Dressed In Their Tradition Attire And Arms, Nihang Sikhs On Horsebacks Join The Farmers Protest
Dozens of Nihang Sikhs or traditional Sikh warriors have joined the thousands of farmers who are protesting at the Delhi-Haryana border.?
A group of Nihang Sikhs on Thursday reached the Singhu border to express solidarity with the farmers.
"The government should roll back the "black laws". Otherwise, we will continue to remain here. We are farmers too and we stand with these farmers," Nihang Sikhs said.
Who are Nihang Sikhs?
Nihang is an order of Sikh warriors. They are recognised by their characteristic blue robes, decorated turbans and traditional weapons.
Members of the group, Budda Dal, who are traditional keepers of horses, said that they came to join the protest with 15 horses and about 40 more were on the way to Delhi.?
Jathedar Lal Singh of Shoromani Budda Dal said more ''Nihangs'' would join the farmers'' protest at Singhu border and they were on their way from various parts of the state.
Sevadar Ranjit Singh said, "We have many ''jathas'' (groups). We are one of them and reached the Singhu border today. We have asked the other ''jathas'' to head towards the Singhu border to support the farmers".
Expressing solidarity
The ''Nihangs'' are part of the thousands who have gathered at the Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital to protest against the new farm laws, which many farmers say will pave way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporates.
One of the women protesters, Parvita Taneja, said she has been at the Singhu border for the past three days.
"We think the govt is trying to break the unity of farmers. They won''t listen to us. We are trying to make everyone aware of the situation. There are a lot of women farmers. We want to help them. These laws are not beneficial for the farmers. This is problematic for the poor people. We won''t leave until we get justice," Taneja said.
The winter has come and the temperature has dropped, but it has not affected farmers'' courage, said Jagdish Singh, a farmer from Punjab.
Braving the chilly weather
"This movement will take time and we are here till then. We will hold meetings to discuss what the government will tell us. The temperature is decreasing and it''s very cold here, but it can''t affect our courage," he said
A group of muslim men from Punjab also reached the Singhu border and were seen serving food to protesters.
"We are serving a dish called sweet rice, famous in muslim weddings, to the farmers. We have come at the Singhu border today but our other members had already come earlier. We are staying till the farmers stay," said Mohammad Furkaan, who has come from Punjab.
