Your protest has brought new ray of hope: Maulana Sajjad Nomani to farmers

New Delhi, February 15

The ongoing farmers’ protest against the three farm laws has brought a new ray of hope against injustice in the country, Maulana Sajjad Nomani said on Monday.

The spokesperson of All India Muslim Personal Law Board was speaking at the Singhu border, one of the major sites of the farmers’ agitation.

“So many organisations have been, for years, trying to create awareness about the injustices in the country, and this movement has brought a new ray of hope from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

“Thanks to you and your leadership, who realised that ‘enough is enough’ and decided to raise your voices, we have been reassured that the era of darkness in the country is ending and that justice is not very far away,” Nomani said.

Ever since the farmers’ agitation started in November last year, the Islamic scholar has regularly been extending his support to the movement through his YouTube channel.

On Monday, he said the Muslims of the country were standing behind the farmers in their fight.

“On behalf of the Muslim society, I assure you that we are all standing behind you and support you, and request you to not lose hope and continue this fight.

“It is because of your strength that God has chosen you to lead this movement,” he said.

Criticising the government’s decision to introduce the laws during the difficult period of the pandemic, Nomani said the farmers’ movement was not just a protest against the three laws, but also a “freedom struggle”.

“The three laws ensure that the produce generated out of the blood and sweat of lakhs of Indian farmers gets locked up in the hands of private businessmen.

“The protest is not just a fight against the three laws, but a fight for freedom. The country that became independent after so much struggle, is being made a slave again, but India is not meant to be a slave,” he said.

“The government has constantly been saying that the MSP (Minimum Support Price) was, is and will be there, but why isn’t it making it a written law?” he added.

Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points—Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur—for nearly 80 days, demanding a repeal of the three agri laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP).

In the absence of the MSP, the farmers fear they will be left at the mercy of private corporations.

Nomani also warned the protesting farmers against attempts to divide their movement.

“There is a conspiracy to divide this movement, but we should all remain united, because India is a country of love and brotherhood,” Nomani said. — PTI