people are leading protests in solidarity at Indian embassies in Canada, the US, Australia and the UK. We at Cambridge Sikh Society will also be looking at ways that we can support the movement, which we’ll be letting you guys know about in the near future.
As always, we hope this has been a useful exploration of the ongoing march in Delhi. If there is any feedback or suggestions you’d like to give for resources or future topics, feel free to let us know. And in the future, we’d like to open up this platform – if you feel like you’d like to write one of these bulletins, we’d be more than happy to have you on board.
In the meantime, we hope you all enjoy the Christmas break, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you next term.
Your Sikh Society Committee.