Rally to take place in support of farmers in India

A California Kisaan Solidarity Car and Truck Rally is set to take place in the Bay Area today (Saturday) and one of the several meet-up locations across the state will be in Yuba City.

Harkiren Kaur, community organizer with the Jakara Movement and one of the local organizers, said people from all over California are participating in the rally in support of farmers in India.

“In India, there’s some legislation that is being passed that will really harm farmers, especially small farmers,” Kaur said.

She said farmers in India are currently protesting – they have been talking to the government, pushing back against the legislation, but the negotiations have not worked.

“Here, we come from that region and a lot of us still have family in Punjab who are actually protesting,” Kaur said. “We’re trying to do as much as we can to put pressure on the Indian government.”

She said the legislation is the “last straw” for these farmers.

“... It’s not something new. The government has continuously shown that they don’t care for the small farmer,” Kaur said.

She said many people of Punjabi descent in Yuba City are part of agriculture industries and that’s their families’ backgrounds.

“We are sons and daughters of farmers … it’s really something that is close to our heart, which is why we want to show our support in any way we can,” Kaur said.

The Yuba City meet-up location is at the Bogue Road Gurdwara, 2269 Bogue Road, Yuba City.

It’s asked that people arrive around 8 a.m. – the target time to leave is 8:45 a.m. today (Saturday).

From there, participants will drive to Middle

Harbor Shoreline Park, 2777 Middle Harbor Road, Oakland, for the rally – masks are required.

For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3qecikw.