In Ghazipur, farm protests take a turn

After the unacceptable violence and vandalism on Republic Day, the farm movement had lost the moral high ground. A majority of protesters were demoralised and upset about how their movement had been hijacked. But the effort by the Uttar Pradesh government to clear the Ghazipur border last week, and farm leader Rakesh Tikait’s passionate appeal to persist with the protests, changed the situation in three ways. It led to a revival in the momentum of the protests; the key geographical base of the agitation expanded from Singhu and Tikri to Ghazipur; and it has created a real political challenge for the government.

The farm movement is the most serious mass movement in the last six years. But as long as it was largely confined to the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, the government’s political calculus was that this would not lead to a major electoral backlash against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its stronghold regions. But developments in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) has changed the calculus. Since the 2013 riots, with a breakdown in Jat-muslim relations, Jats in large numbers moved to supporting the BJP. This has not always been an easy relationship, but over three elections, in 2014, 2017 and 2019, their support has helped the BJP in maintaining its dominance in west UP. With state elections a year away, the party is worried about alienating this large demographic in a crucial state.

But no side should think it has the upper hand in this constantly shifting dynamic. This newspaper continues to believe it would be best for farm groups to take the government’s offer of an 18-month suspension of the laws and join a consultative exercise to come up with a revised framework. The R-day violence and Ghazipur developments only show the dangers of a prolonged stalemate for both the State and the protesters.