GUWAHATI: Farmers of Sassoni Mouza in Assam are extending their support to the ongoing fight against the amended Citizenship Act (CAA) by selling paddy.
The farmers who usally grows paddy for their own consumption were selling sacks stacked in a makeshift shed at a local playground in Dibrugarh.
It is to be mentioned that the farmers want the proceeds from the sale to go into a fund for the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) to challenge the jaatidhwangshi, meaning ‘race-destroying’, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) in the Supreme Court next week.
Moni Manik Gogoi, a former extremist turned social entrepreneur, said some local traders have volunteered to buy the paddy during the rally.
“The movement here has not been under the banner of any political party or organisation.They read about others donating money for the battle against CAA and decided to contribute what they have,” he said.
The current market rate of local varieties of paddy, mostly the sticky kind, is Rs. 1,200 per quintal, or 100 kg.
“The villagers symbolically handed over one doon of paddy to us. It does not matter how much paddy is collected and how much they will fetch. What matters is their gesture, which is priceless,” AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi to The Hindu.