Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
India farmers await 3 laws’ demise
They revel ahead of parliament session to scrap legislation
NEW DELHI — Thousands of jubilant Indian farmers waving green and white flags Friday marked the anniversary of their yearlong movement by celebrating a victory that forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw three agriculture laws that the farmers feared would drastically reduce their incomes and leave them at the mercy of corporations.
Using tractors, jeeps and cars, farmers from New Delhi’s neighboring states last November converged on the highways on the outskirts of the capital, braving a harsh winter, a scorching summer and a devastating coronavirus surge.
Farmer groups are continuing to camp out, mainly at Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur border points with New Delhi, waiting for the laws to be officially withdrawn during a parliament session scheduled to begin next week. Modi announced Nov. 19 that he would rescind the laws.
Rakesh Tikait, a top farmer leader, said they also want government assurances of guaranteed prices for certain essential crops, like wheat and rice — a system introduced in the 1960s to help India shore up its food reserves and prevent shortages. He demanded that the government set up a committee to settle their demand.
“We are not going away until our other demands are met,” he said. There was no immediate response by the government.
Lal Kumar, a 42-year-old farmer, said “Modi has accepted defeat.” With his farm income, Kumar said he was not able to look after his family properly.
Farmers worried that the now-withdrawn laws would have left them at the mercy of corporations that would have no legal obligation to pay them guaranteed prices.
For Modi’s government, the demonstrations were its biggest challenge yet. Experts say key state elections in February-March could be a major reason behind Modi’s reversal.
Farmers form the most influential voting bloc in India and politicians have long considered it unwise to alienate them.
Elections next year will cover Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, states where Modi’s party hopes win back or shore up its rule. The three states have a sizable farmer population, particularly Punjab.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janati Par-
ty is in charge in Uttar Pradesh but is under immense pressure over its response to the pandemic and the struggling economy. If farmers desert his party, it will not only shrink its prospects to form the state government for a second term but also weaken its chances to get an overwhelming majority in 2024 national elections.
Over the past year, dozens of farmers died by suicide, bad weather and covid-19 during the demonstrations, which drew international support.
The protest has been largely peaceful. However, violence erupted on Jan. 26 when thousands of farmers stormed New Delhi’s historic Red Fort and briefly took over it over and hoisted a Sikh religious flag. Most are members of the Sikh minority.
At least one protester died, and several were injured, as were more than 390 police officers.
The effort isn’t over yet. The farmers have vowed to continue their protests until the government submits to another demand, that it guarantee a minimum price for nearly two dozen crops. Rather than retreat now, they sense an opportunity to push even harder on a prime minister who is nervously watching his party’s poll numbers dip in a string of states with elections next year. The government has said it will form a committee to consider the matter.
India’s farming system still needs to be fixed, a fact that even many of the protesting farmers acknowledge. Initiated during a time of widespread starvation in the 1960s, the system created centralized markets where farmers could sell their crops. Some of the proceeds are funneled back to farming communities through infrastructure projects, pensions and programs providing free technical advice on matters such as seed and fertilizer.
Today, that system has contributed to inefficiencies: The government subsidizes waterintensive crops in droughtstricken lands. Farming focuses on staple grains while more nutritious crops, such as leafy vegetables, are neglected.
Most of the 60% of the country employed in agriculture survives on subsistence farming. While some farmers enjoy middle-class lives, helped by modern aids such as tractors and irrigation, many others do not see a profit and are in debt. With city and factory jobs hard to find in a country still struggling with poverty, many farm children emigrate to find a better life.