Resolve all issues democratically

The nationwide chakka jam (road blockade) called by the farm organisations passed off peacefully on Saturday. During this time, dharnas were organised from Kashmir to Karnataka. As expected, the chakka jam had the highest impact in Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Uttarakhand were exempted from it. This is because Bharatiya Kisan Union leader, Rakesh Tikait, had announced that it was time for sugarcane cultivation and people needed to go to work in their fields. He also expressed fears that miscreants would try to orchestrate violence to discredit the movement in these states.

But why did Tikait alone make this announcement? This should have ideally come from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha during its press conference. Does this suggest a problem among the protesters? However, the morcha’s spokesperson later clarified that Tikait had made his announcement with the consent of all the organisations .

But the statements by Tikait and the morcha spokespersons could also have been due to the fact that they wanted to take a step back since the blockade call did not find much traction in these regions. Had they not acted, the movement could have been dismissed by detractors as being confined to only a few geographical areas.

The farm agitation around Delhi has now been on for months. Much has been written about the events of January 26. What happened at Red Fort that day was appalling and the farmers’ leaders were deeply embarrassed by this. At that time, it almost seemed that the movement was coming to an end.

It was only when Rakesh Tikait went on a hungerstrike, saying that he would drink water only from his village that the movement got its second lease of life. His impassioned appeal to stay the course revived the flagging movement and the influential Jat khap panchayats in Haryana and western UP seemed re-energised. These days, across many cities and towns of this region, mahapanchayats are being held to support the agitation. Due to participation of all religions and castes, old social equations have got a fresh lease of life. Will this affect electoral politics? The upcoming panchayat elections in UP may hold some answers.

Why did this happen?

The alleged attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’S Ghazipur legislator to disrupt proceedings at a protest site was a political misstep. Earlier, many people were calling the agitators Khalistanis. When the Nishan Sahib was hoisted at Red Fort, attempts were made to spread rumours that the Tricolour had been insulted. All of this deepened alienation.

Many of these incidents caught the attention of the international community, and led to artiste Rihanna, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, United States Vice-president Kamala Harris’s niece Meena Harris and others to comment on the protests. This was an opportunity handed to them on a platter. If we do not want outside interference or unwanted comments, then we need to solve our problems in a just, peaceful and democratic manner. During this time, the police took some extreme steps when caution and restraint were the need of the hour. Its steps at the Delhi border have disturbed many in the area. People are forced to travel long distances to work. There has been a decline in the movement of workers and goods to factories. There is no way for ambulances to reach hospitals. The internet is often closed in the surrounding areas. With this restriction, children are unable to study online with examinations approaching. The agitators are forced to fight for water and toilet facilities.

The arrest of two freelance journalists reporting from the ground has brought disgrace to the police. Had they not been arrested, their social media posts may not have attracted so much attention. Rather than registering a case of sedition against some senior editors, it would have been better if their transgressions, if any, had been dealt with using more appropriate methods. Calling journalists and farmers traitors diminishes India in the eyes of the world.

Farm organisations had successfully kept politicians away from their agitation before the events of January 26. But, now they are meeting political leaders from the Opposition regularly. Though these political leaders are not being allowed to speak from the stages at the protest sites, their entry into the movement has complicated things. Many of the Opposition politicians who are opposing the farm laws today had earlier supported them.

There is no doubt that the agriculture sector needs reforms and the government wanted to do the same through these laws. If the farmers do not understand this, then the government will have to find some new ways to reassure them. Most of those sitting in protest on the streets today stood with the ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha elections. The ruling dispensation must think about the trust these citizens had reposed in it.