Simla village is 25 km from Narwana (Jind district) on the Narwana-Kaithal road falling in Kaithal district. No bus was plying on the roads for one month. Jeeps make rounds to transport the commuters through link roads. One reaches a canal after travelling 22 kms. from there you have to walk two KM distance to reach the village Simla. New persons are seen with suspicion. If they suspect that you are a policeman or INLD leader, chances are that people interrogate and take you as a hostage. That was why all INLD leaders and activists come nowhere near the villages in Jind district. The Jind SP gave a press statement warning policemen not to go to the rural areas, and if at all they go it is at their own risk.

There is a big pandal with BKU banners and some placards with slogans. Nearby, there is a community kitchen serving food for around 1000 men, women and children. You found volunteers — young men and aged too. It is a festive mood. You can enter the kitchen and have food anytime, tea also. Everything is organized smoothly. There is a deviation from the patriarchal tradition. Men cooking and serving, including for women.

By 10am already there are 2-300 people gathered. The road leading to Kaithal from Jind is blocked on two sides. 10- 15 big eucalyptus trees serve as barricades. Tractors take a detour via fields to enter the dharna site. By 12noon men and women thronged to the well of the dharna site in hundreds — in the form of processions and in tractors. Slogans rent the air, making the atmosphere hotter. The blazing sun is unable to dampen the spirit of the kisans — men, women and children sat down coolly. The numbers are swelling and within half an hour the participants are around 1500, of which around 400 are women in veils, as is the wont in Haryana.

Interestingly there is a dedicated group of youth and students conducting the meeting. BKU leader Zile Singh spoke what happened yesterday. The BKU leadership was taken by the police from other districts first to the DSP bungalow of Karnal and then to Delhi where Chautala, CM of Haryana, was present. They were asked to sign on the dotted line. On refusal they were asked to leave after much pressurizing. While coming they saw two leaders who are supposed to be in Mahendragarh jail. How come they were present here? They were not allowed to meet them. Ramphal Kandela and another were brought illegally by Chautala from judicial custody to force them to come to the agreement drafted by the government. Unsuccessful in their efforts they were again taken to jail.

Some speeches followed by the BKU leaders. Youth and student organizations who were fighting shoulder to shoulder with the peasantry also spoke In the prevalent strong feudal and patriarchal atmosphere, it is not possible for women to speak on the dais in chaupal. Things are changing. For the first time women came to the dais and spoke about the struggle and their determination. There is awe and surprise and some murmurs but there is undoubted appreciation from some quarters that what the women spoke was entirely correct. A fourteen year student spoke and warned the Chautala sarkar to stop the repression and accept the demands of the kisans.

The agitation brought forward many new things which in normal times is difficult to imagine. Prohibition is implemented silently. Habitual drinkers are drinking secretly. It is unwritten taboo that none comes taking drink. In the beginning it used to happen. The cultural team captures this and played a short skit on drinking. There is an overt and persuasive campaign by the youth and students team on the ghungat (veil). How can we fight with ghunghats if the police come? The logic penetrates into the hearts of women. There are murmurs from the male world. There is a penetrating song on ghungat which is becoming popular. There is a woman who fought with Jeli ( a sharp edged agricultural instrument in a fork shape) valiantly braving the bullets( in Shimla alone, they used rubber bullets). Before pouncing on the police she threw away the ghungat, perhaps a symbol that may become a general phenomenon in future.

There is a short skit "chor chor mosere bhai" exposing electoral politics and politicians. This is full of slogans against electoral politics. A Woman cultural activist asks one child what he has written on the slate and show it to the audience. On one side it was BKU zindabad and on the other Chautala murdabad. She asks if every child would bring their slate writing slogans on them. All children raise their hands approving the suggestions.

The air is rent with slogans of martyrs who died in the police firing and torture. One Ram Swaroop from a middle peasant background died in the police firing on May 19th while going to a rally in Kandela village. It is the spirit of the times, the children never falter in the slogan raising.

The meeting ends at 3pm. People leave the villages with more resolve. Many villagers surround the campaigning team of youth- men and women- asking them to visit their villages to do the campaign.

In the beginning many people used to have traditional weapons- gandasa, jeli, or at least a club. The present agitation has put a full stop to the monopoly of taking of weapons by men only, as usually happens. Women carried weapons this time.

On May 30th when armed police came with cranes to remove the barricades, people fought pitched battles. Dozens of people got injured. Dozens of police were injured and retreated. Women, Men and student and youth activists were in the battles.

"We will die but we will not stop till the demands are fulfilled. If at all we die, we will die fighting" — that is the resolve of women and men of Simla and neighboring villages.