“See, we dont even have land, so how much will this affect us? But you need to understand that attempts to hoard will lead to inflation and inflation won’t just affect farmers, it will affect everyone in society,” says Manisha, 19, a BA Pol Science student currently at Tikri, protesting with her family against the new agricultural laws.
“Whenever someone in our society faces injustice, we should raise our voices and fight the injustice,” reiterates Manisha, a student from Neki Ram College, Kohla village, Sonipat, Haryana. Her parents are daily wage labourers belonging to the Dalit community, alongside whom she attempted to join the farmers on 26 November before being arrested. The next day, they broke through the barricades to join the farmers and have been there ever since.
Farmers and allies from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting in and around Delhi for the last 12 days. With allegations of hypocrisy and farmers being misled from the Centre, and criticism reigning strong from the Opposition, it is the voices of the protesters that need to be amplified and heard.
The farm bills will affect all sections of society, from hoarding that leads to inflation, to increased rate of electricity. “Women, students, farmers, labourers, have all participated in the movement which is why I don’t consider this as a farmers’ protest but as a people’s movement. This is because the demands of this protest stand to affect everybody,” she said while stressing on the need for society to get together and participate in the protests.
As a Dalit woman who faces oppression on both caste and gender fronts, Manisha urges more people to stand against the Centre to demand what is fair and just.
Meanwhile, the government has maintained the laws won’t be repealed, however, they are ‘open to talks’.