Farmers triumph in sweeping push for repeal of laws
NEW DELHI — In a major reversal, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Friday that he would repeal the controversial agriculture laws that sparked a yearlong protest from tens of thousands of farmers and posed a significant challenge to his administration.
Farmers, who form one of India’s most influential voting blocs, have camped on the outskirts of the capital since November of last year to demand the withdrawal of the laws, which they feared would dramatically reduce their incomes.
Modi’s surprise decision, in a televised national address, came ahead of elections early next year in key states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab that are significant agricultural producers and where his Bharatiya Janata Party is eager to shore up its support.
The prime minister urged the protesters to return home, but the farmers have said they will stay put until the laws are gone — a process that will begin in December when Parliament sits for its winter session.
“While apologizing to the nation, I want to say with a sincere and pure heart that maybe something was lacking in our efforts that we could not explain the truth to some of our farmer brothers,” Modi said during the address. “Let us make a fresh start.”
The move represented a rare reversal for the leader, who has stood firm in the face of fierce criticism over other steps his government took, such as revoking Muslim majority Kashmir’s semi-autonomous powers. He also backed a citizenship law that excludes Muslim immigrants, even in the face of sometimes violent protests.
But farmers are a particularly influential voting bloc in India — both for their sheer numbers but also because and they are often romanticized as the heart and soul of the nation. They are especially important to Modi’s base and make up substantial portions of the population in some states his party rules.
“Modi projects himself as a bold, determined leader who doesn’t back down. And yet he’s done just that, to a farmer’s movement that his government had maligned for months,” said Michael Kugelman of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center in Washington.
Modi had long defended the laws, which were passed in September last year, as necessary to modernize India’s agricultural sector. But farmers feared they would end a system under which the government guaranteed prices for certain essential crops — first introduced in the 1960s to help shore up food reserves and prevent shortages.
Modi’s party was also criticized for refusing to extend debate on the legislation — renewing accusations that it has too often used its majority to ram through laws without consultation.