JALANDHAR: While these were initially being seen as setback, but the happenings of January 26 during ‘Tractor Parade’ triggered a chain of events which seems to have ended up making farmers movement bigger. Not only the protesters’ numbers have swelled at the three major protest sites around Delhi and meetings and mobilisation have taken place in UP and Haryana, but also the issue has been internationalised.
If BKU’s Rakesh Tikait’s tears fuelled the nearly moribund protest on the night of January 28, Rihanna’s six-word tweet with a hashtag on Tuesday night pushed it to next level as other celebrities, political figures and public picked up the issue. The hashtag war on the issue continued till late in the night.
As Sanyukta Kisan Morcha leaders went on defensive after the happenings at Red Fort, an emboldened Union government started tightening noose around the protests. Out of the three major sites – Singhu border, Tikri border and Ghazipur border – the latter with smallest numbers was chosen for eviction. However, the plan went awry as BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait broke down alleging that BJP functionaries were also there with police and they would attack the protesters.
Even as protesters returned to the sites, the Centre tightened the noose further and shut down internet around Delhi and large parts of Haryana. The government also had permanent barricading installed with spikes on ground. However, these unprecedented restrictions both physical and virtual backfired at international level and farmers movement attracted attraction, which perhaps the protagonists of the movement could not have managed on their own.
The issue was raised in different countries early on by the Punjabi NRIs, who held demonstrations in other countries. But, it was the news report about these restrictions in international media that pop superstar Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday night and then climate activist Greta Thunberg also tweeted the same story.
Though the foreign minister issued a statement on Wednesday and some Bollywood stars and cricketers tweeted on it, but support of farmers seemed to be increasing. A week after January 26, images of big meetings of khaps across Haryana and UP, huge barricades and tweets of international celebrities are dominating the media and netizens’ mind space.