Infrastructures of Protest: Life at Dehli’s Kissan Morcha (Border Camps)
A photo essay on the social and physical infrastructures of protest built by the Indian farmers’ movement on the borders of Delhi.
How did a rural movement sustain an encampment for a year?
Through this photo essay by Varinder Maddoke, we invite a reflection on the social and physical infrastructures of protest built by the 2021 Indian farmers’ movement on the borders of Delhi.
While attention has been focused on the spectacular aspects of the protests - the speeches, the tractor rallies, the assemblies, or even the pizza parlours - the photos capture the more mundane aspects of the almost 13 km ‘city of protest’ built by the movement along the Tikri and Singhu borders. The homes, the offices, the libraries, the communal kitchens, as well as ensuring daily rations reach those encamped, are essential parts of the story of the farmers’ movement.
In January 2021, farmers from different villages and towns of Punjab made their way to the Singhu and Tikri borders of Delhi. Their commitment to this long fight, was evident in their preparations, which included carrying up to six months of groceries and essential supplies.
Trolleys and tractors became more than just a means of transportation. Trolleys soon began to be used as shelters and barricades to protect the protestors from harsh weather and violence of the state.
Communal kitchens popped up across the morcha, and an otherwise rare sight of Punjabi men making roti became quite common.
Farmers in Ghadri Gulab Kaur Nagar await the arrival of pick-ups from Haryana bringing milk. Trucks and lorries carrying milk, vegetables, and wheat distribution were arranged by villagers from near and far. Some vehicles would also go around the camp announcing what they have to offer.
Women farmers in spring colored dupattas in front of a portrait of Gulab Kaur, a prominent member of the anti-colonial Ghadar Party. They are from the village of Bakshiwala, where Kaur was born. One of the neighbourhoods in the morcha was also named Ghadri Gulab Kaur Nagar.
March 7, 2021: Young people set up a tent to celebrate International Women’s Day at the Ghadri Gulab Kaur stage at the Tikri Border. The next day, over 80,000 women attended the rally, which was organized completely by women, including speakers, stage managers, fund collectors, artists, and security.
Farmers at Singhu Border watching television in a trolley. Watching TV became a daily routine to follow protest updates. Moreover, mobile vans would go around the camps, announcing news and providing guidelines on how to organize security.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan set up its office in an abandoned animal shelter on the Tikri border. Next to a farmhouse, a tin shed and a functional tubewell, this office became the space for organisational meetings, as well as a resting space for the movement leadership. The BKU-Ekta Ugrahan has 2,000 units in villages across Punjab, and has expanded from Punjab to Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan during the protest movement.
A district coordinator takes records in a register for the BKU-Ekta Ugrahan. The district records were being collected at the main office at 8 am each day. The movement would take daily attendance of who was present, as well as the assets of each unit, including cars, tractors, generators, and food rations.
Farmers gather to watch Siri, a Punjabi film by Jeev Sharma on the plight of landless rural workers at a screen at the Tikri Border. Films were screened about rural struggles across the camps, with some weekly screening locations, while portable screens were also taken to different locations across camps for localized screenings.
The Adharakar Rang Manch Mohali performing the play, Sarhand se Chandni Chowk Tak, on the shahadat of Guru Tegh Bahadur on a rainy night in February at the Tikri Border. The group is led by Dr Sahib Singh, a student of the famous Communist theatre-activist Gursharan Singh, who was active during the Naxalite movement of the 1970s.
Farmers sleep under the open sky on the 135 km Kundli–Manesar–Palwal Expressway (KMP) Expressway at the Dehli-Haryana border on April 10, 2021. The KMP Expressway was blocked at the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).
Punjabi and Haryanvi farmers looking at books at a library set up by the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) on Singhu border. This library includes material related to morcha, newspapers, magazines, as well as revolutionary and Dalit literature. Dozens of libraries were set up on the border by student organizations, NGOs, religious organizations, and left-wing organizations.
Two farmers carry mats that were soaked in the rain to dry after heavy rainfalls at the Tikri Border. Combatting the weather became especially difficult with leaky plastic roofs over temporary shelters.
Varinder Maddoke is an independent art and documentary photographer. Having grown up in the village Moga in North Eastern Punjab, he completed his Bachelors in Fine Arts from the College of Art in New Dehli. He is part of the Farmers’ Photographers group, coordinated by freelance photographer Randeep Maddoke, documenting and filming various aspects of the morcha. The group includes Navrahi, Happy Singh, Gurbhej Singh, Tilesh, Tipu, Pardeep, and many others who joined over the year.