Thread by @rupikaur_

happy birthday nodeep kaur ♥️ it breaks my heart that you were illegally detained on january 12 and have since been held without any due process. you’re spending your birthday inside a jail cell.

your crime? that you had the bravery to fight against exploitation in a country that criminalizes dissent. you fought for the rights of labourers. it breaks my heart to think of the torture and sexual abuse you are enduring in police custody.

i first posted this video on nov 29 2020. back then many of these faces were new to me. i was drawn to the song they were singing. perhaps my favourite from the #farmersprotest

they sing : ਬੀਤ ਗਏ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਕੋਲੋਂ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਜਾਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ
ਫਿਰ ਦਿੱਲੀ ਨੂੰ ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ ਅੱਜ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਜਾਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ
we must learn from the history that has passed.
once more, a zafarnama (guru gobind singh’s challenge to empire) must be written to delhi.

for me - the song is about the people expressing their need to challenge corrupt power. the lyrics take the listener through historical events where the people committed to fight injustice until goodness prevailed.

as i was scrolling through my phone earlier today i stopped at this video and hit play. i hadn’t watched it since november and i immediately noticed a familiar face.

on the right in the video- sitting in white- is nodeep kaur 🥺singing gloriously with her comrades at the protest site. she would still be with them today if the indian government wasn’t so obsessed with the exploitation of human bodies for political and economic gain.

make no mistake: nodeep being a dalit woman who mobilized majdoor labourers has everything to do with her illegal arrest and subsequent torture. she is currently one of over 100 missing and arrested farmers and protesters.

today- on nodeep’s birthday, i would like us to sing songs of revolution in her honour. let’s sing so loud she can hear us. nodeep is a fearless leader. that is why the state fears her. imagine. after all she’s endured in custody- her spirit remains unbroken.

over the phone she says to her sister rajveer “i will forever stand for the rights of farmworkers. when i get out of here i will continue to fight for our freedom.

#freenodeepkaur

#farmersprotest