Footage of Indian farmers protesting about agricultural reforms has gone around the world, and the issue has even being raised with Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The protests, which have seen more than 250 million workers go on nationwide strikes, have captured the hearts of Indian diasporas – with many taking to the streets and internet to register their support.
Although Gupy Sandhu’s life as an estate agent in Leicester might seem far removed from the farmlands of south Asia, he said he feels a very personal connection to the Indian protests.
“I wouldn’t be here in this country if it wasn’t for my ancestors and their hard work,” said the 31-year-old.
“My grandparents were farmers and, if they weren’t in such a good financial state because of it, my parents wouldn’t have been able to come to the UK.
“We are grateful for what our ancestors gave us.”
On Sunday, Mr Sandhu joined a rally of hundreds of cars in Leicester.
The vehicles – which Mr Sandhu said allowed for social distancing between households – were waving green flags – a colour adopted by the Indian farmers’ unions.
Mr Sandhu compared his involvement to the Black Lives Matter protests, which saw thousands of people in the UK demonstrate against the killing of George Floyd.
“People said… George Floyd was in America so why are you protesting here? But people protested for basic human rights,” he said.
“This is not a religious issue, it’s a human issue.”
As a daughter of a former farmer, Nav Mann feels passionately about the protests too.
She said she is using social media channels to raise awareness of the farmers’ fears that government reforms will severely affect their livelihoods.
“So many people don’t know anything about it, so even if only 10 people read my story at least I am getting something out there,” she said.
The 35-year-old, from Leicester, said her father Gurdip Bassi worked in Punjab as a young man, turning the family’s infertile land into “flourishing fields and profitable crops”.
“They have taken it from nothing to where it is today and without that we might not be sat in the UK,” she said.
“I feel so privileged my family have worked so hard and always had their kids and their future in mind.”
Mrs Man, who works as a merchandiser at Next, suggested the treatment of the farmers may have knock-on effects around the world.
She said many spices sold in the UK are produced by farmers in India.
“We are all about small businesses [in the UK] and buying local produce,” she said.
“Why can’t [that apply to] the people who produce these things in India?
“This could have happened to farmers in this country and we would do our bit to support them, so why wouldn’t we support the farmers there?”
Harinder Singh, 43, took his family to a car rally in London on Sunday to support those “in pain” in India.
“The reason we took the kids is so they see that there’s an importance to all this. That something serious is happening,” he said.
“This is our lineage; it’s our history.
“We have never… tried to do anything with a piece of land, but we know the value of what it means for those that continue to do it. Without it, they have nothing left.”
The programme manager from Cobham, Surrey, spent more than a year living in India in his teens and has had a strong connection to his parents’ homeland ever since.
“The more you read, it really strikes you to the core,” he said.
“The elderly are there fighting. They are sleeping on the side of roads, in the back of trucks. India is a cold place at night in December, and that pain is seen by all of us.
“We are so far away from where they are, and we have got it cushty here, but when you see that, you think, ‘Hang on. What am I doing?'”
What are the protests about?
- In the last fortnight, tens of thousands of Indian farmers have descended on the streets of Delhi and camped out at borders in a protest over controversial new laws
- They are angry about three new farm bills which the government said would reform the agricultural sector
- However, farmers say this was done without consultation and they fear losing earnings and their protection over guaranteed prices
- Last weekend rallies were held in London and Leicester, with more planned in the coming weeks, including two in Birmingham and Northampton this weekend
Courtesy: BBC News
