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Indian Famers Protest: Farm Laws Repealed; Farmers have no trust in PM Modi

November 23, 2021 , , ,

In his speech, the Prime Minister also asked farmers to end their protests and return to their homes and families, noting that the government had repealed the laws. However, the protesting farmers' groups and unions have stated that they would not stop protesting or return to their homes until the laws are officially repealed in parliament.

Indian Famers Protest: Farm Laws Repealed; Farmers have no trust in PM Modi newsyouseek

The farmers' protest that has been going on for over a year is the biggest protest in India since independence. The protests and strikes led by the farmers of India against the new laws passed by the central government are considered "legendary" by their supporters and the common people, and this is one of the greatest non-violent protests the world has witnessed. After more than a year of deadlock between the farmers and the central government, the Prime Minister himself announced that the central government had decided to take the inevitable decision and declare their defeat. However, the strike and protest are still ongoing, with protesting farmers and their supporters saying that the PM's statements should not be taken at face value.

What exactly are farm bills? Why do all farmer's organisations across the country oppose the new law?

The government has now passed three ordinances in the Rajya Sabha.

Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020: Expands the scope of trade areas of farmers' produce from select areas to "any place of production, collection, aggregation". Allows electronic trading and e-commerce of scheduled farmers' produce. Prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess, or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for the trade of farmers' produce conducted in an 'outside trade area'.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020: Provides a legal framework for farmers to enter into pre-arranged contracts with buyers, including mention of pricing. It defines a dispute resolution mechanism.

Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020: Removes foodstuff such as cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, from the list of essential commodities, removing stockholding limits on agricultural items produced by Horticulture techniques except under "extraordinary circumstances" requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce only occur if there is a steep price rise.

The rule is that the states must be consulted before legislating on agriculture, which is fully controlled by the states. But all these ordinances were billed in a hurry to blow away all the laws. The Agricultural Producer's Marketing Committee (APMS) decides on matters under the control of the State. This is a move that undermines the federal system of the country itself.

Why are farmers against it?

Farmers sell their produce through state-controlled APMCs (Agricultural Producers Marketing Committees). These APMSs will have agents. To them, the farmers sell their produce. APMCs will have markets in different segments. These committees then market these products within or outside the state. The purpose of such committees is to ensure that farmers get a fair price.

The government's justification is that with the implementation of the Farmers Bill, such APMCs will lose their power and will be free of intermediaries, and farmers will be able to sell their produce directly without intermediaries.

 However, with the removal of APMCs, farmers will be able to sell their goods solely to large corporations directly. As a result, farmers' organisations say that corporations can abuse farmers by fixing prices in their favour.

Corporates will be able to enter into direct agreements with farmers under this bill. It is also a source of concern that when corporations engage into direct agreements with farmers, how many ordinary farmers who lack formal education and literacy would grasp the provisions of the written agreement. How can farmers who labour for a living engage in a legal struggle with big business? As a result, when farmers engage into deals with huge firms, they are more likely to acquire debt.

Another risk in the new laws is that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) may be phased down gradually. In the event of a drop in the market price of an agricultural commodity, producers can sell their items at a government-set support price under the MSP. However, if the MSP were withdrawn, farmers would be unable to sell their commodities and would become indebted once more. The third bill was passed with minor changes to Section 3 of the existing Essential Commodities Act.

Farmers point out that another flaw in the bill is the elimination of the stock holding limit. This implies that the amount of agricultural goods that may be kept is no longer limited. As a result, corporations are free to stockpile agricultural products. These items can then be offered to businesses at greater prices when market demand rises. In brief, farmers claim that the passing of farm laws by the government is a licence for large businesses to intervene arbitrarily in the agriculture sector.

Farmers' organizations allege that with the complete loss of power to the APMCs, corporates will be able to implement their schemes as they see fit and farmers will be completely excluded from the market. In a country where 12,000 farmers commit suicide every year, it is unlikely that they will even have to wait for corporate generosity to sell their produce.

Dili Chalo! (Let’s Go Delhi), The Rise of a Great Protest

Photo from Dili Chalo Movement
Pic Credit: Zee News

On June 5, 2020, the country was in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic when the Centre brought the three Agricultural Ordinance. Protests erupted in the northern states, especially Punjab, almost immediately. The Kisan Sabha held a protest on June 6 by burning copies of the ordinance. When the bills were considered by Parliament in September, the All India Kisan Sangarsh Co-ordination Committee, a coalition of 250 farmers' organizations, including the All India Kisan Sabha, came up with a series of protests.

The Ordinance was passed by a unanimous vote in the Lok Sabha on September 18 The farmers were outraged when the farmer's laws ultimately passed after the violent scenes between the government and opposition in the Rajya Sabha on September 20. On September 25, a nationwide farmers' strike was held.

Following that, all of the protesting farmers' organisations decided to join forces, ignoring their past differences, and organise a farmers' convention on October 27 at the Rakabganj Gurudwara in Delhi. That was the birth of the Kisan Morcha, a joint front with 500 farmers' organizations. After a month of preparation, the Kisan Morcha has called for a "Dili Chalo'" march on November 26.

The police were ordered by the central government to prevent the farmers from entering the capital. But determined farmers overcame barricades and water cannons as well as survived all the police atrocities on the way to Delhi. When the authorities were unable to stop the farmers, they provided Burari Maidan as a venue for the strikes and protests. But the farmers rejected this as they realised the possibility of Burari Maidan becoming an open jail, and the farmers settled at the Sinhu and Tikri borders.

Later, the government attempted to fix the issue by negotiating with farmers, but none of them was successful in ending the protests. Despite 11 unsuccessful rounds of discussions with the central government, the COVID-19 pandemic, the harsh environment, and full responsibility for the Republic Day Kisan Parade devolving into confrontations, the farmers have opted to continue their protests. Protesters laid siege to the Ghazipur border in the first week of December, and then the Palwal and Shahjahanpurr on the Rajasthan border. The protest centres in Palwal and Shahjahanpur, however, were evacuated following the clashes at the Kisan Parade.

Photo from Tractor Rally
Photo Credit: NDTV

During the strike's 85 days, the farmers mounted a state-wide train blockage (Rail Roko). Farmers obstructed the trains, bringing railway operations to a halt in North India. The farmers, who had promised not to back down despite a month-long strike, spent 100 days crossing the Delhi border. Meanwhile, the farmers who came with their families set up facilities for children's education and other activities at the strike site, with the support of individuals and organizations from inside and beyond the nation who backed the protest.

The protesters allege that 14 farmers went missing after the Republic Day tractor parade and never returned home. However, Delhi Police stated that they were not detained. Many supporters of the farmers' protest received notices from the ED and other authorities, including the NIA. IT searches were conducted on the houses of Anurag Kashyap, a filmmaker, and actress Tapasee Pannu, both of whom supported the protests and criticised the central government's policies.

Farmers' organisations claim that 502 farmers died as a result of the strike seven months later. However, the federal government responded that the numbers were unavailable. Meanwhile, conflicts erupted between farmers and police during a farmers' march to the Haryana Raj Bhavan. Twelve rounds of discussions between the central government and farmers' representatives likewise ended in failure. During the discussions, it was reported that the government did not even provide food to the farmers' representatives, who instead ate food brought from the gurudwaras.

False Propaganda Like Wildfire

Many misleading propaganda tactics were conducted during the conflict to weaken the farmers' fighting spirit. These were eventually discovered to be forgeries as part of a conspiracy. A video of a Sikh man chanting pro-Pakistan slogans during a farmers' strike went viral on social media, prompting widespread criticism and suspicion. However, it was later revealed that the video was shot during the 2019 Cricket World Cup in the UK, during which a Sikh man was supporting the Pakistan cricket team.

Another viral video, posted and circulated by the BJP and government supporters, stated that Nazir Mohammed, who had disguised himself as a Sikh during the demonstration, had been arrested by police. However, it was later uncovered that the video was of a Sikh youngster being caught by police during a drug-dealer protest in Mohali, Punjab, in 2011.

Another piece of propaganda claims that Khalistan supporters were behind the protests and strikes. The video of Khalistan organisations marching in the United States was falsely promoted as being from the farmers' protest.

The following false campaign included two images of protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act involved in a farmers' protest. The goal was to establish that anti-national forces were behind both conflicts. However, further investigation found that both images were taken at a protest against the revision to the citizenship law.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted a photo of police lashing out at elderly farmer Sukhdev Singh during the demonstration,. However, Amit Malaviya, the BJP's IT Cell leader, tweeted and said that the images were fake. However, the farmer himself came forward and disclosed that he had been beaten numerous times by police, and videos of the police beating were discovered, and Malaviya's tweet was labelled as a fake.

Numerous other false propaganda campaigns were launched, including the protests were being orchestrated by left-wing extremists and Maoists. However, none of these heinous attempts were successful in quelling the protests or depressing the farmers' fighting spirits.

Finally, The Government Yielded

The three problematic agriculture rules were abolished by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19. In his national speech, he made the important announcement. PM Modi remarked that despite its best efforts, the government was unable to convince a section of farmers.

As a knee-jerk reaction or compromise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that agricultural laws will be a milestone. Many say that the next election and a victory in 2024 are the goals behind this sudden decision by the government.

The decision was taken by the BJP with Modi's political acumen and wisdom. But the opposition sees the retreat as the first blow to his style of dictatorial rise.

The Prime Minister should have made this decision a long time ago. This year-long protest has cost the lives of 750 people. It would not have been this bad if the administration had made this decision sooner.

Famers say they welcome the decision, but can't trust Modi.


Farmers in protest camps celebrated Prime Minister Modi's announcement of the government's withdrawal from the laws by playing musical instruments and dancing on top of tractors. In his speech, the Prime Minister also asked farmers to end their protests and return to their homes and families, noting that the government had repealed the laws. However, the protesting farmers' groups and unions have stated that they would not stop protesting or return to their homes until the laws are officially repealed in parliament.

The protest against the three farm laws and other concerns, according to BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, would continue despite the government's withdrawal, as indicated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tikait told India Today TV in Palghar, Maharashtra, that he had lost trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Tikait stated, "This is just an announcement by the Prime Minister. There is nothing legal in it as of now. So, this movement will continue. Modi would have had the divine realisation now. We have no trust in him." The farm leader said that talks on these issues, along with other related issues were needed. "Show us the legal papers and then the farmers can make a new start. He (the Prime Minister) has the time till 24 (winter session) to contemplate further on the issue," he added. 

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