Youth dominates farmer protests in Punjab

PATIALA: In the fight against three agriculture ordinances that were passed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the farmer protests across Punjab are getting an overwhelming support from youngsters who are dominating the agitations with their participation.

Not only men, young women are also coming in large numbers to attend the protests organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugarahan) in the hometowns of chief minister Amarinder Singh and his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal at Patiala and Badal village. Moreover, the youngsters are helping the farmer organisations to run their social media accounts for live updates.

“This is for the first time that the youth is actively participating and thronging to the protest sites. Of the gathering, almost 50% is youth, which is a positive sign for the movement against the draconian ordinances,” said Joginder Singh, state president of the union. Not only those from the farming background, those from teaching field, unemployed men and women besides students and research scholars are also coming in large numbers, he added.

Parminder Singh (24) of Gharacho village in Sangrur district, who handles social media accounts of the union, said technology is a crucial role in getting huge response from youngsters.

“We have around 49,000 followers on the union’s social media page. We can’t sit at our homes accepting this injustice with the farming community which is fighting for its survival,” he said.