‘This Govt Underestimated The Grit Of Sikh Farmers’

Gauravdeep Singh, 24, founder of Initiators of Change, a Ludhiana-based NGO, is running medical service camps for protesting farmers at Singhu border with the help of his team and young volunteers

The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent his last years (1521-1539) as a farmer on the banks of River Ravi (now known as the Kartarpur corridor), and therefore Sikhs revere farming as a service to humanity. Farming is the foundation on which all other services are built, which is why I thought it was important for me to come out and help the farming community in these trying times.

So I came here along with my team members at Singhu border to provide basic medical support to the farmers. We are a group of nearly 200 volunteers, divided in about 20 teams spread across both the Singhu and Tikri borders. The volunteers are drawn largely from the NGO I run, Initiators of Change as well as the Gurmat Gian Missionary College which was started by my family. We also have dedicated pharmacists and paramedics working with us.

We have been here from day one of the protests. I believe if we can take care of their physical wellbeing by way of medical support, they will gather more strength to nurture the soul of this country. Tending to the wounds of the farmers who had faced batons, water cannons, rough handling etc was one of the first tasks we had to take up at Delhi borders. We have carried on since.

We provide basic medicines like pain killers, antacids, throat lozenges, pain relief gels, warm bandages etc. In addition, we keep supplies of facemasks, hand sanitizers, sanitary pads with us to encourage hygiene among protesters.

My day starts at 6 am. We visit each trolley in a zone to distribute blankets. There is breakfast at 9 am and thence to the medical camps. Along with medicines we also provide daily-use items like toiletries, books etc. The teams work in shifts, so everyone, including me, gets sufficient rest. The entire supplies, so far, have been managed from our own pockets.

Hum Sikhs kisi se nahi darte, hum sar ko hath pe rakhte hain, humein sirf sacchai pyari hai (A Sikh is not afraid of anything. We hold truth higher than life). The government perhaps underestimated the power of the common man. They removed Shaheen Bagh protesters in the name of coronavirus, but they have to answer the farmer now.

I find the demands of farmers completely valid, which is why I am giving my whole-hearted support to this protest. I was given the National Youth Award in 2017 for creating voting awareness among the youth of Punjab. I decided to return my award for the voters’ will was not given due respect by this government.

ALSO READ: ‘Providing Food To Farmers Is Sacred Duty’

India is majorly an agrarian economy, so shouldn’t farmers be included in the policy making? Should they be conveniently ignored and side-lined as has been done by the Union government? A government is answerable to the public.

One cannot expect the corporates to behave on the basis of goodwill, for they operate on the basis of profitability. Ye jo langar system hai na jisne poori insaniyat ko sath bandh rakha hai, ke duniya me jahan bhi koi bhookha hoga, aur koi Gurudwara hoga, wahan khana zaroor milega, wo bhi khatm ho jayega agar ye farm bills pass ho gaye toh. (These farm laws are anti-thesis of our langar service, which binds humanity by feeding one and all). We can provide medicines to the body, but the government must step forward to heal the wounds that are festering in the hearts of farmers.