Following the anger against three agriculture legislations simmered since September, hundreds of thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have marched upon the capital region Delhi and built huge camps on the road/highways blocking all main entries to the city.
Over 300,000 farmers reached Delhi on foot and in conveys of tractors, trucks, and cars – to protest in the Indian capital to ignite what they called a ‘decisive battle’ with the central government.
After failing to get any support from respective state governments, the farmers decided to march toward Delhi to put pressure on the central government. While the BJP government failed to handle or convince the farmers not to march amid the covid-19 pandemic, opposition governments from Rajasthan and Punjab have provided them with everything to support their agitation.
As the farmer’s tsunami reached Delhi, some managed to cross Delhi’s border but the majority of protestors stopped using barricades and barbed wires pitched by police on the major road going towards Delhi. The farmers set up camps along five significant streets, developing improvised tents and setting fires with the end goal of remaining for quite a long time if their requests are not met.
Police had utilized nerve gas and water guns against the protesting farmers and tore up expressways to stop farm vehicles and nonconformists from reaching Delhi. Be that as it may, the Delhi government denied police consent to change over nine arenas into transitory correctional facilities for farmers. “Farmers are not hoodlums,” the regional government said.
The farmers are challenging a progression of agrarian laws that see the freedom of harvest evaluating, including the expulsion of ensured least yield value, which farmer’s state will leave them helpless before large companies. The public authority has contended that the laws are essential changes that give farmers more self-governance over the selling of their harvests and will break enormous uncalled for syndications.
In spite of the fact that farmers’ associations have been fighting in Punjab for as far back as two months, marching and blocking streets and train lines, they said they were putting together the walk to Delhi to drive the public authority’s hand. Associations need to cancel the laws, which they state are against farmers and favorable to corporate interests.
Cultivating is perhaps the greatest manager in India, with over 40% of the populace working in horticulture.
Among the protesters who walked to the outskirts was Ratam Mann Singh, 61, from Haryana, who is the leader of the Indian Farmers Association for the state. He stated: “I participated in this dissent to the Delhi fringe in light of the fact that the focal government has sold out the farmers with these new laws, which didn’t have any interview or contribution from farmers. In the event that they are passed, at that point, the farmers’ privileges will be done.”
Farmers can stop protesting if the union government withdraws these rules or assure them that the minimum support price (MSP) by adding another law in the rule book. On Saturday, the association serves, Amit Shah said the public authority was happy to think on “each issue and request” of the farmers. Talks have been booked for 3 December.
Here’s why Indian farmers are protesting, what are their demands, and what’s the government’s take on all this.
Understand What’s in Three New Agriculture Laws Against Which Indian Farmers are Protesting
- 1st Law: Farmer’s Product Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) ACT 2020 – It allows the farmers to sell their crops anywhere inside or outside the state-regulated mandis to anyone without any tax or fee. It enables farmers to enjoy the freedom of selling their crops.
- 2nd Law: Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance: With this law, farmers can set up contracts with big companies involved in eatery manufacturing. They can sign contracts with companies even prior to the production of crops and demand for anything they will need to meet the company’s standard.
- 3rd Law: Farms Service Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020: The third law eases the restriction in production storage movement & distribution of the major drops unless they fall under extraordinary circumstances like War and Famine. Stock limits are likely to impose only if there is a steep price high.
Why the Modi Government is Facing Allegations Over Its Farmer-friendly Laws?
- Farmers say that these new agriculture laws will leave them at the mercy of corporates they will be dealing with and may result at the end of minimum support price (MSP). Note: MSP is the price on which the government buys crops from farmers in case they fail to sell it to someone in the market or the middleman.
- Commission agents are protesting and charged to manipulate the farmers. But are commission agents against these laws? It is because their monopoly and huge profits on farmer’s mercy are at stake.
- The State Government is also favoring farmers’ protest because they are losing fat profits earned from mandi fees, mainly in the ‘Green Revolution Belt’ of Haryana, Punjab, and Western UP.
- Political parties are just building their vote bank amid this tight situation between farmers and the union government. Ruling parties in Punjab and Rajasthan don’t want to lose Mandi revenues and besides this, commission agents in these states have funded farmer’s camps. The opposition is just fueling this protest.
The eagerly awaited third round of talks between farmer’s associations, including 32 Punjab ‘jathebandi’, and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, and Som Prakash finished uncertainty with farmers pioneers dismissing the Center’s idea to frame a five-part board of trustees to investigate their protests and study the worries.
The meeting between the farmer’s chiefs and the association government closed on Tuesday, with another round of talks planned to be hung on 3 December.
“The meeting was acceptable and we have concluded that the discussions will be hung on 3 December. We needed a little gathering to be established yet the farmer’s head needed that the discussions should be held with everybody, we don’t have an issue with it,” said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
“We appeal to the farmers to suspend the fights and come for the discussions. Be that as it may, this choice relies upon farmers’ associations and farmers,” said Tomar.
Farmers want either the government to withdraw these laws and guarantee them that the MSP system will continue. The union government has invited the farm union leaders for a conversation on December 3 and assure them that they will find a solution.
