The impact of farmers’ protests and upcoming elections could be seen in the wedding cards being printed in Western Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring States. Some use the invitation to spread awareness about the farmers’ issues, some utilise them as glorified pamphlets to seek votes for the party of their choice and others want to use them as reminders for their candidature for the party ticket.
Recently, the wedding card of Vaibhav Yadav, district president of Samajwadi Party’s Chhatra Sabha in Rampur, went viral as it carried photos of not only patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and party president Akhilesh Yadav but also senior party leader Azam Khan.
Through the card, Mr. Yadav sought votes for the party and the release of Mr. Khan. He said, he wanted to “spread awareness” among people that Akhilesh Yadav should become the next Chief Minister and “remind them of the atrocities” committed on Azam Khan and his family.
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Mr. Yadav said the card became the talk of the town and he received several calls. “People usually don’t read wedding cards seriously. I made sure people took note of the message.”
Earlier this year, the wedding invitation of Tabassum and Mohd. Jabir caught attention as it carried a sketch of Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Singh on the cover. “I am a farmer and a member of RLD. I was impressed by the work done by Jayant sahib in spreading awareness about the farmers’ issues and wanted to share it with my community,” said Mohd Mudassir from Dhikka Kalan village of Saharanpur.
The trend could be seen in States that share a border with Haryana or Western Uttar Pradesh.
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Last week, when Pankaj Singh, son of a farmer, got married in Khyali village of Churu district in Rajasthan, the wedding card carried no images of god or goddess. Instead, it carried slogans such as “No Farmer No Food”, “Kisan Ekta Zindabad” and images of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh and his son and former RLD chief Ajit Singh, who passed away because of COVID related problems, earlier this year.
“The farmers’ protests had a huge social impact. Whoever produces or consumes food was affected by the farm laws and wedding cards are a convenient way to put your point across to a large section of people. You don’t need pamphlets. My father says that in past too wedding cards were used to spread socio-political messages,” Mr. Singh said.
The wedding card of the daughter of Rajesh Dhankar from Jhajjar, Haryana created a flutter on social media as it carried a message that said members from the BJP, its ally the Jananayak Janta Party and the RSS should keep away from the wedding.
‘Reflects anguish’
Mr. Dhankad, who describes himself as the president of Vishwa Veer Jat Mahasabha, could not be reached but Anil Kumar general secretary of the IT Cell of the Akhi Bhartiya Jaat Mahasabha said Mr. Dhankar’s action reflects the anguish against the ruling class because of the farm laws. “We don’t recognise his group but we can sense his emotion. However, it is just not the BJP, no party has stood for farmers and all of them should be sent a message,” said Mr. Kumar.