Jan 18, Singhu Border
Dr Surinder Jaipal Gill, of Punjab Women Collective while hosting the Women Farmers Day Program at the Singhu Border felicitated Punjabi singer and lyricist Shree Brar, who was arrested and tortured by the state government on the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a punishment for writing the “Kisan Anthem”
While extending solidarity with him , Dr Gill said ‘ This Kisan Andolan has bought women power to the fore and Now We women will sing our own songs, we will sing songs of protest, movement, and our freedom and rights .Our talented bunch of young girls churning own lyrics of gender equality, dignity and respect . Just to mint money, Punjabi men have been writing songs on drugs, violence and misogyny, she added.
This is a Historic Moment, she vociferously said , ‘ On this women farmers day ,I request my son, Brar, do not write such songs and take oath that he not write any song that denigrates women.
Brar said that his arrest and torture in the prison made him realise how important is the famers protests and struggle,’ I am from a farmers family, I feel the pain’, he emphasized
He informed that many FIRs are being registered against journalist, we should stand with them.
‘I promise that our songs will be for farmers, we will go to jail, we will make history by winning the struggle when all of you are with us , we don’t have any fear.’, he told the gathering .
The singer had given a major boost to the “kisan andolan” by penning a song that had become its unofficial anthem.
“The song “Swaraja piche barigate paaye hoi ne” inspired lakhs of people to join the movement, which was not liked by the Centre as well as the Home Ministry.
According to an IIM-Ahmedabad study, 60 per cent of the songs sung in recent times have lyrics which celebrate violence, liquor, gun and denigrate women. To really bring the youth of Punjab back on track, they need to change the thought that leads to it – the kind of thought that goes into song writing. And the moral police of that thought are the song writers of Punjab, the Honey Singhs, the Moosewalas, the Badshahs.
National Women Farmers Day was observed on January 18, Thousands of women participated in this protest to express solidarity, strengthen the ongoing farmers’ struggle for repeal of the three farm laws and jointly take up issues of food security, employment, access to health facilities, cash transfers to migrants and women, deepening agrarian distress, and opposition to anti-farmer laws, anti-worker labour codes.
Punjab Women Collective hosted the Mahila Kisan Diwas at Singhu Border 11 to 5 pm the whole team was of women right from hosting, volunteers helping senior citizens , maintaining discipline at the stage. About 80 women from all over country who had joined addressed the gathering, on Mahila Kisan Diwas, Truly the Day for Women Famers and was Celebrated by them .
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