There was a considerable amount of interest regarding Saturday’s ‘chakka jam’ called by the farmers as a mark of protest against the three farm laws, which arguably will fall under the category of most controversial of legislations the country has framed so far. The 3-hour ‘jamming the wheels’ was closely observed with a special urge to know whether there is a rerun of the infamous Republic Day episode when violence robbed the sanctity of the protest, 65-day old by then. In a major relief to the farmers and the agitation itself, it has been fully non-violent and democratic. In a way, the ‘success’ will add a new dimension to the protest and can be counted as a make good of the ‘loss’ it incurred which made it easy for 'many' to label them as anarchists. The well-crafted narrative that the ball is in the farmers’ court after the 18-month deferment proposal of the laws’ implementation will now lose its weight as the day has been unblemished and more significantly, the government has been told one more time that the agitation will not be withdrawn. The ball, from day one has always remained in the government's court and the sooner it realizes, the better it’s for the country.

Notwithstanding the arrangements made much ahead of the blockade, purportedly in the ‘interest of maintaining public safety and averting public emergency’ such as multi-layered concrete barricades strewn with iron nails and barbed wires along with suspension of internet in various locations, all to create the impression that it will be yet another notorious instance of rampant violence, at the end of the day, the agitating farmers have scored a good number of brownie points. Unlike it normally happens in cases of this sort, ambulances and all vehicles plying for emergency needs have been given free passage instantly without altercations, marking the closure of opportunities to raise fingers. It has been the day’s common feature not only in the NCT, Punjab and Haryana, but also in other parts of the country as well. The ground that was lost considerably after the Republic Day trouble has been recovered by the farmers to a good extent exclusively through non-violent means and armed with the success, their undisputed leader Rakesh Tikait has announced the protest will extend till October 2 next, the birth anniversary of the Mahatma and within this timeframe the Centre must have to repeal the laws.

The agitation is now a full-fledged national movement, however steadfastly it’s being tried to project as a Punjab-centric one. Jamming the internet, erecting barricades and resorting to other coercive methods to end it and living with the perception that it’s only a law and order problem will only make it wide-spread.