MP farmers take protest to Twitter, Facebook
Mandsaur (MP), June 10: One hand on the tractor wheel and the other on the phone ready to tweet. That was the informal instruction spread amongst protesters here, many of them youngsters who defy the stereotypical image of the traditional Indian farmer.
Despite the lack of a central leadership, the farmers’ movement spread rapidly through Mandsaur and nearby districts through the canny use of photos, videos and texts on social media. So much so, that authorities have suspended internet services.
According to police officials in Mandsaur, the centre of the protests, around 80 per cent of the protesters fall in the 16-30 age group. They are tech savvy, own smartphones and have been using Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to spread information and mobilise people for the protests. “This is the first time in the history of the state that a movement like this was built through these internet tools,” said Kedar Sirohi, leader of the Aam Kisan Union.
“Our message to farmers was to keep one hand on the tractor steering wheel and the other on the phone to send tweets,” he said.
The lack of a central leadership left the government in a fix as they did not know exactly who to negotiate with. The June 4 meeting between Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the RSSaffiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and another farmer body, the Kisan Sena, was a case in point. After Chouhan announced sops for farmers, the two organisations declared that they would withdraw the stir.
However, the protests by the farmers, who are demanding a loan waiver and better prices for their produce, raged on. — PTI