Local Adivasis in Khunti in Jharkhand protestingduring the ‘patthalgadi’ moment in 2018 Local Adivasis in Khunti in Jharkhand protestingduring the ‘patthalgadi’ moment in 2018 
Autumn (Punjab) Mustard yellow.If autumn came to poppiesAnd the opium wars were rewritten.They would be here I suppose.In the folds of a now bifurcated Punjab,Colourful in the crevices,Bloodless on either side,Habituated to dying in their sleep now. .Memory quietly runs over,Silent weeps and gulps of sunshine,Waging wars with thrones,Tyrants and a millennia lost to swords and horses.Godmen sired and assassinatedBut history remembers Chenab.The last to be whitewashed. .History endures.Frozen in cordoned off exits,Colours splashed over a sanguine springThe onset of a JallianwalahRevolution and atheismHow to make a bomb and why to be godlessThey were writing down scarsTricolouredFlying awayLike dreams often do,On the banks of RaviOne fine January morning. .Will Punjab ever forget August?Blood etched and Radcliffed,sprawled across either sideswhy else would we remember FaizOr years later,Blue stars twinkling in a turbaned summer sky? .Decades have eluded us here,The lines are blurry, the corn ripeAnd the revolution once green,Has seeped into the foldsSalty and earthyTaintedBurning away in the ashesOf yellowing stubblesIn the hopeThat it reaches the other half.Floating westward and southwardMustard yellowBut never sublimeWonderingIf onlyAutumn had come to poppies
Neelashi Shukla, Delhi
(Neelashi Shukla is a contemporary poet who writes across various socio-economic and geo-political themes. She has published two books of poetry, Sleepwalking and Tease, and is working on her debut novel.)
Ailaan (Proclamation)Some will sharpen a khanda, some a kirpan Delhi, we will worry you as oneGreater than your gain will be the harm done But matters of crops the farmers will decide
Individuals uniting will become millions The beads on your neck will be twisted Eighty-year oldelders will strike you The young will proclaim war on you Delhi, we will worry you as oneBut matters of crops the farmers will decide
Just a few hours journey, DelhiWe will remind you of your limits, Delhi Climbing on your chest we will cheerWe will be encouraged by the skyDelhi, we will worry you as oneBut matters of crops the farmers will decide
We will fight the battle for rights with our rights After winning we will offer charity andprotection We are proud to have the judgement of history Let truth win on this battlefield
Delhi, we will worry you as oneBut matters of crops the farmers will decide
—Translated from Punjabi
Koi khanḍe tikhe koi kirpan karoogaa Tainoon dilliye ikaṭh pareshaan karoogaa Teraa faaide naalon ziaadaa nuksaan karoogaa Par fasalaan de faisale kisaan karoogaa
Ihnaan ‘katiaan de eke ‘ch karoṛ hoṇgeTeri dhauṇ de jo maṇke maroṛ hoṇgeAssi varhe diaan baabiaan ton lai ke thaapaṛaa Tainoon jang daa ailaan naujavaan karoogaa Tainoon dilliye ikaṭh pareshaan karoogaaPar fasalaan de faisale kisaan karoogaa
Bas chaar panj ghanṭiaan di vaat dilliye Tainoon yaad karvaa diyaange aukaat dilliye Teri hikk utte chaṛh ke jaikaare lauṇge Saaḍi haunslaa afazai asmaan karoogaa Tainoon dilliye ikaṭh pareshaan karoogaa Par fasalaan de faisale kisaan karoogaa
Asin haq di laṛai haq naal laṛaangeAsin jitaange te deg teg fatih paṛhaaṅge Saanoon maan vari rae itihaas de utteBaaki dudh paani jang daa maidaan karoogaa Tainoon dilliye ikaṭh pareshaan karoogaaPar fasalaan de faisale kisaan karoogaa
Vari Rai, Punjab
(Vari Rai, the lyricist of the song Ailaan—a song of resistance on farmers’ protest sung by Punjabi singer Kanwar Grewal—grew up in the village of Harnalpur in Mohali90jili, Punjab. He juggles working at a bank and writing.)