Arshdeep Arshi

Vishaka George

Editor

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“If women in our generation were educated, things would
have been different,” says Surjeet Kaur, seated on her verandah in Kishangarh
Sedha Singh Wala. Her granddaughter and grandson, not much older than she was
when forced to drop out of school in Class 5, sit beside her.

“Education
opens a person’s third eye,” the 63-year-old emphasises.

Her 75-year-old neighbour, Jaswinder Kaur nods in
agreement. “When women go out, they learn about the world,” she says.

While they never had a chance to complete their own
schooling, another event, they say, taught them a great deal. Surjeet and
Jaswinder were among the 16 women from their village who camped at the Delhi
borders for 13 months during the historic farmers’ protest in 2020-2021. For
over a year, lakhs of farmers like them occupied Delhi’s borders, protesting
against three contentious farm laws introduced by the union government, fearing
they would undermine the minimum support price (MSP) system and benefit private
traders and corporations. Read PARI&#39;s full
coverage of the farm protests <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/protests-against-farm-laws-full-coverage/">here</a>.  

When this reporter visited Kishangarh Sedha Singh Wala in
May 2024, the village, like many across Punjab, was bustling with preparations
for the harvest season. Residents were also gearing up for the General
Elections on June 1, with the political climate heated by agitations against
the ruling party&#39;s anti-farmer actions.



“If
BJP wins again, they will again bring these [farm] laws one way or another,”
says 60-year-old Jarnail Kaur, whose family owns 10 acres of land in Kishangarh Sedha Singh Wala. “We need to vote
wisely.”(Update: Harsimrat Kaur Badal  of Shiromani Akali Dal won the Bhatinda Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections. Results were announced on June 4, 2024).

The lessons from the farm protest
struggle, called off in December 2021, still resonate through the village. “The government is trying to take away our
livelihood,” says Jaswinder Kaur. “How can we let them?”  
 
There are other worries too. “Just a few years
ago, hardly any children from Kishangarh Sedha Singh Wala migrated to other
countries,” says Surjeet. Her thoughts linger on her niece, Kushaldeep Kaur,
who recently moved to Brampton, Canada, for higher studies — a departure that
has left a void. “It’s because of unemployment,” Surjeet asserts. “If there were
jobs here, why would they go abroad?” she asks pointedly. 

So a minimum support price for their crops and employment
for their children and grandchildren emerged as critical issues for voters in
this village in the upcoming elections.



“They (politicians) keep us
villagers busy with issues of old age pension, roads and sewage in every
election,” says Surjeet. “People from villages have been voting on these issues
for as long as I can remember.”

Kishangarh Sedha Singh
Wala, a village in the south of Punjab’s Mansa district, is known for its <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/remembering-pepsu-muzara-movement-govt-should-study-our-past-our-history-we-never-gave-in-even-during-british-rule-7239246/">pivotal role</a>
in the PEPSU Muzara Movement against the Biswedari system, which saw landless
farmers gain ownership rights in 1952 after a long struggle. On March 19, 1949,
four protesters were killed here, and their descendants were honoured during
the Delhi farm protests 2021-2021.

Despite the village&#39;s historic activism, most
women had never joined a protest before the recent farm stir. Now, they eagerly
seek such opportunities to learn about the world. “Earlier, we had no time,”
says Surjeet Kaur. “We worked in the farms, harvested cotton and spun threads.
But now everything is done by machines.” 



Her sister-in-law, Manjeet
Kaur says, “cotton isn’t planted here anymore, and people don’t wear khaddar [khadi]. The whole process of
weaving at home is gone.” She feels that this shift has made it easier for
women to participate in protests. 
 
While some
women in this village have had their share of leadership, from their
conversations, it&#39;s clear that those positions were more titular than
practical.

Manjeet
was the first woman to serve as sarpanch
of Kishangarh Sedha Singh Wala, a village with a population of 6,000. Both women are married to cousin brothers.
“The first time I contested, I was elected unanimously.” That year, 1998, the
seat was reserved for women. “In the next election, I contested against men and
won by 400-500 votes,” recalls Manjeet, knitting at home.

Though 12 other
women have held the role too, Manjeet says men often made the decisions. “I was
the only one who knew how to get things done,” she says, crediting her Class 10
education and support from her husband, Kulwant Singh, a prominent leader of
the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) Dakaunda and former sarpanch. He served from
1993 for five years.



But, Surjeet says, “it is a
tough election where people do force each other to vote for a certain
candidate. Women are asked by their husbands or by their relatives to vote for
a specific candidate. It is not so in the Lok Sabha elections.”

Since
2009, Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has represented the
Bathinda constituency, which includes this village. She is seeking re-election
in the upcoming General Election. Other candidates are IAS turned politician
Parampal Kaur Sidhu (BJP), former MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu (Congress) and
Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian from the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP).

The
Delhi protests of 2020-2021 proved to be a game changer for a lot of women.
This time nobody, they say, can sway their votes. “Women were like prisoners at
home. These protests, which are also like schools for us, have taught us so
much” says Surjeet.



Recalling their
journey to Delhi on November 26, 2020, Surjeet continues, “we went unprepared. Everyone thought
they (security forces) would not let the farmers pass and we would sit wherever
stopped.” She notes the minimal equipment they carried for their
prolonged encampment at the Tikri border near Bahadurgarh. &quot;We did not have equipment to prepare food, so we
improvised. Neither did we have any arrangements for toilets and
bathrooms.&quot; And yet, they stayed on for over a year – leading to the
repealing of the three laws. 



Despite the lack of a
higher education, Surjeet says she was always interested in reading and
learning more. “Women feel like if they were educated, they could have
contributed better to the protest.”

Harsimrat Kaur Badal recently visited
the village to campaign. “They come only during elections,” says Surjeet Kaur,
while enjoying a handful of mulberries from her field.

In
September 2020, Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against
anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. “She quit only when farmers started
agitating against them (Shiromani
Akali Dal),” says Surjeet, sceptical of the resignation. “Before that,
she and Parkash Singh Badal, the former Chief Minister, were telling farmers
about the benefits of the three farm laws,” she says, annoyed.   
 
After enduring
13 months of harsh conditions in solidarity with fellow farmers, Surjeet
remained unswayed by Badal’s current campaign. &quot;I did not go to listen to
her,&quot; she says firmly.

‘These protests are like school for us’

’احتجاج کرنا ہمارے لیے اسکول جیسا ہے‘

‘இந்தப் போராட்டங்கள் எங்களுக்கு பள்ளிக்கூடம் போல’

‘ଏହିସବୁ ଆନ୍ଦୋଳନ ଆମ ପାଇଁ ବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ ସଦୃଶ’

‘ही आंदोलनं म्हणजे आमच्यासाठी जणू शाळाच!’

‘ഈ പ്രതിഷേധങ്ങളൊക്കെ ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് പാഠശാലപോലെയാണ്’

ʼಈ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆಗಳು ನಮಗೆ ಶಾಲೆಯಿದ್ದಂತೆʼ

‘आंदोलन हमारी पाठशाला है’

'આ વિરોધ-પ્રદર્શનો અમારે માટે પાઠશાળા સમાન છે'

‘कढ़े ह हमर पढ़े बन गे’

‘किसान आंदोलन जिनगी के पाठशाला बन गइल’

‘আমাদের কাছে এই আন্দোলন পাঠশালার মতো’

‘এই প্ৰতিবাদ আমাৰ বাবে পাঠশালাৰ দৰে’

'ਇਹ ਧਰਨੇ ਤਾਂ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਸਕੂਲ ਨੇ'

Mansa, Mansa Tahsil, Mansa District, Punjab, 151505, India

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‘These protests are like school for us’

For the elderly women of Kishangarh Sedha Singh Wala in Punjab’s Mansa district, the historic farm protests of 2020-2021 were transformative. The dissent served as an education, even shaping their choices at the polls for the General Elections 2024

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