Farmers' March: The Artists, Activists And Students Behind The Scenes In Delhi

Pavan Dahat

The volunteers who are handing out leaflets, distributing refreshments and coordinating with farmers say it is important to stand in solidarity with the protesters.

NEW DELHI: The mobile phone of 28-year-old Janhavi, a Ph.D scholar at Delhi University, is constantly ringing on Wednesday. She rarely leaves the table at the corner of a library-cum-office in Katwariya Sarai in New Delhi, where she is making a chart and working on a laptop along with her friend Agneya.

Janhavi and Agneya are two among over 500 coordinators across the country who are volunteering to help the thousands of farmers who are marching to Delhi on 29-30 November to demand a special session of Parliament dedicated to the agrarian issues.

Janhavi was busy coordinating with her fellow coordinators and informing callers about the places where farmers will assemble, stay and march to Ramlila Maidan. She was also sending the contact numbers of volunteers appointed at four locations in Delhi to the farmers, who began reaching Delhi on Wednesday evening.

They are working out of the office of civil society group Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), headed by activist Anil Choudhari.

"Do you think only the corporates have social responsibility? What about common people? The non-profit organizations also have a certain social responsibility. This farmers' march is taking place to bring back agrarian issues to the mainstream and it can be done only when other sections of the society take an active interest in these issues," Choudhari told HuffPost India.

Thousands of farmers from Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and other states have begun marching from four different routes into New Delhi. They will stay at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday night before beginning their march to Parliament on Friday.

The march is being organised under the banner of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a confederation of around 200 farmers' groups from across the country.