Farmers protest in India

 

Men with red flags in their hands, chanting slogans against the government might seem to be a scene from a movie that portrays a pleasant upbringing for a communist revolution. However, these scenes are being witnessed day in and day out in India for the past couple of months where the farmers are out to against the newly passed laws by the Indian government. So basically who are these farmers, and why are they protesting? It all started on 3^rd June 2020 when the government gave a hint that they are going to bring new laws for the agricultural industry. The farmers rejected these laws and demanded its reversal. Initially, the protests started in Punjab and Haryana, which are a mere 3% of the total area of India but produce about 50% of its total production of wheat and rice. With the government paying no heed to their protests in these regions, the farmers decided to march towards the capital Delhi in late November. What the farmers also noticed in their protests in Punjab was that government was too stern in its stance and wouldn't be taking back these laws easily, so they came to Delhi fully prepared. While on their way, they were not deterred by the trenches that were dug or the barriers that were erected by the police. They set up temporary households by installing tarpaulin sheets over trolleys, bringing more than enough ration, generators for electric power supply, but what gave an idea about their robust plans was that they also installed laundromats and foot massagers.

So what are these new laws and how do they have a prime effect on the farmers compelling them to take to roads in the form of huge masses. But first of all, we have to look at the condition of Indian agriculture. After its independence till the 1960s, India was struggling to feed its masses and a string of droughts which resulted in famines only added to its difficulties. At this point, the government stepped in to modernize farming. They brought in foreign advisers and took other measures such as using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation systems. Although some crops suffered due to the over usage, the production of wheat and rice soared, sending India from a country suffering from a food crisis to producing a surplus. All this was known as the "Green Revolution”.

Along with this modernization, the then Indian government also installed this basic system of agriculture. It is a complex system and differs from state to state, but over here we will discuss the system of Punjab, which produces the major chunk of wheat and rice. In this system, the farmers bring their crops to wholesale markets locally known as “mandis”. Over here, they sell their crops to traders through open auctions with transparent pricing. Because these markets are regularized by the government through a price index, also called the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Even though the government only buys a couple of crops in a state or two, but still, those prices serve as a benchmark. The crops then go to a secondary market or are stored by the buyers before they are sent out for future sales.

 Although it is not a perfect system as the local traders collude with each other but because of the oversight of the government, the farmers are still protected and aren’t that vulnerable. This system was designed keeping in mind that the farmers do not get exploited. For example, in the state of Bihar, markets were eliminated in 2006. As a result, the farmers of Bihar have been exploited since then as their incomes decreased making them the poorest in the country while those in Punjab are considered the richest by income, which still had the system before the passage of this law.

 In this recent amendment, three laws have been passed. The first act allows free, unregulated trade spaces outside the markets, which means that the process in which the government was involved before will now only involve the farmers and the traders, bringing an end to the oversight of the government. The second act states that no civil court shall have the jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding regarding any matter, the cognizance of which can be taken and disposed of by any authority empowered by or under this Act or the rules made thereunder. In simple words, it tells us that all the dealings between the farmers and the traders will remain strictly bilateral and cannot be challenged in any court. Therefore not only creating difficulties for farmers but also violating their basic fundamental right granted by article 19 of the Indian constitution. The third act eliminates the limit storage for the traders, which was previously set by the government to control prices. Unlimited storage means that it can turn the market into a monopoly or an oligopoly. Even these traders can use tactics of the black market as well. Altogether if we see the three acts, it is an invitation for big players like the Ambani group or the Adani group to come and take over the market, therefore leading to the exploitation of farmers.

As strong and organized was the protest of the farmers, complete opposite to it was the reaction of the government, the Modi's government at first tried to take control of the situation by doing their propaganda as they usually do. They said that there wasn't any such problem, but all these protestors are the Sikh protestors who want to use this issue as a tool for Khalistan. Moreover, as the media is strictly regulated under the government, they also broadcasted the government's narrative by saying that these laws will work in favour of the farmers, and now they can do trade more freely. But because of the vast number of people who came out on roads, the government failed in its propaganda and has finally given up on it. The government now wants to resolve the problem through dialogue, but because it also has an ego issue and doesn't want to bend in front of the farmers considering them inferior, all the eight rounds of talks between the two have failed. But at the end of the day, the government will have to initiate negotiations with the weak because it does not hurt the ego of the strong. Instead, it paves the way for national coherence.