Why Tikait's tear drops were enough to overpower massive police deployment

Thursday evening was tense at the Ghazipur border of Delhi as whispers of surrender rent the air at the otherwise spirited agitation of the farmers protesting against the Centre’s three new farm laws. Ghazipur was seeing heavy deployment of security personnel after the Uttar Pradesh police received orders from the Chief Minister’s Office to remove the farmers.

The situation has been so since the January 26 violence during the tractor rally, only to peak two days later as a confrontation started building up. Many farmers were returning home fearing police action, leaving about just 500 at the site. Then appeared Rakesh Tikait, the national spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU).

Tikait sobbed as cameras of news channels gazed at him and the nation watched in silence the mighty farm leader break down after over two months of protesting.

Trying to hold back his tears, Tikait alleged a BJP conspiracy against the farmers and said, “Police officials are here to take us away and a BJP MLA is waiting with supporters to attack and kill the farmers.

“I will hang myself but won’t call off the protest until the farm laws are repealed,” he warned as the police deployment at the site increased. He requested the farmers to come back at the protest and give him water to drink from the villages as the police had cut  water supply.

As soon as the farmers, mostly Jats in Haryana and UP, saw Tikait crying on the television, it created a ripple effect. They felt their leader was being harassed and made it an issue of self-respect. And then started mass mobilisation.

At least 8,000 farmers on tractors, cars, jeeps, and bikes from Haryana’s districts like Jind, Rohtak, Karnal, Kaithal, Bhiwani and Hisar started their journey towards Ghazipur border in the midnight to support Tikait. Khap Panchayats in Haryana asked the farmers to return to the protest site and announcements were made from temples to support those sitting at the borders.

Related news | Crowds of farmers pour in as sobbing Tikait says ‘no surrender’

The Jind-Chandigarh highway was blocked by farmers at Kandela village in Haryana. Slogans of Punjab-Haryana unity were raised by the gathered farmers.

A large number of farmers started gathering at the border within two hours after Tikait’s emotional video went viral in Ghaziabad, Muzzaffarnagar, and Meerut districts of western UP. Soon the number of farmers increased from 500 to 5,000 at midnight and in the morning, it swelled up to 10,000.

Jasbir Dalal, a farmer from Jind district, told The Federal, “This government is making us look like terrorists. Our leader, Rakesh Tikait, cried today; now, we’ll ensure that this government also cries. Tikait demanded water, we are taking milk for him. We can give our lives for Tikait and we’ll now not come back before the laws will not be repealed. This government has hit our self-respect.”

Who is Rakesh Tikait?

Born on June 4, 1969, Rakesh Tikait is the younger son of legendary Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, who had dominated farmers’ mobilisations in north India since 1980s.

Rakesh Tikait is the current national spokesperson of BKU, which is widespread in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states as well. Inheriting his father’s leader tag, Rakesh commands trust and respect among the farmers.

The 52-year-old Tikait, after obtaining his bachelors and masters degrees from the Meerut University, had started working as a Delhi Police constable. However, he left the force to stand with farmers alongside his father during demonstrations in 1993.

His father, Mahendra Singh Tikait, had led a number of massive demonstrations against the central and state governments on farmers’ issues, and has been an important power centre in the region. The BKU was founded in 1987 after two farmers had died protesting against the increased electricity prices in UP and Mahendra was elected the president of this union.

Mahendra’s biggest protest was in 1988 when lakhs of farmers gathered at Boat Club in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, bringing the Rajiv Gandhi government to its knees. In October 1988, nearly five lakh farmers had occupied the Boat Club in Delhi and its lawns, near the North and South Blocks, with a litany of demands before the Rajiv Gandhi government.

Related news | In a swoop, UP, Haryana cops evict protesting farmers from highway sites

Among their demands were the waiver of power and water bills and a higher price for sugarcane. They left only after some of their demands were met. In the months and years after the agitation, Boat Club also became one of the major areas for holding agitations.

In 1993 as well, a movement was organised under the leadership of Mahendra at the Red Fort in Delhi on issues of farmers. The government and the police force pressurised son Rakesh to convince his father to end the protest, but he refused to bend and resigned from his job. He later joined the farmers in the protest and was soon accepted as the farmers’ leader.

Hailing from Sisauli village in UP’s Muzaffarnagar, the Tikait family also heads the Baliyan Khap of 84 villages, giving it considerable influence within the Jat community of Western UP and Haryana. The BKU also has strong influence among the Malik and Deshwal Khaps.

In 2011, Mahendra Singh Tikait died of cancer. And due to the Jat community’s custom of passing on authority to the eldest son, Tikait’s elder brother Naresh Tikait became the head of BKU and Baliyan Khap. Rakesh Tikait became BKU spokesperson though his influence is much more than the position he holds.

After Mahendra’s death and in light of the pro-Hindutva wave, the Tikait family lost its sheen. During the communal tensions in Muzaffarnagar in 2013, Jats in the area started believing in pro-Hindutva politics of BJP and the Tikaits also lost their popularity among Muslims.

Despite the fact that the woes of farmers, particularly those growing sugarcane, kept increasing under the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, farmers’ politics and their issues have remained sidelined due to which Rakesh Tikait lost two elections.

Related news | Farmers’ stir: 2 unions break away; police file FIRs over R-Day violence

However, during the ongoing farmer’s protest, Tikait is actively speaking against the three farm laws brought by the Centre. Farmers who were lost somewhere in pro-Hindutva politics are now making a comeback to put their demands forward. The payment to sugarcane farmers of UP have been delayed since the last three years, which has brought western UP farmers together against the government.

Haryana’s farmers are also in plight. And they have reinstated their faith in Tikait again as he’s the only big Jat leader in the farmers’ protest. Having regained trust of the Haryana and western UP farmers, Tikait’s tears were perceived as an issue of self-respect for the entire Jat community. Hurt, the followers made no delay in reaching the border.

With more groups of farmers having reached at the Ghazipur front, the situation has now eased out, more so due to the withdrawal of the extra security forces. While the reason behind the withdrawal was not announced, security officials said they had been asked to go back as they were on duty since the previous morning. All senior police officials left the spot around 1:30 am.

Electricity supply at the protest site, which had been cut, was also restored after midnight.