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‘Bhains Ke Aage Been Bajana’: On day 31 of protest, PAU students breathe life into idiom
The idiom, which figuratively means making futile efforts, was incarnated in its literal sense – playing the flute before a buffalo – as students marked 31 days of protest.
Convinced that their demand that the government fill vacant posts of agricultural officers was falling on deaf ears despite a month-long agitation, protesting Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) students brought the vernacular idiom Bhains Ke Aage Been Bajana to life in a symbolic protest on the varsity campus on Thursday.
The idiom, which figuratively means making futile efforts, was incarnated in its literal sense – playing the flute before a buffalo – as students marked 31 days of protest.
To ensure that their demand reached the ears of the powers that be, the varsity students have previously carried out a slew of out-of-the-box symbolic protests, which included cleaning commuters’ vehicles, polishing shoes, selling vegetables, running a tea stall, and pulling rickshaws. However, protesters say that for all their efforts, the authorities were still turning a deaf ear to their genuine demand, which is why they had decided to actually play the flute before a buffalo.”
Student leader Babanpreet Singh, who was leading the protest, said, “We have been protesting for a month, but our demands have fallen on deaf ears. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi had promised to arrange a meeting with the chief minister (CM) , but it turned out to be a hallow assurance. Let alone the CM, even the agriculture minister has not shown up to address our grievance.”
Urging the government to rouse from its slumber, protesters, Gurpreet Kaur and Angrez Singh, asked, “What is the point of pursuing bachelor of science (Bsc) and masters of science (MSc) courses, or even a doctorate (PhD) from PAU), with the government refusing to fill the vacant posts?”
On August 23, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni had visited the PAU campus to support the protesting students. Soon after his appointment, the vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal had on August 20 met the agitating students and assured them that the matter will be brought to the notice of the state government.
The protesting students have claimed that 410 posts of agriculture development officer, 350 posts of agriculture sub-inspector, 125 posts of horticulture development officer, 129 posts of soil conservation officer and 56 posts of market secretary are lying vacant.
