Tractor to Twitter: Punjab farmers step up protest digitally

By Ujwal Jalali

Chandigarh: To counter the ‘machinery of trolls’ denouncing the peasants’ protest, Punjab farmers have intensified their campaign against the Centre’s recently enacted farm laws on the digital forum.

Several Hashtags like #istandwithfarmerschallenge, #Istandwithfarmers, supporting the farmers’ protest, are already doing rounds on the social media platforms.

Notably, Facebook had remained a preferred choice for the agitators to garner the support of the people. But as the protests reached the peripheries of the National Capital, Twitter witnessed a massive upsurge from the people of Punjab who, till now,  had a very thin presence on this forum.

“A propaganda is being run on Twitter, denouncing the farmers’ protest and painting the farming community as anti-national. We need to counter this”, an agitated farmer told UNI.

In furtherance of this cause, a new account– “Tractor2Twitter”– has emerged on Twitter that gained over 20,000 followers in less than one month. It aims and encourages the youth of Punjab “to join Twitter and support the agitating farmers on social media against the farm bills (laws) “, the account’s bio read.

Tractor2Twitter had posted a video of Minder Kaur, an 85-year-old farmer, who recently made headlines after she was allegedly trolled by Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for protesting against the newly enacted farm laws. Ranaut had, in a tweet, accused the old lady of appearing in anti-government protest for  Rs 100 and further compared her with Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh who was named among Time Magazine’s List of 100 Most Influential People in 2020. However, the Queen actor after receiving a massive backlash from the netizens had later deleted her Tweet.

The octogenarian farmer in the video was seen saying, “What would we do with Rs 100, we are the landlords”. “I went there for the service of nation and farmers”, she added.

Apart from the Tractor2Twitter, several mainstream Punjabi celebrities have come forward to voice their support for protesting farmers on social media platforms. Noted singers Jazzy B, Gippy Grewal, Amrinder Gill and many others have been frequently tweeting and sharing videos in support of the farmers. Gill has even encouraged people to join Twitter.

As social media is all about reaching out to the people with ease, one thing is certain that these farm protests will end up creating digital awareness among the farming community.