The repeal of the farm laws and the success of satyagraha and community kitchens

Prime Minister Modi's decision to repeal farm laws, which had lead to thousands of farmer protests since November 2020, is a true testament of the power of peaceful protests (or satyagraha) and a community that feeds humanity. Farmers had been peacefully camping by the New Delhi border for the past year and all throughout the day, makeshift kitchens run by volunteers were rolling out rotis and serving hot meals to keep the crowds fed. But this is nothing new for a community that is predominantly Sikh and believes in the concept of Langar at gurdwaras around the world. Langar is a community kitchen where hot meals are prepared by volunteers and provided to anyone free of cost regardless of their religion, caste, gender or economic status. Prime Minister Modi announced his decision to repeal the farm laws on Guru Nanak's birthday. It was Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion that introduced the concept of langar. The story, as relayed to me by Harpal Singh of the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara in the heart of New Delhi, is that Guru Nanak used a small amount of money given to him by his father to feed the poor. When his father asked him why he wasted money, Guru Nanak responded that the it was not a waste; the people he fed will continue to feed others. This tradition of feeding, in a sense, was started with those initial coins given to Guru Nanak by his father. And the kitchen continues today! While the farmers were camping on the roadside in the cold Delhi winters and sleeping on hard floors, there was never a shortage of food. Even today, as the farmers remain at the border waiting for Parliament to officially repeal the laws, not taking any chances, the kitchens continue to provide daal and rotis.

On a recent visit to Bangla Sahib, volunteers (that's me in white!) roll out rotis by the thousands. On the weekend, the kitchen feeds close to 25,000 visitors! That's a lot of rotis!

Volunteers stop by and give any amount of time to make rotis. The concept of langar is rooted in the Sikh tradition. Farmers in Punjab, are predominantly Sikh, and continued the tradition of langar throughout the peaceful farmer protests, feeding 100s of thousands this past year.