Has Modi finally met his match in India’s farmers?
The government’s hopes of turning India into the world’s workshop for global corporations are being strongly resisted
The scene is almost festive. Kanwar Grewal, a popular Punjabi singer, is on the stage performing in front of a spellbound audience. The show is routine, but the setting is unusual. The makeshift stage is a table, a set of borrowed speakers and a microphone, all hurriedly assembled on a roadside kerb. The song is a resounding call to protect the rights of farmers and protest against the new farm laws.
This scene is neither exceptional nor limited to one artist. It has become commonplace in the past months, as massive protests mount against the deregulation of the agricultural sector. The vast assembly of protesters during a relentless pandemic might seem reckless. But it is more a sign of desperation that thousands of famers and workers have camped for weeks at the borders of Delhi during a harsh winter and the risk of contagion. They show no sign of turning back.
The determination of protesters has put India’s ruling party in a tight spot. It was clearly not expecting a nationwide strike during the pandemic. The “world’s strictest lockdown” and the public fear of contagion have been readily leveraged to limit democratic expression of dissent. With various restrictions in place, the Modi government has viewed the pandemic as a rare opportunity to muscle through a number of “tough” market reforms. The guiding principle has been that the crisis is a “time for bold decisions and bold investment … to prepare a globally competitive domestic supply chain”.
The rationale is that the pandemic offers a moment in which global investments could be diverted from China to India. The contagion was not just a public health disaster but also a reminder that China, as the “factory of the world”, dominates global manufacturing and critical supply chains. As the backlash against China has grown, so has the possibility of re-channelling manufacturing to other nations. A new vacancy as the world’s “next factory” seems to have opened up, a vacancy India is eager to fill.
This crisis- as- opportunity approach is accelerating the speed of market reforms that big capital has long demanded. First there was the highly publicised Make in India programme. Earlier this year, it was repackaged as the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India): a competitive and resilient manufacturing hub in the global economy. Its most recent iteration is One Nation, One Market, which envisages India as a consolidated economic unit governed by a strong centralised state – a step that undermines India’s federal structure. Articulated in the language of empowerment, it positions the Indian nation as a single market, with economic resources under the auspices of the state.
The Modi government rushed these laws through without heed to the opposition, which is outnumbered in parliament. This is where the farmers’ protest assumes significance. This is the most major mass resistance that the Modi government has faced, and the protesters are prepared for a long haul. As one farmer said: “We are prepared to stay here for six months and longer if we our demands are not met.”