Nakul Singh Sawhney

Quick points about Lakhimpur Kheri :

1. In UP, the kisan aandolan was mainly active in West UP and the Terai belt of UP. Lakhimpur Kheri is in the latter. Activists I strongly trust in Gorakhpur and Azamgarh tell me that the recent incidents have now led to strong ripples in East UP. People, particularly farmers, are aghast at the recent events at Lakhimpur Kheri. As tragic as the incidents are, but the martyrdom of the four farmers will not go in vain. We might soon see effects of the aandolan in East UP as well. This is an important turning point.

2. It is perhaps this fear that led to the UP government conceding to demands of compensation, government jobs for kin of victims and FIR's against Union Minister Ajay MishraTeni and his son in just 24 hours. The government was dreading that the aandolan could spread across the state. Especially in the context of UP, this is a massive achievement for farmers. Even in the Karnal case, the Haryana government took around 4 days to concede to farmers' demands. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has stated that if Teni's son and his accomplices are not arrested before the Bhog (ceremony marking end of the mourning period- of the deceased), they will call for another aandolan. They have also begun demanding Teni's resignation.

3. There are some murmurs about Tikait having compromised. I am not sure how true this is. One or two very random articles in Indian Express and elsewhere are being touted as evidence. Ironically, the articles don't carry any evidence themselves, and are clearly planted by the State to create discord among SKM leaders. I've spoken with a few SKM leaders, including one from Lakhimpur Kheri itself. All of them have said that the decisions were reached collectively by various SKM leaders including leaders from Haryana and Punjab. Tikait apparently took no decisions by himself. Moreover, even at the deceased Lovepreet's place in Lakhimpur Kheri, we constantly witnessed how several SKM leaders present at his place, were holding meetings separately before they arrived at any decision.

For those who feel that a lot more could and should have been achieved in terms of the demands, please understand one thing. We are dealing with the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a state which only has few strands of democracy left. The state conceding to the demands of the farmers in 24 hours is no mean achievement for anti-Yogi forces in UP. Another conspiracy theory is doing the rounds- That Tikait was the only one who was allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri. Please know that that's not true. Jayant Chaudhry, Chandrashekhar Azad, Comrade Ruldu Singh, a TMC MP and several others made it too. They found alternate routes, changed cars and disguised themselves to make it to the venue. Even nobodies like me and my crew were stopped on the way to Lakhimpur Kheri. But we found alternate routes through villages on GPS and managed to reach. So all those who believe that since RG and Priyanka Gandhi were stopped and hence are reading into some conspiracy theory about Tikait, breathe easy. There are several things to write and say about the shenanigans of RG and PG but this is not the right time.

4. It's very important that farmers participating in the movement and outsiders keep pressure on SKM leaders and keep checking them when they go wrong. Particularly, Tikait, given his past. But please don't jump to conclusions based on articles from publications that you ordinarily wouldn't believe. This movement is going through a very tragic and sensitive moment. People on the outside need to go easy with their radicalitis.