Thousands pour in to get Baba’s last glimpse

Suffering from protracted bone cancer for the past one year,Tikait died at his son BKU general secretary Rakesh Tikait’s residence in Muzaffarnagar. Popularly called as ‘Baba’ by villagers of all age-groups in Sisauli and around,thousands rushed to Muzzafarnagar to bring the body to his village.

The 15-km distance from Muzzafarnagar to Sisauli was traversed in around more than three hours with people from 13 villages,which were on the way,joining the caravan in their vehicles,mostly tractors. The ambulance was stopped at numerous spots where villagers paid their last respects to their leader. By the time Tikait’s body reached the village,thousands others had arrived in Sisauli to pay their homage to the leader,who fought several battles for the farmers in the past 23 years.

“His body will first reach the office of BKU and it must because we all know he had dedicated his life to the causes being taken up in this office. The village was an extended family for ‘Baba’ and he had an unmitigated affection for everyone,” Biram Singh,a BKU member for over two decades,told The Indian Express.

The body was then taken to the BKU office,where Tikait had also got built a statute of Charan Singh in 1988. The body was moved out of the ambulance and put before the statute as people,now grown to at least 10,000 in numbers,chanted ‘Baba’.

His sons Rakesh and Naresh along with his grandsons were standing atop the statute’s platform holding the casket. “It is nothing but two great ‘Kisan’ leaders coming together in their divine form,” many from the crowd uttered as they pointed to a lamp called as ‘Kisan Jyoti’ that was lit by Tikait in 1988 and had always remained illuminated before it was “inexplicably” found unlit on Sunday morning by its caretaker Surendra Pal Singh.

Known for his respect for women,it was Prabha Chaudhary,district president of the Bijnore Pradhan Sangh,who was given the first opportunity to pay homage to Tikait. “I am touched that I got the first opportunity. Baba was the greatest of all times and his death leaves a vacuum for all the young leaders like us who sought to follow him and looked up to him for guidance,” she said.

“His body will be taken to his house after all the farmers expressed their reverence. The family has decided to perform his last rites tomorrow at around 11 am. The cremation would be held tomorrow at BKU headquarters. He was an undisputed leader of the farmers and we have got to respect the sentiments of all those who want to see him for the last time,” Sukhdev Singh,a close associate of Tikait,told The Indian Express.

Family sources said some leaders from Uttar Pradesh were expected to arrive and that helipads were also being built. Besides local police,two companies of PAC were also being deployed.

Tikait is survived by four sons,Naresh,Rakesh,Narendra and Surendra and three daughters. His wife Baljor Devi,who headed the women’s group of BKU,had died in 2009.