 Hello and let's talk about sports persons and the ongoing farmers protests. A few hours ago, sports persons decided to march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to return the awards they had received. Among those marching were medal winners, Asian Games and Arjuna awardees. The sports persons have declared support for the ongoing farmers protests which began on November 26th. And the persons who were marching today were not alone. There are many more in Punjab, Haryana and Punjab in Haryana especially, who have said that they stand by the farmers and they are unhappy with the way the government has responded to the farmers protests. Now this is a very interesting trend and we talked to Leslie Xavier of NewsClick, who talked about the sports persons who are protesting, who are these people who are protesting right now, who are these people who are in solidarity with the farmers. And he also talks about the deep connections sports in India has with agriculture. And this is especially true in sports such as boxing, wrestling and hockey. So here is what Leslie had to say. Thank you Leslie for joining us. So we know that the farmers protests has been going on for many days. Farmers are very determined that they won't go back unless the demands are met. They made this very same clear to the government as well. An interesting aspect of these protests has been that it has received a large amount of support from a wide variety of sectors of course. We saw from a popular culture sector for the music sector definitely. But also sports persons who have come out in considerable numbers and said to talk about these issues, talked about returning their awards even. So before we get into some of the, you know, complex equations between sport and agriculture, especially in that part of India, it's a Punjab, Haryana regions. Could you maybe take us through the careers of some of these sports persons who are right now extending solidarity to the protestants? It's great to see that some of our greatest sports persons, some of the greatest sports persons in India have ever produced out there supporting the farmers in their struggle. But then there is also a narrative behind them being part of this. But before that, I would like to explain to who they are because for the current lot, there should be a larger understanding of history of India's sport to understand where they come from, who they are. And these athletes are extraordinary athletes who have come forward in support of the farmers by actually giving away the awards, which is the, what do you call that, some total of their entire effort in the field that they were part of. Wrestlers, basketball players, hockey players, so we are talking about a wide range of Indian athletes, athletes who have represented India in the various international stages including the Olympic. So let's just start with boxing because Punjab was synonymous with boxing at that stage before Haryana came into prominence in the latter stage of the 90s and continues even now. So I mean, three, four legendary boxers from Punjab have gotten into this prominent being Kaur Singh who has a gold medalist in 1982 Olympic, sorry, 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. And he was an Ajna award recipient in the same year and the next year he was conferred the Padmasthi. And he is travelled with, he is at the single border and is planning to, in fact today is part of a contingent of some athletes who are planning to go to the, get an appointment with the president and hand over the awards or or symbolically place the awards at wherever they could place it. So Kaur Singh, he was an army man, he started his boxing career much before that and then his boxing helped him get a land army job in the 1970. And before that he was very clear while talking to media presence about why he started. So before that he was saying his boxing career or wherever that career took him, it started off by his father providing him meals from their farm which made him the boxer that he is. We have Jaipal Singh who is an Asian silver medalist, again a boxer. And both Kaur Singh and Jaipal Singh have retired and gotten back to their roots. Jaipal being from Rukh Rohira in Sanghru district of Punjab and Kaur Singh is from Kanal in Punjab, Sanghru again. So they have small farmlands which they cultivate and I mean so it's, there is a direct link for these two. We have others of course, Vijendra Singh today has come out and he has said that he would give away his, he would return his Kail Ratna which he won in 2019 after he won the Olympic bronze medalist. And Vijendra Singh again, so Vijendra's stance is very, because he can be considered a contemporary athlete because he is still active in a very little way but he is still active but he is also connected with all the current athletes. So he came out in the media and he said that I represent a lot of my brothers and sisters, sister athletes in Haryana who want to express their solidarity but they are worried because they have current government jobs and so Vijendra is there. BS Sandhu, legendary Indian boxing coach under whom a lot of Indian boxers came into prominence including Vijendra and that entire generation of boxers may come included. So, and then from the wrestling you have Karthar Singh who was, I mean who retired as a senior police officer in Punjab police but before that I mean he hailed from a farming family as a wrestler. He won two gold medalists at the Asian Games in the 80s. In fact, his gold medal that he won in the Seahall Asian Games in 1986. After that we had to wait till 2014 for Yogeshwar that to win a gold medal. So that's the kind of stage that he had as a wrestler. In fact, he is a world medalist, world medalist in the master's category also in wrestling. A great wrestler of his days and Karthar has been very vocal in organizing this group of 38 athletes, whose awards they have carried. So not all of them could travel because many of them are old and hailing and in this current situation they couldn't travel. So they have a few of them who have traveled, they have carried their awards as well and plus their message, the message of solidarity as to why they are doing this, what they stand for and what the farmers stand for, the larger picture, the larger fight that is, though we, I mean people who live in the city, they just feel that they are not connected with this struggle. If they are feeling that they are not connected with this struggle, it is just a matter of time before things reach you because we are talking about the food providers for the country. Absolutely, it's very interesting you explained and laid out all these careers for us because many of these sports persons, they made their mark before the time of great media coverage, before the time of independent leagues and all that. So the awards were basically in some senses, like you said, a recognition even when there was maybe not so much financial security, for some of them had government jobs, but many of them, for many of them the awards were probably the pinnacle of their post sports person, post career recognition, so to speak. So that way it is interesting that so many of them have come out into the protest, but let's say I want to take you to another aspect as well, something we touched upon a bit earlier, which is the kind of connection that sport and agriculture have for that matter. In the sense that you mentioned one or two instances of sports persons with very deep roots in agriculture, those who are connected, those whose families are still in it, those who still are involved in agriculture. So in that sense, this protest and the involvement of the sports persons is also a very, for lack of better word, a very organic link because this is not, this is not see a cause which people are just, it's something connected in some senses to their bread and butter and to their community as well. That said, I mean, so before I get into the main aspect of your questions, I would just again elaborate a little on the connection that these athletes have for the award, because we have seen when the award season comes in August, in fact, we had touched that in one of our, let's talk discussions as well. A lot of athletes fight for it, saying that we deserve it, we didn't get it, we were not considered because it's not just about the tag as you know, or the Greenwich area, but it's also the honor that comes with it because it's considered and it's still considered as an ultimate tag that a sports person could get in India, which of course perks whatever train tickets or additional benefits when you have something to do with in government offices or whatever that comes with it, but the pride, also it's like an underscore of whatever you are done in your sporting career. So for them to part with that award, which they have given everything, it's a big deal. And so when people, I mean, there have been narratives that have been spun where they are trying to trivialize or bless aside this. I mean, ashtag by what award, wapasi gang or whatever it's called. It's trivializing not just their gesture, but it's also trying to trivialize the farmers protest because that's the narrative that's been spun by people who are against it, the people in power obviously. So for them, I mean, I would like to present this case that this is larger than what they are trivializing. They don't understand the meaning of this gesture. And now getting into what you mentioned. So there was this interesting, many athletes have come out on social media, current athletes, and messaged solidarity and support. So one of the athletes was world number one wrestler, Benjamin Punea, who is India's best wrestler at this moment. And Punea earlier have more or less been a, I mean, it's a social media presence have all revolved around supporting the government. In fact, I mean, many of these athletes do they have copy pasted sports ministry messages about projects, things like that. So and to see Punea come out and suddenly I saw this tweet that he is calling farmers our brothers and I stand in support with them. We should win this in this struggle. It's heartening to see and also it also points out where he comes from because Punea's career if you look at it, it comes from a very poor family in Ariana farming. I mean, and they don't even own the land. So they were they were killers of the land, which they don't own. And so from there wrestling took him out of that poverty out of that obscurity and he has reached wherever he is now, but he has not forgotten the roots and that's what all these athletes have also they have not forgotten the root. And if you look at India's sporting history. And I would give a roundabout number as such but more than 80% of Indian athletes who come out would represent India at the Olympics or at the grandest of stages they are all from rural background and not everybody is, of course, from a farming family or farmer's family but if you look at the rural setup in India we all know that I mean some livelihoods are connected with the agaric economy. So, so some of them would be laborers some of them would be like I said non landowners who are killing the soil some of them would be people who transport these produce to the market Monday. So, again, so that that the one of the struggles is to actually uphold that Monday system that that this is new roles, new laws will take out. I would again, I mean, when I'm talking this I just got reminded about legendary Indian weightlifter Tara Singh who has also sent across his Arjuna award with Tarkar Singh and the and the athletes who are there for who have traveled to Delhi. So, Tara Singh one is two bronze medals at the 82 Asian Games. And he was the first Indian weightlifter to lift about 200 kg in clean and jerk. I mean, and one of the best weightlifters India's ever produced. He was quoted again in the media he was telling how he is surviving on a 600 rupees pension now, plus the four acres of land that he has in Pagwara, which is which he uses to fill. So, you mentioned a lot of things about about this loss which which he has a direct grouse against which will directly impact him and is. I mean, he has had two surgeries on his knee knee replacement because of his sporting career, and he's surviving on that farm and the mere pension that that the government is providing him. So, again, that's a direct connection that we are we are talking about. So, every athlete who has come out and spoken about it as a direct or indirect connection connection with the struggle, because they understand it closely because they come from from that background so India's sporting culture is intrinsically connected to two villages, and via villages with with with the farming community so we have said this earlier also how sports persons are inert about a lot of social and political issues that happen across the country because they just simply don't step in because they have come out now. So that that itself is an indication of how much connect that they have with the struggle that is ongoing and what it means to them and what it means to and so a weekly year is probably necessary for not just for the Indian farming community and the farming economy and the farmers and agriculture sector as a whole, but also and but also possibly to Indian sport because that link is there next line of sports persons will come from the villages more or less. Absolutely. Thank you so much for talking to us. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back tomorrow with more news from India across the world. Until then keep watching us click.