Among one of the youngest protesters at the Singhu border is 5-year-old Prabh Vir Singh Dhillon, who has come with his family of 10 to join the farmers’ agitation against the agricultural laws. On a small speaker given to him, he demands his rights.
“Sadda haq, aithe rakh (it’s our right, keep it here),” he shouts on the speaker, while sitting inside a tractor with his 11-year-old brother Uday Pratap Singh Dhillon and father Jasbir Singh (35), residents of Roop Nagar.
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Prabh doesn’t understand much of what’s happening or why he is here but he knows, “We are here against black laws”, and he was very excited to be a part of the protest, his father said. “We keep coming and going back. This is my third time here. These two were crying to come here since the first round but I brought them only now, a week ago,” Mr. Singh said.
Uday, on the other hand, understands a little and said that he had wanted to be a part of the struggle his father and elders of the village were going through. “I know what my father and grandfather are here for. They’re against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s laws for farming,” he said hesitantly.
The family of 10, which includes Mr. Singh’s brothers, uncles and cousins, have come equipped with items the kids could need, including a laptop that the older child uses for his online classes. “My younger cousin sets up the laptop using phone Internet. He [Uday] has classes for two hours in the morning and then the teacher gives homework also, which he tries to do in the evening,” Mr. Singh said.
Talking about little Prabh’s online classes for pre-nursery, Mr. Singh laughed and said that all he was doing these days was shouting into the speaker. “I also eat kadhi chawal and poori,” Prabh chimed in.
“But on Tuesday night, Uday fell sick and his mother got worried. So we’ll take them both back home at the earliest,” the father said.
Why had they brought the children to the protest? Mr. Singh said, “Apart from the children’s willingness, it’s also to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi that children as little as these two and even younger are here to protest. Feel some pity and shame,” he said. “Most importantly, this will make the children strong and know what struggle is.”
