670 lives lost in year-long struggle at Delhi borders
Vishav Bharti
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 19
With nearly 670 lives lost during the year-long struggle at the Delhi borders, the victory for farmers has come at a heavy cost.
Barnala man first casualty
- As per SKM, 670 farmers/farm labourers died during November 24, 2020, and November 19, 2021
- The first casualty was Kahan Singh of Dhaner in Barnala
- He was hit by a recklessly driven car on the roadside where tractors were parked
Besides facing the vagaries of the weather, the farmers had to deal with reckless drivers and other threats while putting up on the roads.
Trouble began for Punjab farmers when preparations for the Delhi march were on in full swing last year. The first casualty took place on November 24, 2020, when a number of farmers were covering tractor-trailers with waterproof sheets at Mehal Kalan in Barnala.
Kahan Singh, an activist of the BKU (Dakaunda) from Dhaner village, was hit by a car on the roadside where the tractors were parked. He died on the spot. “Kahan Singh was the first martyr of the Delhi morcha,” says Manjit Dhaner, BKU (Dakaunda) leader.
More names of the young and the old, men and women kept adding to the list since then. The reason behind the deaths included mishaps involving recklessly driven vehicles, mainly trucks, falling from tractor-trailers, harsh cold, dengue or Covid.
“Even the nature was not kind to us. But our struggle finally bore the desired result. The sacrifice of all these people has not gone waste. Our movement will serve as a lesson for the generations to come,” says Rajinder Singh Deep Singhwala of Kirti Kisan Union.
As per the SKM, between November 24, 2020, and November 19, 2021, 670 farmers or farm labourers died during the struggle.
Union leaders alleged the PM tried to belittle their cause by taunting at the “rich status” of protesting farmers. A study by Dr Baldev Singh Shergill of Punjab University’s campus in Talwandi Sabo and former professor Lakhwinder Singh revealed that majority of the protesters who died during the protest had small landholdings of 2.59 acres.
