Voices from the Ground

A grieving family, the missing women, the aftermath of clashes and the ongoing protests stories from Shambhu and Khanauri borders

- Sharmita Kar Shreya Basak

ON the misty morning of February 21, the protesting farmers were gathered at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, waiting for the skies to clear and preparing to break through the barricades to march to Delhi. Among them was Shubhkaran Singh, 22, a contractual farmer from Bathinda. He went to an elderly farmer and asked for a glass of water. “Jiththe marange, uththe jitange (I will fight till my last breath),” Singh told the farmer. These were his last words.

A few hours later, Singh was allegedly shot at the back of his head and died on the spot after clashes between police forces and farmers turned violent at Khanauri. Singh’s friend called up his family, which lives in Baloh village in Bathinda, about 100 kms from the border, and broke the news to them.

The family is yet to come to terms with the sudden loss. A visit to Singh’s home, located at the farthest corner of large swathes of fields, debunks the narrative that the protesting farmers are wealthy. There are those like Singh as well. The house is old. The paint is peeling; there are cracks in the walls. A poster bearing Singh’s photo hangs from the outside wall. His childhood friend is staring at the picture. Sitting in the main room are Singh’s younger sister, his father, who suffers from a mental illness, his grand-aunt and the newest addition to his family—Jimmy, the pet dog. His mother left the house when he was two and he was brought up by his paternal grandparents and then his grand-aunt.

The grand-aunt sits outside Singh’s room, inconsolable, looking at her grandson’s most valuable possession—a seed drill machine painted in green and yellow. Singh was possessive about his tractor that is now parked in the neighbourhood yard. A black flag tied to the smokestack was his way of protesting against the government.