Taking the lead

Punjab is not much different from other states in India where dynastic politics flourishes in the guise of democracy. With just a few families ruling the state since decades, mainstream politics has not felt the need to subscribe to issues that affect the common man and underprivileged, a fact well reflected in their elite manifestos.

And like in other states, such government inaction and indifference has led to vocal peoples’ activism in the form of agitations spearheaded by organisations who seek to safeguard the interests the farmers, labourers, students and employees.

It is opening up a hitherto new vista — of groups keeping aside their well stated ideological preferences to work in unison. Despite subscribing to diverse ideologies and different political affiliations, the activists’ main thrust has been on helping those who lack a voice in the corridors of power.

The major groups who protest on key issues and confront the state machinery for securing the interests of common man include two Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) groups, BKU Ekta (Ungrahan), BKU Ekta (Dakounda) the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, Dehati Mazdoor Sabha, Krantikari Kisan Union, Krantikaari Pendu Mazdoor Union, Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Punjab Kisan Union, Kirti Kisan Sabha, Pendu Mazdoor Union Mashal, Kisan Sanghrash Committee, Kisan Sanghrash Committee Kanwal Preet Pannu, Khetibarhite Kisan Front Maghar Singh Kullerian, Istri Mukti Morcha and the Punjab Student Union.

For instance, the farmers unions have a significant presence in the Malwa region. A BKU (Ugrahan) group led by Joginder Singh Ugrahan raises its voice against the administration on genuine farmers’ issues.

The agitation on the Mansa land acquisition issue is a recent example of such activism where the BKU played a crusader’s role in spearheading a series of protests against the government for acquiring farmers’ land forcibly at throwaway prices and handing it over to a private company for setting up a thermal power project.

The agitation has got a huge response, both from members of the public as well as leaders cutting across party lines. Quick to show their solidarity with agitating farmers, the main opposition party Congress has assured that it would scrap the land acquisition if it comes to power.

The farmers unions have shown they are not prepared to buckle before the government which appears hell bent on acquiring their land. Protesting under the banner of 17 organisations, three farmers have died so far in clashes with the police.

Demonstrating the growing powers of activism was another successful agitation in 2009. The stir started as means to providing homes to families of workers, allotting to each family a 5 Marla house spread over 27 villages of the Mansa district.

It was spearheaded consistently for one-and-a-half years by the Mazdoor Mukti Morcha which finally succeeded in getting the administration to allot four acres for worker families. It now aims to construct houses for labourers in many villages of the Mansa district and hope to carry on with this experimentation in other areas of the state.

Apart from leadership of the organisation, around 1,500 workers including 850 women and 70 children participated in the agitation. Such has been the level of radicalisation that all members of the organisation’s district committee had been put behind the bars for three months. In an effort to intimidate them, cases of theft and destroying public property were slapped against them. Many of these cases are still being argued in the courts.

In April 2011, another peoples’ agitation propelled by villagers was witnessed in Bathinda district’s Selbrah village. It began rather innocuously when villagers clashed with the police over the opening of an illegal liquor shop in the village. Nearly 20 residents of Selbrah were charged with attacking the policemen.

Peoples’ organisations, aware of the growing empowerment, joined in. They staged sit-ins before offices of relevant authorities and took out protest marches demanding the release of arrested villagers and cancellation of FIRs registered against them.

Replicating the action of Selbrah residents, other people in the region too started opposing opening of illegal liquor shops in their villages. This incident also helped underline the ugly nexus between liquor mafia, police and politicians.

But under the weight of immense public pressure, the administration had no choice left but to issue orders to shut down illegal liquor shops in the village and all cases against villages were dropped. The credit for spearheading the agitation and taking it to a logical end again goes to a conglomerate of 17 unions.

A recent agitation sparked by the decision to set up a dumping zone on the outskirts of a village has brought its residents closer than ever before. Incensed over the earmarking of a site for an upcoming solid-waste management plant, residents of Mandi Khurd village in Bathinda district boycotted the recently-held SGPC elections and banned the entry of the contestants into their village.

The bone of contention is a dumping zone being developed on a 37-acre which would collect solid waste from more than 22 cities at Mandi Khurd. People fear it would lead to health hazards. The BKU group has extended its support to agitating villagers who say they can even boycott the coming assembly elections if their problems are not addressed.

This activism has delivered results for everyone to see and there is little doubt that it is bound to give a fillip to more peoples’ oriented agitations that are shorn of the old verbiage and discredited political leaderships.