• Farmers’ body has distanced itself from murder
• The group can’t absolve itself
• With over 600 farmers dead, the SKM cadres are getting restive

The gruesome murder of a 35-year old farm labourer at the Singhu border outside Delhi has added a sinister dimension to the ten-and-a-half-month-long farmers’ agitation. The protests against the three farm laws had put the government in an unenviable position as it desperately looked for a face-saving formula to end the agitation. However, Friday’s incident has the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the agitation, scurrying for explanations.

The Many Controversies
This is not the first time that the farmers’ agitation has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. First, the much-hyped tractor parade on 26 January was mired in violence at Red Fort and some other places in Delhi. Then in May news trickled out of a 26-year old woman having been raped at Tikri by a group of men she had accompanied to the protests. Later, she died in the hospital of COVID-19-related complications. While there had been a few incidents of violence earlier too, but none of these resulted in any loss of life. Friday’s murder adds a different dimension to the protests, which would complete a year next month.

The Sacrilege Link
The murder of the farm labourer, who as per his family members was a drug addict, has an uncanny linkage to the wider issue of sacrilege in Punjab, which has been an emotive issue for the past six years.
The deceased, Lakhbir Singh, was accused of desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. Since justice for 2015 incidents of sacrilege in Punjab is still awaited, a few people even took to social media to justify (sic) the “instant justice” that was delivered at the Singhu border. A Nihang Sikh, Sarvjeet Singh, who allegedly admitted to the killing, surrendered to the police.
Such pandering to extremist elements notwithstanding, the murder has been widely condemned, though political parties have not hesitated to politicise the incident.

The Politics
In Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party smelt a “deep-rooted conspiracy” behind the murder. The BJP got a chance to reiterate that the farm agitation was violent in nature and the “anarchists” behind it should be exposed.
The SKM leaders were quick to disassociate themselves from the murder. In a statement, SKM stated that the “Morcha is against sacrilege of any religious text or symbol but that does not give anyone the right to take law into their own hands”. The Morcha further demanded that the culprits be punished as per law following investigations.
However, some believe that the SKM can’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the happenings at the protest sites, be it the January 26 violence or the gruesome murder on Friday. While they have been critical of some radical elements trying to hijack their agitation, they have not been forceful enough to isolate them.
Though after the tractor parade fiasco, they spoke against those who fanned lawlessness on January 26, yet, the protests sites have continued to host all and sundry. Some farm leaders even admitted that if various non-farming groups were to move away from the protest site, the numbers of people at the protest sites would dwindle. But with Friday’s murder, the worst fears have proved right.

The Warning That Was Not Heeded
On December 14 last year when the agitation on Delhi’s borders was nearly three weeks old, BKU (Rajewal) president, Balbir Singh Rajewal had made a fervent appeal to the Nihangs to move their tents away from the main protest site lest it gave a chance to the opponents to defame them.
He had also asked the farmers not to use any religious flags on their vehicles and use only farmer flags. However, he was trolled for his views and thereafter the SKM decided to go along with the tide.

SKM Should Have Been Prepared
Many feel that since the police are only watching the situation from a distance unless called in, the SKM should have — like medical camps — formed their own Peace Corps to prevent any untoward incident and to weed out undesirable elements.
But in the wake of the daylight murder, the SKM leaders need to show flexibility and seek fresh talks as a way forward. The number of petitions before the Supreme Court relating to the farm protests are mounting.

Time To End Stir?
Within hours of the mutilated body was found at the Singhu border, a fresh plea was moved in Supreme Court seeking the removal of protesting farmers from the site. The petitioners alleged that not only were the agitators violating peoples right to free movement but also resorting to violence.
Besides, with over 600 farmers having died during the agitation, the SKM cadres are getting restive amidst electioneering in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The Government too needs to rethink. Since the laws have been on hold, why not rescind them or give the options to states to enforce them fully or partially or reject them? Laws are for betterment and not for the loss of people’s lives.