Behind Bhagat Singh chants at farmersâ protest, a century-old Left tradition in Punjab
While the Left might look irrelevant in Punjabâs electoral politics today, the state has had a long Left tradition. Its genesis can be traced to the Ghadar movement.
Chitleen K Sethi 29 January, 2021 12:11 pm IST Text Size:
Chandigarh: âBhagat Singh
teri soch te⦠pehra diyaange thok ke⦠(Bhagat Singh, we will bravely guard your legacy)â.
Nearly 100 years after freedom fighter Bhagat Singhâs execution in 1931, chants invoking his name and legacy resonated during the farmersâ agitation in Delhi.
So, what is this Bhagat Singh connection to the Punjab farmersâ protest against the Modi governmentâs three farm laws? For one, this movement reminds political observers of the â
It was in the Jat Gazette that he wrote: “People describe the farmer as the Lord of Grains (Annadata), but no one sees whether he himself eats or not. It is the biggest wonder of the world that the one who produces remains hungry. I tell the Rajas and Nawabs and all types of governments of Hindustan to not harass the farmer to the extent that he stands up… Other people break the law when they get angry with a government, but when the farmer would get angry, he would not only break the law, he would also break the back of the government.”