A large number of farmers have died due to the cold, infections, heart attacks, and accidents ever since the protest on the outskirts of the Capital began. Farm unions say the bereaved families must be well-compensated, but there is a discrepancy between the Punjab government's estimate of deaths and the union's estimates. Meanwhile, Haryana is yet to acknowledge this tragedy or assist the next-of-kin. VIVEK GUPTA reports from Chandigarh on distraught families and destroyed livelihoods.
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SIXTY-two days of protest and 170 deaths so far—this is a colossal price that farmers have paid to sustain their relentless protest against the Centre's farm laws ever since they arrived at the gates of Delhi.
While the protesters were on the backfoot after the Republic Day incident at the Red Fort and violence inside Delhi, yet, as farm outfits have underlined, the "indiscipline" and "ulterior motives" of a few do not define their movement and they will stay put as earlier, whatever the price.
Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), who is also the media coordinator of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a group of 30 farm unions leading the protest, said they are keeping a proper record of farmers' deaths ever since their protests on the outskirts of Delhi began on 26 November. It shows a total of 170 deaths as of 27 January.
The death toll includes all those who died of heart attacks, infections and cold strokes at various protest sites at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders.
Several deaths took place due to accidents as farmers made their way to Delhi or back home to Punjab or Haryana. Another category was deaths due to suicide, while some died of illnesses they picked up at the borders after they returned home, he said.
As per their list, Punjab has seen the maximum loss of life with 147 deaths, followed by 19 from Haryana and five from other states.
While the protesters were on the backfoot after the Republic Day incident at the Red Fort and violence inside Delhi, yet, as farm outfits have underlined, the "indiscipline" and "ulterior motives" of a few do not define their movement and they will stay put as earlier, whatever the price.
Jagmohan says farmers have already suffered greatly for their protest, and there would be no point in going back under pressure from the government or any other outfit.
GRIEF, ANGER
Travel to any part of Punjab, grief follows everywhere. So does anger against the Centre.
Sukhpal Singh, 62, of village Fatta Maluka in Mansa district, had two sons. The older one, Inderjeet, settled in Canada and the younger, Jatinder, lived with him. Last year, on 11 October, Jatinder married Gurvinder Kaur, from a neighbouring district, with much fanfare.
But just two months and six days after his wedding, on 17 December, Jatinder met with an accident near Hisar in Haryana while he was on his way to the protest site at Tikri. He later died in a hospital.
All hell broke loose at his house. "My daughter-in-law is still inconsolable and so are we. We don't know how we will spend the rest of our lives without him," Sukhpal says between sobs.
He says, "My older son has left Canada permanently and shifted here as we were left alone after Jatinder's death, but there is a huge hole in my heart that can never be filled."
He says Jatinder was not aligned with any farmer organisation. Yet, in solidarity with farmers, he picked his tractor and proceeded towards Delhi along with a few other villagers.
“Many bereaved families blame the Centre for the death of their loved ones. They feel they could have been saved if the Centre had taken back these laws. They fear that many more will die if the laws are not taken back.
His vehicle developed some technical fault near Hisar. As he was repairing it, a canter hit the stationary vehicle from the rear. A big tyre ran over him and he died later of injuries sustained.
"This had to happen when rulers of the country turn against its people," says Sukhpal, criticising the ruling National Democratic Alliance government for the controversial agriculture bills that have forced farmers to march towards Delhi at great risk.
He says he can only hope the government repeals these laws and stops the spate of deaths that has left a large number of families in extreme pain.
There are tragic stories of children becoming fatherless at a tender age and grieving fathers lighting the pyres of dead sons.
Thirty-one-year-old Jagseer Singh of village Bhadra in Mansa district of Punjab joined a protest at Tikri on 26 December. Three days later, he was hit by an unknown vehicle near Pakora Chowk in nearby Bahadurgarh, Haryana. He died later due to severe head injuries.
The incident has left his wife, Ramandeep Kaur, in a permanent state of shock and his two children, an eleven-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son, are now fatherless.
"Not a day has passed since my brother's death that my parents have not cried. His children often ask for their father. I console them but cannot replace their father. God knows how my family will come out of this tragedy," says Jagseer's younger brother Gurjant Singh.
He says the state government gave a cheque of Rs.5 lakh to the family after his brother died, but the amount is insufficient. Jagseer was in debt of Rs.6 lakh. "I request the government to waive it [the cash] off and offer a government job to his wife so that she can raise her children," says Gurjant.
Fifty-eight-year-old Jagtar Singh from village Makhowal in district Nawanshahr, Punjab, never imagined he would light his son's funeral pyre one day.
He said his son, Gurpreet Singh, 21, had gone to protest at Singhu, but on 16 December, when Gurpreet was on his way back, he met with an accident near Ambala and later died due to his injuries. "My son often told me that I need not take care of the fields; he will take care of everything. Little did I know that he will go away, leaving us distraught," says Jagtar.
“A large number of deaths comprise those aged over 50, who could not bear the bone-chilling Delhi winter. Most farmers have been sleeping in their trolleys, stacked with mattresses and blankets, at the protest sites. They light up bonfires to keep themselves warm. These are proving inadequate, especially for those aged fifty and over.
He blamed the Centre for his son's death. So many lives could have been saved if the Centre had taken back these laws, says Jagtar, but the government is still plotting against farmers, trying to break their protest, not caring how many more will die, how many more fathers will be in grief and how many more children orphaned.
The tragedy in the home of 33-year-old Ajay Singh from Baroda Mor village in the Gohana block of Haryana's Sonepat district was equally sad. He died of a cold stroke on 9 December.
He had slept off in an open park and died in his sleep. This was the worst tragedy that could befall his 60-year-old father Ishwar Singh. He had lost his younger son to an accident seven years ago.
Joginder Mor, a resident of Baroda Mor, says Ajay has two daughters and a wife. "I wonder how they manage without him; the family is hand-to-mouth. It has just one acre of land, which is grossly insufficient to earn a livelihood," says Mor.
"While families in Punjab are getting some financial support from the state, there is no government help so far from Haryana. Some NGOs donated Rs.2 lakh to Ajay's family. Rs.50,000 was collected from the village, too. But for how long can they survive on this much? The human cost of the farmers' protest is too huge to imagine," Mor says.
Losing a husband at an advanced age is a heart-wrenching situation. Deep Singh, 60, of village Popna in Kharar Tehsil of Mohali district, was returning to his village on 14 December when he met with a road accident and died later. His wife Bhupinder Kaur, 54, said that the Delhi protest had left her in permanent sorrow and pain.
"I don't know how to live without him. There is no support-system left. My only daughter is married. My husband was the one looking after me and my ailing mother-in-law. Now he is gone, we feel orphaned," she says.
“Fifty-eight-year-old Jagtar Singh from village Makhowal in district Nawanshahr, Punjab, never imagined he would light his son's funeral pyre one day. 83-year-old Ratan Singh of village Raipur Khurd of Ajnala fell ill at Singhu border and passed away after a few days of reaching home. He had been serving langar at the protest.
She adds, "We were living hand-to-mouth as our landholding is no more than an acre. There was assurance for remuneration but no financial help has come so far." She says, sobbing, "I want farmers to return winners, but this protest has destroyed my life."
A large number of deaths comprise those aged over 50, who could not bear the bone-chilling Delhi winter.
Jagseer Sidhu, 30, resident of village Gurma in Barnala district, never thought his father, Sukhdev Singh (65) would die suddenly, leaving him and his mother in the lurch.
Jagseer says that a few days after returning from Tikri, he was participating in a local protest outside the house of a BJP leader in Barnala on 28 December 2020.
Soon after he ended his speech, he collapsed on the stage. He was declared dead when he arrived in the hospital, says Jagseer. "I believe this protest took a toll on his health as he always was out-of-doors despite the bone-chilling winter. This took his life," he says.
"I am deeply disturbed. I was at a stage of my life when I needed him the most but he is gone all of sudden. My mother is also not well ever since he died. His departure has left a big void in our life that will never be filled," says Jagsir who has appealed to the Centre not to let more like him become fatherless.
He says it is the adamant stand of the government that has led to so many deaths during the protest.
Most farmers have been sleeping in their trolleys, stacked with mattresses and blankets, at the protest sites. They light up bonfires to keep themselves warm.
Several non-profit organisations have distributed warm clothes, shoes, socks, gloves, jackets and many have volunteered hot water in large drums for the elderly to bathe in.
But winter-related illnesses seem to have caused more deaths than accidents. According to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, heart attacks, pneumonia and cold strokes caused more than 50% of the deaths.
“The tragedy in the home of 33-year-old Ajay Singh from Baroda Mor village in the Gohana block of Haryana's Sonepat district was equally sad. He died of a cold stroke on 9 December. He had slept off in an open park and died in his sleep. This was the worst tragedy that could befall his 60-year-old father Ishwar Singh. He had lost his younger son to an accident seven years ago.
For instance, 83-year-old Ratan Singh of village Raipur Khurd of Ajnala fell ill at Singhu border and passed away after a few days of reaching home. He had been serving langar at the protest.
Jagdish Singh, a farmer from Lundewala in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, suddenly collapsed at Tikri border and was declared brought dead, reportedly due to a heart attack.
Fifty-eight-year-old Rampal Singh, of village Sehjra in Barnala district, fell ill at Tikri border and passed away on the way home.
Sixty-two-year-old Avtar Singh was at the Tikri border from the first day of the protest. However, all of sudden, he collapsed on 12 January and died later in a nearby hospital.
Similarly, 42-year-old Jaspreet Singh Kooner of Ucha Pind village in Jalandhar died four days after he returned from Singhu border on 11 January. He already had breathing problems, which accelerated during his stay in Delhi.
Jhajjar Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sanjay Dahiya said it is common to have heart attacks or infections in winter, yet viscera samples of 18 winter-related death cases of farmers have been sent for further investigation. "These cases came to us from Tikri border," he says. "Since the report takes six to eight weeks, the final outcome is awaited," he adds.
In this season of deaths, the spate of suicides linked with the protest is even more worrisome. So far 12 suicide cases have been recorded.
It started with the suicide of Sikh preacher Sant Ram Singh at Singhu border on 16 December. A handwritten note in Punjabi was found from the deceased, which the police are reviewing.
It purportedly says he felt the government was not doing justice to the farmers and hence he was ending his life. He shot himself dead.
Then on 21 December, a farmer from Kari Kalan village in Ferozpur district named Kulbir hanged himself in his fields a day after returning home from Tikri border.
He was indebted himself, but the condition of farmers at the Delhi borders made him more upset and made him take the extreme step, said his son, Sandeep Singh.
Naseeb Singh, 50, from village Mehama in Guruharsahai block of Ferozpur district shot himself dead on 10 January. Area DSP Ravinder Singh confirmed that the suicide note recovered from his home revealed that he ended his life in protest of three laws.
“On 21 December, a farmer from Kari Kalan village in Ferozpur district named Kulbir hanged himself in his fields a day after returning home from Tikri border. He was indebted himself, but the condition of farmers at the Delhi borders made him more upset and made him take the extreme step, said his son, Sandeep Singh.
On 22 January, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh announced that his government would provide jobs to one family member of those from the state who died during the farmer agitation on Delhi's borders.
The offer is in addition to the compensation of Rs.5 lakh that will be given to each family.
But there is a discrepancy in the death toll listed by the government and what farmer unions claim. The Chief Minister has said he has received reports of only 76 farmers dying.
Jagmohan Singh, press coordinator of the Kisan Morcha, says they have proper documentary proof, with pictures, of deaths from Punjab being much higher than the government claims. "We will submit our list and proofs to the state government," he says.
Punjab Kisan Union president Ruldu Singh Mansa said that while the sacrifice of all those farmers who have died so far cannot be compensated, still their families deserve adequate compensation.
"We want the government to award at least Rs.10 lakh as compensation, a government job to their kin and complete debt waiver for families who have lost their dear ones in this protest," he says.
(Vivek Gupta is an independent journalist based in Chandigarh. The views are personal.)