‘Our March From Bengal-Delhi Is the Least We Can Do for Farmers’

Every day we walked 30-35 km across various districts of Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar in solidarity with the farmers.

Theatre actor and activist Joyraj Bhattacharjee, along with three friends, chose to walk from West Bengal to Singhu Border in New Delhi.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Video Producer: Maaz Hasan

Farmers across the country are protesting the new farm laws and the least we can do for those who provide for us is to show our support for their cause.

In solidarity with farmers, and to show them that they are not alone in their fight against this fascist and anti-people government, I, with my friends, Soumyaranjan Mukherjee, Aniyan Roy, and Piyali Chatterjee decided to walk to the Singhu Border in Delhi from our native district Howrah in West Bengal.

We started walking from Howrah on 28 December, crossing Hooghly, East and West Bardhaman district, before crossing Bihar via Jharkhand. Throughout our journey, we met with protesting farmers across all these states.

We realised that not only are farmers from Punjab protesting, but farmers from all these states were voicing their dissent against the three farm bills that were passed by the central government without any discussion.

Every day we used to walk 30-35 kilometre during the day and in the evening, we used to take local transport to the next destination. During the course of our journey, we were accompanied by locals and farmers of the respective areas as well.

We have seen in the past how protests and agitations have been suppressed by this government. Fearful of any sort of police action against us, after reaching Patna on 3 January, we decided to take a train to Delhi.

We aren’t farmers. While we live in cities and urban spaces, let us use the privilege to stand together in this fight. We want to tell the food providers of this country that we are always there for them in the struggle for their rights.

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