Punjabi singers served as a lifeline to farmer's protest

Punjabi singers stood with protesting farmers 

Pic Courtesy: The Wire 

“Borderan te jiwe jawan dateya, vehre vich tere ni kisan dateya, tere hik utte likh zindabad chalya, Dillye ni jit ke tainu Punjab chalya ...”(Just like soldiers guard the national borders, farmers had guarded the Delhi borders ... after writing victory over your chest, Punjab farmers are returning back after winning Delhi.. ). This song by Resham Singh Anmol blared loudly from hundreds of tractor-trollies returning from the Singhu border after a year-long protest.

This was on Dec 11, the day protesting farmers had decided to hold a ‘fateh’ march (victory procession). While a festive mood prevailed all along the highways, adding soul to the victorious spirit were an array of Punjabi songs, with powerful lyrics outlining stories of struggle and valour. “Pardi itihas mathe jithe bhi laye, agaye a maidan fateh karle, change bhawen maade samay dat de rahe aan ... (read history and see, wherever we Sikhs took a stand, we have won, whether time was good or bad, we have faced it with grit) are the lyrics of another victory song ‘fateh morcha’ by Virasat Sandhu. Released only 15 days back, this song has so far garnered 1.4 M views on YouTube.  

All through the farmers’ protest, unlike Bollywood singers who kept conspicuously quiet, Punjabi singers not only infused courage and determination but also inspired the youth by raising their morale. Kanwar Grewal and Harf Cheema enthused farmers with many motivating songs, including the one in which they throw a challenge: ave kiwe kho launge zameena saadiyan (how can you snatch away our lands..). In another song, Grewal had called upon farmers to join the protests: khich le jatta khich tayari pecha pai gaya Centre naal. This song has 14.5 M views on YouTube.

The fervour and the enthusiasm that Punjabi singers built actually served as a vibrant lifeline for the farmers protest.

With foot-tapping music and moving lyrics, some of these songs do leave listeners with goose bumps. Not only at the protest sites, these songs are also being played in social gatherings and marriages along with flags of the protesting farm unions fluttering prominently. In a wedding reception that I attended recently, protesting farm union’s flags adorned both the sides of the stage where the bride and bridegroom sat. Along with popular Punjabi beats, youngsters danced to the tunes of farmers protest songs.

Acknowledging the role played by Punjabi singers, films and web series,  The Tribune (Dec 23, 2021) writes: “As for songs, right from Kisan Anthem sung by 11 singers, Ranjit Bawa’s Punjab Bolda, Kanwar Grewal’s song Ailan, Waris Brother’s Asi Jittange zarur, jaari jung rakhyo, Rajvir Jawanda’s Uthi jedi lehar tainu yaad rehugi, Zindabad hai kisani, Zindabad rahugi, Poojan Sahil’s Farm laws wapas jao, singers established and new not just sang of the movement, but also lent it support.”

The songs played an important role in increasing the strength of the protests, writes Outlookfortnightly (Nov 23, 2021). Among the most popular songs, it listed Shree Brar’s Kisan Anthem sung by 11 singers and which has already touched 52 M views on YouTube. This was followed by Kisan Anthem2 which has got 16.8 M views and still counting. While highlighting the struggle being waged by farmers, the melodious and foot tapping music lingers on. Such is the popularity of some of these songs, and that includes Ranjit Bawa’s Bolda Punja, that has so far crossed 38 million views. Among some of the other popular songs are Rajvir Jawanda’s Sun Dilliye (7.5 million views), Gippy Grewal’s Zaalam Sarkaaan (5.5 million views), Jass Bajwa’s Jatta Takda Hoja (6.3 lakh views) and Himmat Sandhu’s Asi Vaddange (3.2 Million views).

At the insistence of the versatile film maker Amitoj Mann, I had the pleasure of joining 7 Punjabi singers at the Singhu border some three months back. What amazed me was the resolve and drive they carried, standing firm with protesting farmers and exhibiting a kind of determination that I have not seen very often among the celebrities I know. “We are singers, but that does not mean we are cut off from our roots,” one of them told me, with another singer telling me he hailed from a farming family and that’s the identification he loves to carry up his sleeves. No wonder, many Punjabi singers had also camped for some time at a stretch or been regular visitors to the protest sites.

It doesn’t end here. With the protesting farmers back in their villages, some of the prominent Punjabi singers and film personalities have now come together to form a watch group called ‘Jujhda Punjab’ (translating into struggling Punjab that aspires for a bright future) to proactively engage the political parties/candidates into committing for an agenda based politics in the forthcoming State Assembly elections. Generally it is believed that celebrities show up for an event to register their presence and support but what is surprising in this case is that the celebrities actually took the initiative to create this watch group.

Amitoj Mann and the popular Punjabi singer Babbu Mann had spent a few months interacting with some influential and credible voices from different walks of life to prepare an issue-based agenda they would like political parties and candidates in the election fray to endorse and commit to. Film actor Gul Panag, singers Jass Bajwa and Ranjit Bawa are also members of this group. Along with a couple of senior journalists, the team comprise experts from different fields. As a disclaimer, let me state that I too am part of this group. I have earlier been part of Team Anna and have also been active with several farming groups, including farmer unions but must acknowledge that this is the first time I join a social initiative taken by film and music industry personalities.

This is like blazing a new trail. Punjabi singers and film personalities have demonstrated that they have a role that is probably much bigger than facing the camera. First the farmers protest, and now the resolve to cleanse the messy electioneering process where real issues are invariably relegated to the backburner as political bickering takes over. Already the public response to Jujhda Punjabis huge. People are coming forward in big numbers, and they feel the civil society has to take charge to make politicians behave. This may not be as simple as it may sound, but a beginning has to be surely made.

Punjabi celebrities have taken a lead. I hope well-meaning celebrities, whether in different regions or at the national level, too wake up and rise to the occasion. People have given them a public stature they should be proud of. But don’t forget, it’s the payback time now. # 

Source: How songs became a lifeline of farmers's protest. BizzBuzz. Dec 24, 2021. https://www.bizzbuzz.news/opinion/how-songs-became-a-lifeline-of-farmers-protest-1089056

   

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Post Covid-19, future belongs to reviving agriculture

In the midst of an economic slump, reflected through the tumbling of GDP figures for the first quarter of the financial year, agriculture has emerged as the only bright spot. Riding on the back of a bountiful rabi crop harvest, agriculture has in reality turned out to be the real saviour. With kharif sowings exceeding by over 8 per cent, and the monsoon rain behaviour being normal so far, India is expected to be heading towards another record harvest. 

In these depressing times, agriculture alone provides a ray of hope. At a time when the gross value added (GVA) – value of goods and services produced minus the cost of inputs and raw materials that has gone into its production -- declined across the spectrum, agriculture and allied activities grew by 3.4 per cent.   

With most industrial houses pulling down shutter at least for the first two months of the lockdown, economic activity got severely curtailed. The GDP growth therefore tanked by a steep minus (-) 23.9 per cent – the lowest among the 20 big world economies – the sharpest decline since India began computing quarterly GDP numbers in 1996. Add to it the staggering job losses; the economic hit for the average citizen has been too traumatic. Private consumption being limited to essential buying only, salary cuts and leave without pay added to their woes. As if this is not enough, 18.9 million salaried people and another 6.8 million daily wage workers lost their jobs since April, as per the estimates of the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE). 

This is in addition to the estimated 30 million migrant workers (if intra-state migration is considered, the numbers swells to 80 million) who trudged back home, some walking hundreds of kilometres, carrying their children on their shoulder or in tow, in what is seen as the biggest reverse migration since the days of the Independence. Besides the large numbers, the painful long march in a way brought out the failure of economic policies that had rendered farming uneconomical over the decades. With the cost of production rising, and the output prices remaining stagnant or declining, the terms of trade in agriculture had remained negative. Therefore, instead of making all provisions to bring the migrant workers back to the cities, the effort should now be directed to reverse the economic model that continues to push people out of rural areas. Considering that 70 per cent of the rural households are engaged in agriculture, the time has come to bring the focus back on revitalising agriculture. Turn it into a powerhouse of economic growth.

While the pandemic has certainly exposed the fault lines, it will require a set of new ideas and a strong political will to reshape the new economic agenda that will spur economic growth, create employment and at the same time protect nature and environment. Following the same old prescription of economic growth – sacrificing agriculture for the sake of industry – has outlived its utility, as evident from the extent of reverse migration. Agriculture being the biggest employer, the post-Covid-19 challenge instead should be to strengthen rural livelihoods, bring more income in the hands of the farming community, which alone has the potential to realise the dream of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas. As Qu Dongyu, the Director General of Food and Agricultural Organistion of the United Nations (FAO) said: “Past progress was sustained by the benign trickle-down effects of strong economies. This is not the case anymore. The facts have changed, and so must our minds.” 

It certainly was not an Act of God that pushed agriculture into the throes of a continuing agrarian distress. Agriculture has in reality been a victim of a biased economic thinking perpetuated by the World Bank/IMF aimed at drastically reducing the dependence on farming. Over the decades, farm incomes have therefore been deliberately kept low so as to bring in macroeconomic stability required to boost growth. With inflation target kept at 4 per cent, plus and minus 2 per cent, and since food items carry a relatively higher weight in the computation of consumer price index (CPI), farmers ultimately end up paying the price of keeping food inflation low.

Take the case of paddy procurement price for the ensuing kharif harvest season. While the MSP has been increased by 2.9 per cent, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has acknowledged that the composite input prices for paddy cultivation have increased by 5.1 per cent. 

In any case, fixing the procurement prices keeping in consideration the fallout it will have on inflation is one of the objectives of the CACP’s farm price policy. Even during the lockdown, when agriculture performed well, retail inflation for farm workers being higher than the gain in farm incomes, farmers in reality suffered income losses. This is borne by a joint survey conducted by Gaon Connectionand Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) which showed that a majority of the farmers did not receive the right price (equivalent to MSP) for their produce. Several other studies over the years have shown how the farm prices have remained static or frozen.   

That is why I have always maintained that when farmers undertake cultivation they do not realise they are actually cultivating losses. 

It is agriculture that is actually crying for bold reforms. Agreed, in its present form, agriculture cannot emerge as the engine of growth. But let’s not forget, a healthy agriculture requires a prosperous farming community, which is only possible if the emphasis shifts to ensuring a significantly higher and an assured monthly income to farmers. This has to be accompanied by a sharp increase in public sector investments in agriculture, health and education. Is this possible? Of course, it is possible provided the mainline economic thinking changes with the changing times.  

 Agriculture served as the lifeline during the pandemic. The challenge now is to ensure that agriculture no longer remains the laggard but becomes an equal partner in growth. That’s the new normal that India should shift its policy direction to. 

Agriculture comes up trumps. The Tribune. Sept 4, 2020 https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/agriculture-comes-up-trumps-136054?fbclid=IwAR1xb7L964sY8zfYWJovpP0YEofPCnUgSSAv1xv8jdfoBbIZtPzrga-kQe0 

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