Kabal Singh from Punjab’s Fazilka on Sunday tied himself up with an iron chain to represent the state of farmers in the county after the imposition of farms laws passed by the Centre.
“The chains on my body represent the state of farmers in the country. We are just slaves for the government. If we were important to them then they would have withdrawn the laws that have been forcibly imposed upon farmers,” said Mr. Singh, who has been protesting at the border for the past 20 days.
Mr. Singh is the sole breadwinner for his family that includes his wife, 13-year-old son and 86-year-old mother. “My mother’s hip bone got dislocated when she was coming to Delhi in a tractor trolley. She had fallen from the trolley. She was taken to a hospital by a group of protesters but I stayed at the border and kept protesting,” he said.
He said his son is taking care of his grandmother, Balbir Kaur. “She has undergone operation and is on bed rest at home,” he said, adding that he is waiting for the December 29 meeting between the farmers and the government. “After the outcome of the meeting, I will decide whether to stay or go back home,” he said.
“I took ₹1 lakh loan from a local lender for my mother’s treatment. But here I am paying back the debt of my motherland. Farmers are always in debt and they spend their entire life in struggle for existence,” he said.
Mr. Singh added he will free himself from the chains only when the government repeals the new laws.
He hoped that his efforts to gain the attention of the Central government would not go to waste.