As farmers' protests gain ground in Gurugram, unemployed factory workers join in with 'empathy'

Gurugram: While authorities have managed to restrict most major farmers' protests across North India from entering urban centres, small agitations have now started to take hold in Gurugram, where protesters have been camping for over 40 days.

Some of these protest sites include Rajiv Chowk, Farrukh Nagar, Sohna and Pataudi.

However, what the small groups of agitating farmers in Gurugram have found is empathy from hundreds of industrial and auto factory workers who were laid off during the pandemic and are yet to find any employment. Many of these workers are now joining farmers' agitations in large numbers, especially in areas like Manesar.

These factory workers say that they have not been compensated fairly and are therefore demanding justice. A large number of these workers are also from the unions of auto majors like Honda, who have been protesting since October 2019, the time when the Japanese two-wheeler company issued large layoffs due to falling sales.

"We have been running from pillar to post now for one-and-a-half years yet there is no one who is listening to us because according to government agencies we are poor and inconsequential. We empathise with farmers and acknowledge their concerns when they fear that their livelihoods will be jeopardised following the corporatisation of agriculture. Just imagine the plight of hundreds of auto union workers who on one particular day were asked to not report for work by their owners and today are unemployed," said Rajbir, one of the protestors.

With this agitation gaining momentum, local units of the Bharatiya Janata Party have also mobilised crowds - alleging the protests were being fanned by those with vested political interests. But these demonstrations have failed to pass the test of time.

"It is easy to malign any movement by calling it names. Today an unemployed youth, a sacked industrial worker who is fighting for his compensation and a small farmer who is fighting for his future are forcing them to come and occupy streets," said Naresh Thakran one of the protestors at Rajiv Chowk.