Sikh Resilience: From India, to Canada, to the world.
Disclaimer - In speaking of an Indian protest, I do so only to simplify the movement occurring in the boundaries of said area, knowing full well that our individual cultures hold more resonance than borders do.
This article was also made possible thanks to @brownhistory on Instagram, who shared a post that connected the thoughts in my head about this protest and Sikh leadership and seva. If you have the capacity to do so, please follow them on Instagram and support their Patreon here.
In 2010, I brought a Punjabi friend of mine to a Hindu family wedding in Montreal. If you know anything about Hindu weddings, you know they are lively, and public - this one was no exception. Imagine us dancing, singing, taking pictures, performing rituals, and glittering in the sun with every turn of our bodies. Everything about us drew eyes, so it was no surprise when we saw a group of young, white, French girls trying to mock us with head tilts, wobbles, and folded prayer hands.
We were content to laugh at their ignorance and carry on, but not Priya. She started marching towards them instantly, hand on her hip. I followed quickly to provide back up if it was needed. The girls immediately tried to walk off, but we continued to walk towards them and they froze. They claimed to be admiring us from afar. Right.
Priya had revealed something about herself - something my Mother lovingly commented on. “Did you see the way she walked? Straight ahead, unwavering? That is Punjabi.” Priya walked liked her people. Like a Punjabi warrior. And this year, like in many years of our Canadian and Indian past, Punjabi folk continue to walk for us all.
By now you’ve heard about the Farmer Protests in India, with Punjabi/Sikh Farmers leading the charge to Delhi.
These farmers are protesting the 3 “emergency” bills passed by a right-wing Hindu government. Not only were these emergency bills passed in the middle of a Pandemic, a time when record numbers of farmers and Indians have fallen on hard times, but they were also passed without any farmer consultation and involvement.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020
Law #1: Farmers who get into a dispute with private companies (corporations in this case) cannot take their grievances to court - this means that 50% to 60% of Indians (that’s how much of the country is employed in farming) will be unable to access Indian Courts. Instead, an arbitrary government official will oversee the dispute - and who do you think a corrupt government official will work with?The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020
Law #2: Eliminates all government subsidies for farmers, and the minimum support price. The government used to guarantee the Minimum support price for a number of crops like rice, wheat and corn. This was especially important for small scale farmers who always had an assured sale. It also allows any person or entity to hoard or store an unlimited quantity of any essential commodity or food product. This law used to stop this hoarding, especially in times when commodities are in short supply.The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020
Law #3: This bill now allows large corporations who have the means of storing large quantities of crop to stress a market and raise food prices. They can nearly double costs without any government intervention, and does not allow the state to enter the scenario unless prices are doubled by 100% (99% is allowed though!). It removes the government (the state) from controlling and regulating pricing for food stuffs in most cases and gives this power to corporations who are not running their businesses in the general interest of the people. This means that while you and I might not be farmers (although we’re likely only a few generations removed from farmers) we can be affected when we walk into the store and see that our spices and wheat and rice have almost doubled in price.
Imtiaz Akhtar does a fabulous job at explaining the way the laws work together here.
Why are we hearing about protests now? These laws were passed in September!
Well, that’s by design. Farmers have been protesting in their individual states since the Farm Bills were passed, but the media remained silent on their plight. Thus, in an effort to get the government and world to listen, Punjab and Haryana farmers began marching to Delhi. Since then, the media coverage, which is skewed towards the Hindu Right, has been biased against the Farmer Protest, which is being led by many Sikh folk. In many cases, the protests aren’t being discussed on the news at all. A right wing Hindu government has no allegiance to anyone who is not exactly like them, and so, social media has been sharing a story that is much different from that of the traditional media. This is where we see support for the farmers and their movement, one that affects us all.
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Agriculture is Ancestry.
For many folks in India, farming is not only a way of life, but also an ancestral practice. Many of us are only recently removed from this lifestyle. I think of my Gujarati grandmother (Baa) who is turning 90 next year; she can still see the blossom of a mango tree from hundreds of feet away, and tell you which guava fruit is ripe for the picking without touching it. Agriculture is in the blood, and it has been for generations - 70% of India still relies on agriculture for their livelihood.
When Punjabi immigrants first arrived in Canada (mainly to British Columbia), they brought this ancestry with them to their new home. Some of the first jobs they held were in agriculture or adjacent fields. Logging, farming, picking - many of these jobs were poorly paid, and work that many white Canadians wouldn’t do. However, they were familiar, and tied back to the land. It was work that was well known to a community who comes from the land of the 5 rivers.
These Punjabi immigrants brought another important piece of their culture with them - their Sikhism. Sikhism is a religion founded on peace, but the reputation of Sikhs as warriors is known far and wide. According to authors Parmjit Singh and Amandeep Singh Madra of “Warrior Saints: Four Centuries of Sikh Military History”, Guru Hargobind started to militarise Sikhs so that they would be able to resist any oppression after the execution of his father. It is this warriorship that we currently see on the front lines in Delhi, fighting for us all. It was also present in Canada when Punjabi farmers fought for better rights for themselves and their fellow Canadian farmers.
In the 1980s, Punjabi (majorly Sikh) communities in British Columbia fought for the right to form the Canadian Farmer’s Union. Farmworkers were paid per pound of produce picked, meaning the later season produced less crop and less pay. Workers were paid poorly, dealt with inhospitable living conditions, and had inadequate protection when working with pesticides on the farm.
This union supported not only the East Indian community of workers, but also Asian and white folk who worked in the agriculture industry as well. The Punjabi community picketed, boycotted farms with poor working conditions, and marched and protested in the city until the Canadian Farmer’s Union was recognized by the Labour Board. Please watch the documentary “A Time to Rise” to learn more about this struggle.
We’re currently watching the Punjabi community take up a similar protest for the benefit of all farmers in India, especially for those who do not have the ability or proximity to get to Delhi to protest. They have months of food supply. They have transportation and rest stations. Khalsa Aid is handing out sanitary supplies to any folks menstruating. Elders are on the front lines marching, and still working to serve the community well into their 90s. This is more than a struggle for equal and fair pay. It is a struggle for righteousness, safety, care of land, and a commitment to keep India safe for all Indians - not just the Hindu ones. While we see Punjabi and Haryana farmers at the forefront of the movement in Delhi, many farmers in India are protesting. Rajasthan farmers are bringing their cattle to the movement - I especially like this tactic as any violence used against the ‘sacred cow’ will reveal that the Hindu Right cares little about Hindu welfare and more about control and dictatorship of all people. In the South, we see Tamil political parties hosting hunger strikes in support of the farmers’ protest. Gujarati farmers, those from Modi’s and my own state, are working on trying to leave the state to protest, and meeting resistance from police. If Modi’s home state is protesting, you can bet there’s dissension in India. I’m especially proud of my own people as Gujarat is a state with heavy Modi and BJP support. Standing up against the majority is always difficult, and it’s energizing to see the struggle being met all over India. While these protestors are all using peaceful tactics, they are met with nothing but force.
Make no mistake, this is a Pan-Indian movement. Even if we aren’t directly involved, we must act and be in solidarity with farmers all around the country. Our support shouldn’t depend on whether the person in power comes from our lands - it should hinge on what is best for the folks without the power.
Indian farmers, like the Punjabi farmers here in Canada, have faced a number of agricultural injustices even before the farm bills were passed. Companies like Monsanto, and additionally the American Government, have caused massive disruption to Indian agriculture and land use by way of GMO seeds and fertilizers, which Indigenous Indian crops and seeds are unable to handle. In an actively crippling cycle, the land needs more fertilizer to grow GMO seed, which will not grow without fertilizer. Pesticide use on GMO cotton plants leave Punjab with cancer cases so high, that it has a specific train that carries patients to further hospitals. Debts pile on as farmers are unable to make profit after purchasing these seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and the folks who feed us are left unable to feed their own families - many farmers in India commit suicide due to debt.
Your rice, wheat and spices come from our people. You are a part of this food chain. Let that connectivity sink in, because it doesn’t stop there.
Folks protesting Farm Bills in Vancouver BC. Photo by Jasper Garratt on Unsplash
Punjabi folk are protesting in a Pandemic, and also keeping you fed.
This has never been more relevant and obvious than during the COVID pandemic and lock down period. COVID in Toronto and Canada brought out racism in full force against Asian folk, and later on, against the city’s South Asian population. When COVID first hit, Toronto’s Chinatown saw business slow down by up to 50%. As we entered our second lock down, many Toronto residents let their vitriol against the Indian community fly. This is because Brampton’s COVID case numbers, where we see a largely brown population, have been rising more so than other regions. But it seems we forget our connectivity.
Brampton’s high Punjabi population continues to work in food and transportation. It almost feels like an offshoot of agriculture, doesn’t it? They enter America for supplies, and don’t have as much job security in the work that they do. This means that many folk are continuing to work in spaces with low COVID precautions in order to ensure that our grocery store shelves remain stocked.
The same folks who allow you to stay home safe in your lock down are the ones you berate for rising numbers. The same folks who keep you fed are blood and kin to the folks who grow your food. The spices you use to add flavour to your life - they’re grown in India’s lush soils. To think of farmer protests as nuisances denies our very dependence and relationship to the protestors themselves. This protest is your protest too.
What can you do to help?
We cannot deny our relationship to these protests, whether we are Indian or not. This is not the only issue for us to worry about, but it is one where I’d like to ask for more compassion. What you see as a Sikh issue is a Punjabi issue is an Indian issue is a Canadian issue is a global issue. Use your strengths to continue this social justice work.
You can join protests and rallies in your city if they are being hosted and you feel comfortable doing so. Find this information on social media, or reach out to Punjabi community members who may be able to help with more information.
Donate to the folks who are supporting protestors on the front lines in Delhi, and support farmers in general to increase their wellbeing. I’ve included a short list of links below, but be aware that some organizations may not be accepting donations anymore as they’ve reached their caps. Google and social media can also help you find other organizations!
https://www.saveindianfarmers.org/
https://www.khalsaaid.org/donate
https://kisaani.co/
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D7B488KVVEALJ
https://csa-india.org/Share information on social media. Don’t be afraid to take a stance! With mainstream media neglecting to take a people-centric approach to the situation, we must be wary of where we consume our information.
Speak to your family - especially if they are supporters of a dictorial prime minister (Gujus, I’m looking at us). Change starts with us - it hardly every trickles down from the top. You must be the grassroots movement we need in order for us to see change in our family and with others that we love. Grassroots movements, like this Farmer’s Protest, are some of the only ways we see change, and revolution from oppression.
Write to your members of parliament. Let it be known that this is a global movement. Many of us are children of immigrants - our ancestry is hardly removed from farming itself. Your blood, your people, your body. They all thrive from the labour of farmers.
Do your part to support our farmers. They’ve always supported you.
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