Masihuzzama Ansari & Kashif Ahmed Faraz | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—A large number of Muslims joined the protesting farmers at Singhu border and distributed food and water among those taking part in the Bharat bandh on Tuesday. Muslim farmers, who were mainly from Haryana, had come with “zarda pulao” (sweet rice) offered it to the farmers in lunch.
When asked, many of the Muslims said that they had come in solidarity with the farmers from all over the country who have assembled at the Singhu border to demand withdrawal of the anti-farm laws. “As farmers, we are one on our demand for repeal of the three Farm Laws. No one can divide us though efforts were made by certain groups to delegitimize the farmers movement by propagating through TV channels and digital as also print media that Khalistani elements had creeped into the farmers agitation”, Muslims farmers said. They said that this was a propaganda to tarnish the image of farmers from Punjab. “Fortunately, such narrow-minded elements did not succeed in their conspiracy”, another Muslim farmer said.
Muslim farmers had also come with prayers mats and offered afternoon ‘namaz’ (prayers at the protest site itself. The Muslim farmers prayed for the success of the farmers’ agitation as also growth and development of the nation.
A delegation of Muslim farmers from Malearkotla town of Punjab came to Tikri border with rice, vegetables and fruit for the protesting farmers. A group of Muslim cooks from Malearkotla are working s cooks on voluntary basis for preparing food for protesters at Tikri border.
A delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Telangana state, visited Gowliguda Gurudwara in Hyderabad, to express solidarity with farmers’ movement. Telangana JIH extended full support to the cause of farmers. The delegation was led by Telengana JIH president Maulana Hamid Muhammad Khan. JIH Hyderabad city organizer Hafiz Rashaduddin and several other JIH members were also in the delegation.
Over 50 lakh people participated in Bharat Bandh: AIKSCC
Meanwhile, farm leaders said that over 50 lakh people participated at 20,000 places to make the Bharat bandh successful.
A statement by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee(AIKSCC) said that public life came to a standstill in Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal due to complete bandh in these states, the bandh was also widely observed in 22 other states including Bihar, Maharashtra, Tripura and Kerala etc. It said that dharnas and protests were also held in major towns of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Rajasthan, Haryana and others. Many mandis like Azadpur Mandi in Delhi and many mandis in UP remained closed down. The fruit markets in Kashmir valley also remained closed down in solidarity with protesting farmers demanding rollback of the agriculture laws.
AIKSCC condemned the use of repressive measures used by UP, Gujarat and Haryana government and making preventive arrests during the protest. The Gujarat government issued a gag order over social media posts.
