Shiva And Allah Share A Sugarcane In Muzaffarnagar

Towards the end of the six-hour-long ­mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, UP, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait ascended the main dias with Ghulam Moham­mad Jola바카라�once his father바카라�s trusted right-hand man바카라�and a gaggle of other farmer union leaders. Holding hands, he leaned into the mikes and uttered the words 바카라�Allah hu Akbar, Har Har Mahadev바카라�. For a brief mom­ent, the ­audience fell silent, unsure about how to react. Communal scars have run deep in western UP since the 2013 riots, which pundits say broke the long-existing Hindu-Muslim accord in the region and swung the political ­pendulum decisively towards the BJP, ­facilitating to a large extent its dominance over national politics since 2014. The significance of the organisers, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), choosing Muzaffarnagar바카라�ground zero of the 2013 riots바카라�as the mahapanchayat venue was not lost on ­anyone. On September 5, though, the recovery from the stupor was swift, as the crowd lustily joined in the ­sloganeering first made popular by Rakesh바카라�s long-deceased father Mahendra Singh Tikait.

Nine months into their relentless struggle, farmer unions leading the protest against the Centre바카라�s three farm laws promulgated in September 2020 have hardened their stance. After early days of negotiations that fell through with the government maintaining a hard line on any possibility of repeal of the laws바카라�followed by sporadic confrontations between farmers camping on protest at the national capital바카라�s borders and security forces, culminating in some violence on this year바카라�s Republic Day바카라�the protesters too have become more intransigent, as they kept expanding the scope of their ­demands from an initial 13-point charter, to take the fight to the opposite camp. Now, they are no longer satisfied with just complete withdrawal of the three new farm laws, but want to ­uproot BJP바카라�s electoral domination, ­assessing that the party in power is not going to relent. The September 5 ­mahapanchayat was not only called as a show of strength바카라�it is estimated the number of attendees ran into several lakhs바카라�but also to firm up the future course of action, with a series of activities culminating in a call to voters in assembly poll-bound UP and Uttara­khand not to vote for the BJP or its ­allies. Already, over the past few months, BJP leaders in Haryana and Punjab have been facing farmers바카라� wrath while trying to hold political or social programmes.

However, not all peasants바카라� organisations are in support. The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) ­considers the SKM바카라�an umbrella of several farmers바카라� unions바카라�as a ­바카라�political바카라� movement. BKS ploughs a lone furrow, saying it stands against ­바카라�disruption of life and ­destruction of the nation바카라�s properties바카라�. It has separately submitted its own set of demands that includes an alternative to MSP, which they describe as 바카라�profitable price over a farmer바카라�s input costs바카라�, and, instead of withdrawal of the new laws, only seeks certain amendments and concessions. However, ­despite several such ­submissions, ­including a letter to the PM, they have little to show for.

(This appeared in the print edition as "Kisans Unite Shiva 바카라�n바카라� Allah")