mention should be made of nine young farmers from village Selu of Wardha district. who had come on their bicycles travelling non-stop for thirteen days and covering a distance of 1,500 kilometers. Rousing welcome was extended to them. Banners were displayed at different street corners saying, “Punjab kaa bulava hai, Maharashtra aaj aya hai.” From six in the morning of 12 March, farmers from all over had started reaching the massive Parade Ground in Sector 17 of the city where everyone was supposed to assemble. Punjab police had erected barricades at all entry points. But the waves of farmers were descending from surrounding region and it became impossible for the police to stop them. Bulk of the farmers were from Punjab but the number of farmers coming from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was also substantial. Nearly two thousand tractors and trailers in which the protesters had travelled were parked in the open spaces around Parade Ground. By two in the afternoon the number of farmers had swelled to over one lakh. A formal meeting had not started by then. A stage was erected overlooking the Parade Ground and some Punjabi songs were being played from the microphone. Some had brought their own tape recorders and transistors from which Gurubani, the hymns from Guru Granth Sahib, were played. Some farmers had brought food to eat on the way and they were partaking of that leftover. Leaders of some groups were addressing their own crowds. While all that was going on, inside the Raj Bhavan which was quite close to the Parade Ground, Governor Pande had called some of his key officials and also invited farmers’ leaders for last minute negotiations. Joshi was also inside. Governor took the initiative to diffuse the tension by offering to look into the matter and requested the farmers’ leaders to cancel gherao. However, the farmers’ leaders refused to relent. They returned to the Parade Ground. Governor promised them that he would not Joshi in Punjab
Q
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