Shortly after the Supreme Court stayed the farm laws and formed a review committee, a singer took the stage at the Singhu border, seeking to remind the rulers of Delhi of Punjab’s history of sacrifice.
“Dilli-ye, O Dilli-ye, Punjab de sadke, tu itihas sadda bhulli baithi hain (Delhi, Oh Delhi, you have forgotten Punjab’s glorious history of sacrifice). Assi desh nu bachaya assi chadke, ladke, ladke. (We have risen many times to save the country, by fighting, fighting...),” he sang, from the dais of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Punjab.
The song ended and a call went up: “Jo bole so Nihal (Blessed is the one who says)…”
A chorus rent the air in response: “…Sat Sri Akal. (Truth is God).”
In front of the stage, Amarjeet Singh Udhowali who had joined the chorus raising a clenched fist, said when asked about the Supreme Court ruling: “Yehi reaction hai, ji. (This is our reaction).”
“Kaale kanoon ko radd karywaye bina hum wapis nahi jaayenge. (We will not return without getting the black laws repealed),” he said. “No matter how long the struggle stretches.”
Another farmer, Paramjit Singh from Madhya Pradesh, said: “This is a way to get us out of here. We respect the Supreme Court but we are not going to go back till the laws are repealed and we get a legal guarantee on minimum support price.”
At Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana, where tents of the protesting farmers stretch for kilometres, there was not one farmer this newspaper could find who was ready to accept the Supreme Court’s stay on the laws as a solution and retreat. The protesters spied a ploy to end their protest and feared that once they went back home, the government would implement the laws.
“The time for putting the laws on hold is over now. It should have been done when we started our protest in Punjab and Haryana,” said Balwinder Singh, 70, from Patiala.
While protests were on ever since the government brought the ordinances during the pandemic-induced lockdown in the summer, they gathered steam in September when the bills were rushed through Parliament. From September the farmers had protested in their own states, before setting out for Delhi in the last week of November.
Asked if they don’t have faith in the apex court of the country, Kulwinder Singh smiled and said: “Supreme Court pe bharose ka sawal nahi hai. Hume sarkar par bharosa nahi hai. Hum yahan se jayenge, aur ye phir laagu kar denge (It’s not a question of faith in the Supreme Court. We don’t trust this government. Once we withdraw from here, the laws will be enforced again).”
Many felt the Supreme Court’s intervention at this stage was to ensure there was no disturbance during the Republic Day celebration. The farmers have announced a parallel parade of tractors.
“Tell Modiji to change,” snapped Harbhajan Singh Sekhu, 80, as he distributed disposable plates at a langar, referring to the celebrations on Republic Day, angry that the government was refusing to heed the farmers.
“Jaane wale nahi hain. Nahi jaayenge, (We are not going back. We will not go),” Sekhu added.
Asked about the Supreme Court-appointed committee of experts to review the laws and whether they should give it time, most farmers refused to accept it.
“Jaankaar yahan baithe hain, ji (Experts are sitting here),” said a group of Jat farmers from Haryana’s Sonipat. “Why isn’t Modiji talking to us?” asked Satpal Singh, one of the group.
“The Supreme Court should have appointed real experts from among us. We don’t regard them (committee members) as experts,” said Bhupinder, also a Jat farmer.
From another of the many stages that have come up on the long stretch of the road at Delhi’s borders with Haryana, one farmer leader was heard saying the Supreme Court ruling is just another step and called upon everyone to prepare for the final battle to get the laws repealed.
Standing in the crowd, Jagdeep, a housewife from Ludhiana, said she had come to join her husband in the battlefield. “Jeet ke hi jaayenge (We will return after winning),” she said.