GHAZIABAD: Subhash Cheema has been camping at the UP Gate protest site on Delhi’s Gazipur border for five days. On Thursday, he will do the same when the sounds of shehnai fill up his home 111km away in Amroha. It’s a special day for the family. Cheema’s daughter is getting married.
“I have been a farmer all my life and that has given me everything I have today. That is why I could not turn a deaf ear to the ‘Dilli Chalo’ call, although my daughter is getting married on Thursday,” Cheema said on Wednesday, adding his family would take care of the wedding.
The 58-year-old farmer, who bears affiliation to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said, “I have made all the arrangements in my village and my sons and relatives will take care of the function. I speak to my daughter over the phone every day. She has been asking me to go back. But I cannot leave my farmer brothers at this critical juncture when our future depends on the outcome of this protest.”
But he will be missing home and his daughter. “I have requested my sons to show me the entire ceremony through a video call. I will be happy with that,” Cheema said.
His friends too have asked him to go back to the village for the wedding. “He is an office bearer of the BKU from Amroha and he feels it is his responsibility to be part of the protest. He thinks he will not set a good example for others if he leaves the venue,” said Sajjan Singh, another farmer from Cheema’s village. “He has a deep sense of camaraderie and won’t relent. We just hope that on Thursday, a decision is taken in our favour. He can then return to Amroha, which isn’t too far away,” Singh added.
One of those giving those like Cheema and Singh company is Solan Singh. A farmer from Khurja, Solan Singh can barely walk, and is heavily dependent on a stick. He said he is 97 but brushed off age as a concern while he sat with his fellow farmers on a road in harsh weather conditions. “I will not leave till our leaders ask us to. I have been part of many farmer agitations in the past. But those were for me. This fight is for our future generations. The outcome will decide the fate of our children and I want to be a part of this,” he said.