Agri Nation Network 
New Delhi | 28 March 2017

Tamil Farmer displaying urgent demands. Photo: ANN/Nirmesh Singh

Support is pouring in for Tamil Nadu farmers sitting on hunger strike with skulls of dead farmers and clay bowls. After having been reported by The News Minute and Agri Nation, the news started becoming viral on social media but it took a while for mainstream to take notice of these farmers and report about their plight.

Delhiites have also been shy and haven’t come out yet to support these farmers. But the Tamil Community living in Delhi and NCR have reached out these farmers and helping them by providing daily requirements. They coordinate among themselves via whatsapp groups and come in shifts to help the farmers. ‘Chennai Memes’, a face book page that was created by the Tamil youth to support the Jallikattu protest is now supporting these farmers. The group members coordinate among themselves and come in shifts to help the farmers. People coming to show solidarity are lawyers, engineers, doctors and from other professions too.

A Tamil medical student, Nikshay from Ghaziabad said, “The farmers give food to us and we should be thankful to them. We will support them till they get the some assurance from the government”.

Kaushik, another medical student, said, ” Our main culture, talent and occupation was farming but over last 100 years our farmers have been dying because of drought. They don’t have money to live on so they are selling their lands to multinational and corporates, and doing some other work. The rest of farmers are here at Jantar Mantar. They don’t have money to live on.  They borrow money to do farming but the government is not supporting them. So, many farmers have committed suicide in last 10 years. This is the reasons that we youngsters have come here to support them”.

Tiruchi Siva, Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu also met farmers, and said the government should at least waive off the loan for farmers.

Some members of Bhartiya Kisaan Union also visited these farmers and expressed solidarity.

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