By Rohit Kumar
India Speaks is a citizen’s initiative which seeks to listen to ordinary Indians who have something extraordinary to say. India Speaks is driven by the belief that in a democracy, the quiet voices often have the most important things to say. Needless to say, India Speaks has been extensively covering the protests by farmers from all over India.
On a cold, rainy morning in January, the India Speaks team visited the Ghazipur border. As we made our way through the farmers, trolleys and tractors gathered under an elevated section of the Delhi-Meerut highway, we came upon a young man intently reading a booklet.
As we struck up a conversation with him, we discovered that he was all of 15 years of age. Shivam, a student of class 9 surprised us with some of his insights.
“Solidarity has no age,” he told us. “Instead of sitting in their quilts, I call upon the young people my age to come to the borders and stand with the farmers in their hour of need.”
Shivam told us that he has been going from border to border and expressing his solidarity with the farmers on protest. When we asked him how it feels to be here, he simply said, “How is one supposed to feel at a protest? Who cares how I feel? The real question here is – It is the government that is supposed to feel the pain of the farmer!”
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. AlignIndia does not take any responsibility for the content of the article.
(Rohit Kumar is an author, educator and citizen journalist who believes that the world will become a better place when the power of love overcomes the love of power.)