Gabbar Sangrur – writer, director, producer — who
made the Punjabi web series ‘The Gangland in Motherland’, was line
producer of ‘Nanak Shah Faqir’, ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Street Dancer’, has taken on
a new role nowadays. He can be seen cleaning garbage at Delhi’s Singhu Border,
where farmers are camping to protest against the recently-passed farm laws.
Sangrur, does not belong
to a family involved in agriculture but he and his friends and associates of
The Theatre Army Film, a Chandigarh-based production house, are camping on the
Delhi-Haryana border.
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The farmers from Punjab and Haryana are sitting on
Delhi-Haryana borders past one week demanding the Centre to roll back
newly-formed farm laws. The Centre and farmer unions have held five rounds of
talks but deadlock still continues. The next meeting between the Centre and
farmers will be held on December 9.
Opoyi reached out to Sangrur to know why he
dropped everything and decided to be a part of the agitation.
Q) The PM and his union ministers have assured
farmers that these farm laws are good for them, then why are you protesting?
Sangrur: This is not a protest anymore, it has
become a mass movement. Every year, the Centre introduces new laws and policies
that they fail to implement on ground. Look what happened when demonetisation
was announced, the common man was left to wait in queues to withdraw his own
money. Farmers have been protesting ever since Parliament passed the laws but
no one paid heed to their demands. They were left with no other option then to
march to Delhi. If the laws were so good, then I don’t think these farmers
would have been camping on highways in this cold weather.
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I also want to assure the people that this
movement is a people’s movement and there is no political agenda behind this.
People peddling lies should see what is the condition of farmers in UP and
Bihar where there is no MSP.
Q) How important is the involvement of youngsters in the
protest?
Sangrur: In villages, if one family is in need,
the whole village comes together to help them. This is what we have been
following since ages. So showing solidarity to those who feed us is not just
our responsibility but teachings of our gurus. This protest is not only about
farmers but every sector. You can see doctors, film industry people, college
students, kids and women helping each other to survive the chilly Delhi winter.
Educated youth have helped this movement digitally and people across the globe are supporting it.
Q) How important do you think it is that celebs raise their
voice?
Sangrur: Punjabi singers have always been accused
of promoting drugs, alcohol and arms in their songs. And now when they are
using social media to raise awareness about the protest, I think it shows how
much connected they are to their roots. The old farmers are not tech savvy and
do not know how to use the internet and these celebrities, including Diljit
Dosanjh, Gippy Grewal, Honey Singh, Mika and others, have used their voices to
help farmers in every possible way.
Q) We have seen people flouting COVID guidelines, are you not
scared that the protests could become a super spreader?
Sangrur: The farmers are protesting since September in Punjab
and not even a single case has been reported. If they were to follow the 6-feet
social distancing norm, then I think you would see a line of farmers from Delhi
to Amritsar. They are concerned about the safety and try to follow the norms.
Even the security forces are not following the COVID guidelines.
Q) How are you contributing to the movement?
Sangrur: I have been here since Day 1 of the protest. We have taken up
the responsibility to keep the place clean. It is a peaceful protest and that
is what we are trying to tell people. Before coming to Delhi, we organised a
candle light march in Punjab’s Mohali. We just want the government to involve
stakeholders and farmers to find a solution.
