Candle march organized by Chandigarh artists (IPTA) and writers in support of farmers protest in front of Kissan Bhawan, Chandigarh. PHoto: SAT/DS
By SATview
MELBOURNE, 10 November 2020: After ten days’ protests and many rounds of talks with the government a stalemate of sorts has set-in between the protesting farmers and the Modi government. The farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana joined by others from different states are camping around Delhi as they were not allowed to enter the Indian capital.
The three controversial farm laws passed recently by the Indian Parliament, without consultation or debate, intend to end the regulated procurement ‘Mandi’ system which works with the benchmark of a ‘minimum support price’ (MSP) for farm produce through agents. The farmers and their unions fear the new laws aim towards a system which ultimately will be controlled by corporate houses eager to enter the agro-business. So, in a way, farmers fear ultimately being small and marginal farmers they will not be able to deal with the corporates and will get less (as in Bihar) for their produce.
Varinder Singh, a farmer from Kaithal in Haryana and member of Naujawan Bharat Sabha told Newsclick, “the government has already been offering farmers “a guarantee of MSP”, but that does not wash with the farmers unless the laws are entirely withdrawn. “We know we will win—it is the government which is on the back foot, not us. It is the government chasing us to talk, not we chasing them,” he says, rather presciently, just hours before the government invited farmers representatives to a fresh round of discussion.”
The lakhs of protesting farmers from all over India camping at the outskirts of Delhi, are in no mood to relent on their demand for the repeal of the three new laws. On its part, the Modi government justifies the new laws saying will not cut farmer incomes.
Over 400 plus farmer organizations and political parties are supporting the farmers. Politically, the protest is a rainbow coalition of Left, Akali, Congress, and Independents. The Modi government sees the protest as a political challenge but looks reluctant to take a hard line apart from using water cannons and not allowing them to enter the capital.
All non-BjP parties ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 8 December to support the farmers spread across India and a powerful social media campaign has rattled the New Delhi government. The global Indian Diaspora including those in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and European countries have come out with massive rallies to support the farmers. Politicians in Canada, UK, and Australia have expressed support.
According to Time magazine, “India’s Farmers Are Leading One of the Largest Protests Yet Against Modi’s Government.” (December 8, 2020). In fact, some analysts believe, this is the biggest ever farmers’ protest in the world.
About 60 percent of the population in India depends on agriculture, a prolonged confrontation in the breadbaskets of India (Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP) is not a good signal to the already decimated economy because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the earlier disastrous policies of demonetization and erroneous GST implementation.
The protesting farmers say they have come “prepared for a long battle” – with trolleys full of rice and grains, and pots and pans to cook their own food. (BBC). The protest has been peaceful and support growing from all over India and overseas has elated the farmers.
