BULANDSHAHR/NEW DELHI : When Surendra Panwar speaks, his words are steeped in politeness. For instance, when asked whether it was his farm, Panwar’s response was, “Yes, but it belongs to you as well".
That said, on 1 May, when this reporter spoke to him at a lush green pumpkin field in Prangarh, a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district some 80 km from Delhi, the tension was palpable.
Panwar, a well-to-do farmer who also dabbles in vegetable trading, was sweating despite the pleasant evening breeze. He was plucking the best pumpkins to send to friends and family.
Some days back Panwar asked fellow villagers to pluck as many they needed. For free. “Inside my head I never planted this crop," Panwar said, more to himself than to me.