Shimla, July 29:
“We won’t leave until the government stops evictions. No more sealing of homes. No more cutting of our apple trees.”
That was the loud and clear message as thousands of angry farmers laid siege to the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat on Tuesday.
Braving rain, barricades, and a heavy police presence, the protestors gathered under the banners of Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh and Himachal Kisan Sabha. Their demand: Immediate implementation of the Supreme Court stay order on evictions and cutting of apple trees in the apple belt.
The farmers, led by former Theog MLA and CPI(M) leader Rakesh Singha, have declared they will not move an inch until the state government halts all anti-farmer actions and gives a clear, written assurance on policy for landless farmers allotting them five bighas of land for their survival.
“This is not just a protest. It’s a fight for survival,” said Singha, vowing to continue the siege until justice is done.
At the forefront of the protest stood former Theog MLA and CPI(M) leader Rakesh Singha, rallying the farmers with a fiery call for justice.
“We have not come here for charity. We’ve come to seek clarity from the government and courts: will they obey the apex court or continue violating farmers’ rights in the name of forest land?” Singha thundered before the press.
The protest stems from growing anger over state-led evictions, sealing of homes, and cutting of apple trees on land claimed to be forest land—even after the Supreme Court of India recently stayed such actions.
The farmers’ demand is simple: obey the law of the land, ensure due process, and frame a transparent rehabilitation policy instead of punishing apple growers.
Voices from the Ground: Farmers Left to Bleed
Singha emotionally narrated the case of a widow from Sarahan in Kumarsain, whose apple trees were chopped and her home sealed.
“Is this what the law stands for in Himachal?” he asked. "The government may be blind to our suffering, but we will not move an inch until the CM gives us a clear stand. This fight won’t be crushed by bad weather, barricades or silence."
Tuesday’s gherao turned Shimla’s Secretariat into a battleground of ideas and ideologies. On one side stood the entire state cabinet, holding its meeting indoors.
On the other, outside in the cold and wet, stood the very farmers who’ve made Himachal the ‘Apple State of India’—pushed to the brink by bulldozers and bureaucratic apathy, charged the protestors.
Farmers from Kullu, Mandi, and Karsog were unable to reach due to roads disrupted by recent cloudbursts, but hundreds still poured in from Shimla, Solan, Kotkhai, Jubbal, Rohru, Narkanda, Kumarsain, Rampur, and Chopal, Sirmaur, Hamirpur and parts of Mandi and Kangra
“Look at our Himachal,” Singha cried out, “where the Supreme Court’s stay means nothing, where farmers are evicted in the name of forests, but powerful corporate get a free run even in wild life sanctuary.”
Anger, Anxiety, and Police Barricades
Police had cordoned off the entire Secretariat complex with heavy deployment, anticipating a surge. Farmers clashed with barricades, shouted slogans, and refused to back down.
"This isn't a movement anymore, it's a survival struggle," said Sanjau Chauhan, ex-Mayor Shimla and member of HP Seb Utpadak Sangh.
The protesters are also demanding five bighas of land as rehabilitation for every family rendered landless due to eviction or natural calamity or so. "Isn’t it ironic that thousands of families who've grown apples here for generations are now treated like encroachers?" said Chauhan.
A Deafening Silence from the CM
What stung most was the absence of a clear response from Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu both in court and outside.
Even as the cabinet meeting was held just a few feet away, no official came out to address the gathering. “The CM must come out and speak to us,” said Rakesh Singha.
“The Supreme Court’s stay must be enforced, and the witch-hunt against apple farmers must stop.”
Political Storm Brewing
This apple protest is more than just a farmer’s agitation—it's also a sharp response to the growing perception that state institutions are being misused, and forest laws applied selectively, alleged the farmers.
“This is not just about apples,” said one protester. “It’s about justice, dignity, and whether Himachal Pradesh is ready to respect the Constitution.”
As night approached, the farmers showed no signs of dispersing. Their resolve only stiffened with the weather. “Jab tak jawaab nahi milega, tab tak yeh gherao chalega,” declared Singha.
The apple belt is boiling, and Shimla can no longer ignore the rot.
#AppleProtest #HimachalFarmers #SupremeCourtStay #LandRights #SaveOurOrchards #CPI(M)
