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By B Prasant, Kolkata 

The farmers’ sit-in has now passed two months. In the rainy winter cold of northern India, 171 of the demonstrators have succumbed to the extreme weather, mostly the elderly and the ill. None of the central or state governments have come forward with medical assistance. But the kisan (farmers and peasants) are more resolute than ever, and more united than ever, in their struggle to force the government to withdraw the three farm bills and the anti-people electricity legislation.

During our one-and-a-half-day stay with the protesters, we noted how those who were severely sick received emergency treatment in the 30-bed camp hospital that has been set up at the Singhu border and run by doctors and nurses from Delhi and the adjoining districts. The doctors themselves have contributed medicines and life-saving equipment.

The peasants and farmers remain in high spirits. Every day, rain or shine, from the break of dawn to the very late afternoon when icy winds start to gust fiercely across the open fields, they organize demonstrations at every blocked highway crossing. These occasions are marked by speeches, slogan-shouting and hearty singing.

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