ON July 31, 2022, Sardar Udham Singh’s Day of Martyrdom, lakhs of farmers in hundreds of places across the nation held massive road blockades and large protest demonstrations against the betrayal of the farmers by the BJP’s central government. In Punjab, in fact, the action was in the form of huge rail blockades at all the major railway stations in the state.

This was by far the largest countrywide farmers’ mass action after the suspension of the historic farmers’ struggle around Delhi on December 11, 2021, consequent to the repeal of the three black farm laws. WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and other farmers’ organisations were literally overflowing with pictures of the action from numerous states across the country.  

The SKM in its national meeting held at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on July 3, had given a call for a nationwide chakka jaam to be held on the martyrdom day of Sardar Udham Singh.

It may be recalled that Sardar Udham Singh was deeply associated with the Ghadar Party, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), and later, the Indian Workers’ Association in England. He was deeply influenced by Bhagat Singh. When the atrocious Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on April 13, 1919, Udham Singh as a boy was serving water to the thousands who had gathered for that meeting. He was himself a witness to the brutal firing. He vowed to take revenge. After a life of struggle, he reached England. After long planning, on March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot dead Michael O’Dwyer at the Caxton Hall, London. Michael O’Dwyer was the lieutenant governor of Punjab, who had ordered the Jallianwala Bagh firing, and the hated General Reginald Dyer had carried it out. Dyer had died in 1927.

While in custody, Udham Singh called himself Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, the first three words signifying the three main religions in Punjab, and the fourth word meant freedom. At his trial in the court, Udham Singh’s full speech was magnificent. Some extracts: “I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. For full 21 years, I have been trying to seek vengeance. I am happy that I have done the job. I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country. I have seen my people starving in India under the British rule. I have protested against this, it was my duty.” He ended his speech with, “Down with British Imperialism!”

Sardar Udham Singh was hanged in England on July 31, 1940. His remains are preserved at the Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar.  

To commemorate the martyrdom day of this great patriot and revolutionary, widespread chakka jaam actions and protest demonstrations were held in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, among other states. Lakhs of farmers came together in literally hundreds of district centres and tehsil/block/mandal centres. Several national highways and state highways were blocked by farmers. As mentioned above, the rail roko stir in Punjab was magnificent.

BETRAYAL BY BJP GOVT

The BJP union government has not fulfilled any of the promises made to the SKM in its letter dated December 9, 2021, on the basis of which the farm movement was suspended. The government is still not ready to discuss the legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP). It has formed a meaningless committee on various issues concerning agriculture, with no mention of legal guarantee to MSP in its terms of reference. It has packed the committee with pro-BJP farmer leaders and government officials. Consequently, the SKM publicly declared that it would not send the names of its three representatives to such a sham committee.

The cabinet has approved the Electricity Amendment Bill, which will be placed in parliament without an iota of consultation with the SKM, as had been promised in writing. Nor have several of the false cases registered against the farmers in struggle been withdrawn. Ajay Mishra Teni shamelessly remains in the union council of ministers even today.

The SKM reiterated its six demands, namely, legal guarantee of MSP for all produce based on C2+50 per cent formula, withdrawal of draft “Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020/2021”, removal of the penal provisions on farmers in the “Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021”, withdrawal of false cases against farmers over the course of the movement, dismissal and arrest of union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, compensation and rehabilitation of the families of the martyrs, and allocation of land to build a memorial in their memory at the Singhu border.

The struggle for these demands would be further intensified in the coming days.

The SKM has also decided to organise ‘Jai-Jawan Jai-Kisan’ conventions across the country from August 7-14 to expose the Agnipath scheme, which is anti-national, anti-youth and anti-farmer. On July 19, a meeting of the SKM, and leaders of the Ex-Servicemen Association and youth organisations, was held in Delhi to plan the same.

In connection with the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence, the SKM will organise a 75-hour dharna at Lakhimpur Kheri on August 18-19-20, to demand the dismissal and arrest of Ajay Mishra Teni, and the withdrawal of cases on the arrested farmers, in which farmer leaders and workers from across the country will participate.

CITU-AIKS-AIAWU CALL FOR AUGUST ACTIONS

The fortnight-long campaign by the CITU, AIKS and AIAWU from August 1-15, in connection with the 75th year of Indian Independence, has begun enthusiastically throughout the country. The CPI(M) Central Committee has also just given a similar campaign call.   

Hundreds of meetings and conventions explaining the role of the Left-led working class and the peasantry in the freedom struggle, exposing the betrayal of the freedom struggle by the RSS and other communal organisations, concentrating on the neo-liberal policies and their disastrous impact on the country and our people, and focussing on the grave danger posed by the fascistic RSS-BJP to the democratic and secular principles in the constitution, are being held across the country. Lakhs of leaflets are being distributed to the people.

On Quit India Day, August 8, there will be massive mobilisations at hundreds of centres in the country to attack the BJP central government and its bankrupt policies in all areas. They will also come down heavily on the communal and authoritarian steps of the Modi regime.

On August 14, in the evening on the eve of Independence Day, large Samuhik Jagruti programmes, torchlight/mashaal marches and public meetings will be held in several places.

On August 15, our 75th Independence Day, the tiranga national flag will be hoisted at our offices, city/town areas and villages all over the country.