Indian Farmers Protest

Image (C) The Indian Observer, 2018.

We all have a number of mini identities which often overlap to form an overarching composite. Some of this formation is due to socialisation into religion, tradition, custom and such like from early age. Much is also due to lived experience and interactions with “others”.

In those series of identities the sense of “Punjabiyat” that I have is one.

It is not based on chauvinism or sectarianism but rather on some very progressive aspects of an eclectic, syncretic and egalitarian culture which is quite unique to Punjab, a land of great religious and cultural diversity. This has shaped a popular culture of great poetry and music that all Punjabi love with great passion. Not surprisingly, what happens in Punjab evokes a reaction.

The agitation led by Punjabi farmers to protect their livelihood and dignity against an over bearing and overtly sectarian government in Delhi is the biggest movement of its kind involving millions in and beyond Punjab. Images of old and young, men and women, camping by the roadside outside Delhi in the bitter North Indian winter have evoked passions among Punjabis home and abroad that I have never experienced in my lifetime. As someone with a background and passion for Indian history and cultures, I was lucky to be invited to speak on this issue a few times. This one, alas, is in Punjabi. But I really enjoyed letting rip with fire and brimstone in ways that wouldn’t have been possible in English. I’m sorry there are no subtitles.