Raghbir Singh Brar
Faridkot
February 23,2026
The three images published courtesy,Shagan Kataria.
Dharnas are a conflict between the corporators and common man-Jagjeet Singh Dallewal.
They want to grab the natural resources,including land,and locals don’t want to part with those-Dallewal.
Not only the farmers,no voice of dissent is tolerated-Jawant Jass.
The stage protests, mostly by the farmers outfits, are no longer allegedly allowed by the state.
It may have two aims, to divide the different sections of the society on the one hand, to construct a narrative that the farmers’ protests only disturb the public and they stage protests without any reason.
There is allegedly a considerable population which has differences with the farmers on the issue,this includes traders and labour sections.
Though they indirectly rely on the agriculture sector, yet they allege that it is an arm twisting move by the farmers and lead to their embarrassment.
The farmers have some organisations which afford to express their displeases over many issues,but now they have been defamed for the same reason.
As a particular section of society including traders ,small businessmen are opposed to the dharnas, the state machinery has taken it as a welcome move, to suppress the protestors.
Whatever has of late happened in Bathinda village, it makes it clear that the SSP of any district can not afford to come down so heavily on the protesters, the farmers, without the instructions of the state government or the policy makers.
The policy makers may be allegedly from Delhi, but the AAP state unit may have to pay its price in elections too as the urban voters may shift to the BJP and farmers would be divided.
Farmers are ,of course, a big vote share and have a decisive role to play in state politics.
Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, the state president of the BKU Sidhupur Ekta describes it as a conflict between the corporates and the owners of the natural resources including land.
“On the one hand ,there are corporates and the governments,which are sitting in the lap of their lap.The corporates want to grab the natural resources, be it land or minerals etc. But the farmers and others, who have been earning their livelihood from those, are not simply ready to part with those.The respective governments , be it of any state or centre, are eager to hand over the natural resources to the corporates and suppress the voices of those who want to protest against this policy. So all are working in this directions.The farmers are there to save the natural resources,but they are not allowed to speak while some other weaker sections from the society are not in position to speak up,’ said Jagjeet Singh Dallewal when contacted on the issue.
Dalleal further alleged that one may see how the people owning the land and other natural resources are being evacuated overnight.
He hints at the grabbing of all various kinds of mafias in the state including mining which are usurping the right of the owners in the connivance of the influentials.
He said that corporates are also behind causing water,air and environmental pollution.,while the blame is shifted to the farmers etc.
Dallewal further alleged that the US-India deal for free trade agreements is also against our agriculture and termed that the GM modified products could be very harmful for us.
So to safeguard our interests, we have to protest or stage Dharnas when the governments do not listen to us,he says.
Jaswant Jass, a senior advocate and journalist, said that the governments want to suppress the voice of the common man using police force.
“Actualy this is the choking of the voice of dissent.Whatever the government is there, its purpose is to create a fear psychosis among the people so that they remain silent on major issues. The problems are actually increasing but they are not not getting any solution. If one protests, the governments deal with them in a very forceful way,” said Jaswant.
He alleged that it is not only the farmers, nobody including the media is tolerated for free speech.
From the farmers’ protest in Delhi, the governments(states and union) have learnt a lesson that the large number of protestors, though they claim to hold peaceful protests, are not allowed to assemble.
The registration of FIRs against a very large number of farmers in Bathinda is also a pressure tactic to pressurise the protestors. Anyone can be allegedly implicated in such open cases.
Though the farmers’ outfit can also not be justified on all the issues, the registration of cases,under harsh sections of BNS etc and raining lathias is also unjustifiable.
THE ABOVE IMAGES RELATED TO BATHINDA PROTEST PUBLISHED,CREDIT SHAGAN KATARIA FROM JAITU.
