On April 13th, large-scale protests and demonstrations took place in Bathinda, Punjab, in response to the Punjab police's action against teachers who were protesting near the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other ministers. The protest was led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and supported by other farmers’ groups. Demonstrations were also held outside the residences of Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian.
The teachers had been protesting for 70 days outside Adarsh Senior Secondary School in Chaoke. Their demands included the implementation of 70% allocated funds to government schools, reinstatement of two terminated teachers, payment of wages as per rules, and provision of textbooks and uniforms to students. Protesters claimed that teachers were being victimised through wage cuts and unjustified dismissals. Despite a formal complaint, no action was taken by the district court or higher authorities.
On the day of the protest, teachers were detained and taken to Nandhgarh and Canal Colony police stations before being released. Medical examinations were conducted at Bathinda Civil Hospital. The Bathinda Superintendent of Police, Narinder Singh, denied the allegations, stating that police only acted when the protest turned violent.
A total of 36 protesters, including farmers and teachers—four of them women—were arrested and produced before the Phul court. Twenty-seven, including all four women, were remanded. Among those held were Harinder Bindu and Paramjit Kaur Pitho. Halpar Kaur from Chaoke chose to remain in jail despite being offered release; she has since been released, while another woman has been taken into judicial custody.
In Rampura Phul, a large rally was held by BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) with the participation of over 10,000 people. Leaders Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Jhanda Singh Jethuke condemned the police action, especially against women protesters. They criticized the government’s education initiative campaign while teachers were being arrested. Other speakers included Professor Parminder Singh and women’s leader Sukhwinder Kaur.
The protest highlighted continued tensions surrounding the treatment of teachers in Punjab and marked a significant instance of collaboration between the teaching community and farmer organizations.
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*Freelance journalist
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