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ISSUE DATE: February 22, 2021
UPDATED: February 15, 2021 14:11 IST
Rallying cry: BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on stage at the Ghazipur border on January 30
If the events of this year’s Republic Day, when lumpen youth hijacked what had hitherto been a determined yet peaceful farmers’ protest and led a siege of the iconic Red Fort, threatened to derail the movement, Rakesh Tikait’s tears on Beating Retreat Day (January 28), when police tried to force-clear protesters from Ghazipur, put it right back on track. His emotional outburst not only re-energised the movement, but it also led to something more momentous, bringing the Jats of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana together in solidarity with the Punjab farmer, undermining the central government’s insinuations that the movement was confined to Punjab, that it was being used by Khalistani forces to further their own radical agenda and was the work of ‘andolanjeevis’, professional protesters who live off agitations.