An owner of a digital agency and his nephew have been sleeping in the tent in their back garden in Hayes to support farmers’ protest in India.
Gurpreet Dhindsa, 44, and his nephew Talvinder Johal, 21, spending each evening braving all the weather conditions in the tent, leaving all the luxuries of their house in Hithebroom Road.
They have been sleeping in the tent since December 31 because to show their support to their friends and family who had been affected by the laws that they believe will threaten the livelihoods of Indian farmers.
Mr. Gurpreet wanted to go to India to participate, but due to the lockdown restrictions, he couldn’t make it.
In September 2020, the Indian Parliament passed three new acts to regulate agriculture called the 2020 Indian Agriculture Act. People across all the states in India have gathered to protest in Delhi against the new Indian Agriculture Act.
“ These three acts are not for farmers but for corporations. There is no minimum price guarantee, private buyers will pay lower prices and farmers won’t have any negotiation power.”, said Gurpreet.
He said: “ We want to be in spirit with the farmers’ experience of what they are experiencing. “ Living in the tent was very difficult, especially in January and February with the bad weather conditions but gradually we found a way to survive those tough times”.
In the beginning, they found difficulties in raising the awareness because the topic was less discussed in the UK mainstream media at that time but after some time they started getting the coverage from BBC, ITV, etc.
Gurpreet said: “ Our family and neighbors have been very supportive and they understand how important the issue is for me and to the farmers in general.
“ They keep encouraging us by telling that how their kids are being inspired by what we are doing.”
By doing this so they are trying to show their support and solidarity with the farmers and they hope to contribute like this until the farmers get a positive response from the Indian Government.
Inside the Tent, set up the office inside the tent and been working
Gurpreet Dhindsa (Right) and Talvinder Johal with tent in snowy weather