The farmers taking part in the months-long struggle against the Narendra Modi government's three agricultural ordinances, held an event to commemorate Hool Kranti Diwas at Delhi's Singhu Border on Wednesday, 30 June.
Speaking to The Quint, Pratap Chandrapradhan, a protester, stated the parallels between the anti-colonial movement and the ongoing farmers protests saying:
"As per the media and the government, the farmers' protests are only a struggle of two states, but today, the whole nation is a part of this struggle. I have come here from Odisha."
Another farmer said that both the struggles – the action against the East India Company, and the farmers' action against the scrapping of MSP – are anti-imperialist.
"The East Indian Company represented the British empire, today, our fight for the guarantee of MSP is also against imperialism."
In the background of a seven-month long movement, and the government's refusal to yield to the demands of the farmers, The Quint asked how long the struggle would continue, to which the farmer replied:
"We will fight till we are alive."
Sehdev Manjhi, a protester from Jharkhand also spoke to The Quint and said, "200 years ago, the adivasis agitated against the British. That's why we are celebrating this day."
Over 20,000 adivasi lives were taken by empire, Manjhi stated.
Manjhi too, compared the oppression of the colonial empire with Modi administration's farmer policies, saying that the "government wants to rule with the help of corporates".
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at three sites – Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur – along Delhi’s border, demanding a complete revocation of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
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