War heroes in new battles for farmers
They are farmers, too. They would be lost in the sea of peasantry here, at the gates of Delhi, but for the rows of medals they proudly wear on their chests. They are veterans, decorated for their daring in the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, some of whom also saw service in Sri Lanka in the 1980s. They’re angry and, obviously, nothing enrages them more than the demonisation of the protestors as ‘anti-nationals’, ‘terrorists’ and ‘Khalistanis’ by the government and powerful sections of the media. Brigadier S.S. Gill (retd.) from Gill village of Punjab’s Ludhiana district tells me, “It is pathetic that the government used force against peacefully protesting farmers. They wanted to reach Delhi, but the government stopped them, which was rude and wrong. They created barricades, dug roads, lathi -charged them and used water cannons on these farmers. What for? Why? What was the reason to do that? It is due to the farmers’ determination that they have surpassed all those hurdles....