Turban tying camp to laundry services, farmers gear up for ‘tractor parade’ on Republic Day

Arshdeep Singh, 19, was on his way home on January 13in Uttarakhand from Punjab’s Patiala when he happened to stop by UP Gate and decided to check out the farmers’ protest

Arshdeep Singh, 19, was on his way home on January 13in Uttarakhand from Punjab’s Patiala when he happened to stop by UP Gate and decided to check out the farmers’ protest. When he heard of the tractor rally scheduled for January 26, he decided to offer his service as a professional turban coach.

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The turban holds a sacred position among Sikhs but tying it is a difficult art to master. Singh thought it would be a good idea to add turbans to the mix: 2,000 farmers wearing turbans in the colours of the national flag marching up to Delhi would be a sight.

“I am now helping farmers learn the art that I learnt from a training institute in Patiala. Those who find it difficult also come to my camp where we help them tie turbans properly. I have also arranged for about 2000 turbans which the farmers will be wearing on the day they take our tractor parade,” Singh, said, while adding that 30 farmers have already joined him for the free class. The turbans will come in three colours --- saffron, white and green. “The turbans will be coming from different gurudwaras and they were enthusiastic about helping me when I proposed my idea for the tractor parade. So, all of us are eagerly waiting for the tractor parade and I want to play a small role in form of tying turbans in the tricolour.”

It’s been 53 days since the farmers began their protest against the central government’s laws on agriculture.They had been battling odds -- extreme cold, rain and Covid-19 -- even as the gathering swelled from a few hundreds to now over 10,000.

Protesters at the site use everything from streetlights for their power to roadside tents to spend the night.

Two free laundry sites too have come up.

“There are many who find little time to wash their clothes. So, we have set up six washing machines to be used for free. We wash around 100-125 lots of clothes a day,” said Ranjeet Singh who set up one such site with others from Pilibhit.

“We also offer to iron the clothes,” said Surendra Singh from Shahjahanpur who helped set up the other laundry site.

“We will wear clean and ironed kurta pajamas along with a coloured turban on our ride to Delhi. Even the tractors will be washed and decked up. Thousands of tractors are expected to arrive from UP, Uttarakhand and other areas and all of these will be lined up on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway,” said Rajbir Singh, state vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union.

Each tractor will also sport the national flag and the rally will be carried out on the outer ring road in Delhi.

“Many farmers in villages have not seen Delhi and they are eager to come here on Republic Day. The tractor parade will be peaceful and orderly. We have already done a rehearsal on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway on January 7,” said Rajbir Singh Jadaun, state president of the BKU.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pass any order on the plea seeking injunction against the tractor rally proposed by agitating farmers on Republic Day. It said that it was a matter for the police to decide.

On Wednesday, the next round of talks between the farmers and the government representatives ended without decision once again as the government proposed for amendments while the farmers’ union leaders sticking to their demand for rollback of three farm laws and a new law on minimum support price.

“We will continue to hold talks with the government till the time our demands are met. It is like we are having ‘bina mukadme ke tareekh pe tareekh” (date after date when there is no case),” Jadaun, added.

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