Across the barricades on the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border, police officials and protesting farmers seem to share a unique relationship. They are warm and ‘like family,’ though pitched on the opposite sides and in different gears — the policemen in their riot gear and the farmers with their flags.
Smoking his hookah, Balwan (65), a resident of Sonipat, said the police officers are like their own children and are only doing their duty. “They haven’t done anything bad to us and neither have we to them. Some of them even eat at our langars and we welcome them with open arms,” he said.
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Sitting next to him, Dalbir Singh, another resident, said he has friends and relatives in the paramilitary forces and they understand the situation. “They also want it to end at the earliest,” he said.
Making a rather hard-hitting point, Jai Kishan Sharma said: “Kisan aur jawan ek hi chulhe ki roti khaate hain… gaon ke gharon main ek bachha agar kisan hota hai toh doosra jawan hota hai [Farmer and soldier eat from the same plate… In houses in the village, if one child is a farmer, another is a soldier]”. Both of us are doing our respective jobs for our livelihood, the farmers said.
Though reluctant to spell out which side their hearts lie, officers, including some seniors, shared how well the protesters have treated them in the last 15 days.
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“They force us to have water and tea, even if we say we don’t need it. While serving anything at the langar, they always come and ask us,” said a constable-rank personnel, whose father is a farmer in Haryana, and who has been on border duty since November 26.
Another officer said that they have all been ordered not to say anything to the protesters and be cordial with them. “They are doing what they think is right and we are here to protect them,” he said. The officers who usually stand on the outside facing the protesters shared how the farmers make videos and call the officers their brothers. “It feels good,” the officer smiled.
The “good” behaviour is not limited to lower-rank personnel. Senior police officers have also experienced the warmth. “On Friday morning, an old uncle wearing a turban approached us and said, ‘Aap nahin aate hain is side isliye hum aaye hain [You don’t come to our side, that’s why we’ve come]’ and handed us a fistful of almonds,” he said.
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The officer said they’re used to listening to ‘Delhi Police Haye Haye’ at protests, therefore, this comes as a welcome change. “However, there are some protesters who are not farmers but use foul words against us. But thankfully, they don’t find resonance in the real protesting crowd,” he said.
Another senior officer shared how a farmer told him that their fight is with those in power and not with the police.
The barricades were there to restrict movement, and were not a symbol of distrust, said a police officer.
