The Flashpoints: Republic Day, the Red Fort & Lakhimpur

Kissan Andolan — The Complete Story · Part 7 of 12 · by Lovepreet Singh

Every long struggle has a day it nearly dies, and a day it nearly loses its soul. This part holds both. In just a few dramatic weeks — and then one terrible October afternoon — the movement was almost destroyed, almost broken from within, and then, against the odds, saved by a single man's tears.

In this part

• The backdrop: stalled talks and a cold, tense January
• 26 January 2021: the parade that spiralled
• The Red Fort flag: what happened, and the war over its meaning
• The death of Navreet Singh
• The backlash and the crackdown
• The night that saved everything: Rakesh Tikait's tears
• The long, grinding middle — then Lakhimpur
• Lakhimpur Kheri: 3 October 2021
• What these flashpoints did to the movement
• Where we go next

Every long struggle has a day it nearly dies, and a day it nearly loses its soul. This part holds both. In just a few dramatic weeks — and then one terrible October afternoon — the movement was almost destroyed, almost broken from within, and then, against the odds, saved by a single man's tears. A fair-play promise (this part especially) These are the most disputed events in the whole story. For every one, the two sides tell almost opposite tales. So for each flashpoint I'll lay out both accounts as fairly as I can, mark clearly what is proven and what is contested, and let you weigh it yourself. 1 The backdrop: stalled talks and a cold, tense January By January 2021, the camps had survived two months of brutal winter. Talks had gone nowhere — eleven rounds between the government and the SKM, ending in deadlock. The government's biggest offer was to suspend the laws for a year and a hal…

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