Indian PM Modi seems to have acquired the tainted touch, so whatever he touches becomes undesirable. Whether it is the demonetisation decision, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the scrapping of Article 70 that guaranteed autonomy to the Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir state, and now a set of laws concerning the agriculture sector, which farmers from all over the country are opposing.
After getting more into trouble due to the Kashmir misadventure, the farmers’ protest has become the proverbial albatross around Modi’s neck. Protesters have been camping around New Delhi blocking roads leading to the national capital since Dec 8. Farmers are determined to continue their agitation till repeal of the contentious laws. They are braving the cold winter wind camping in tents. Farmers from various states have gradually been joining in the protest, and thousands of farmers from Maharashtra would soon be making it to the protest. Maharashtra tops the list of farmer suicide in India. More than 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since the 1990s. Farmers kill themselves when harvests are bad and they are unable to clear debts owed to moneylenders and banks.
In September, the Indian parliament passed three laws, which farmers say would force them to sell their produce on the open market. Earlier, farmers sold their produce to state agencies that guaranteed them reasonable prices. Farmers contend that the new laws will hand over the agriculture sector to corporations, paving the way for contract farming. If farmers are unable to pay back the advance to the corporate sector in the event of a bad harvest, they would have to sell land or corporations would occupy their land.
The farmers’ protest has garnered international support. Around 70% Indians are engaged in agriculture, and the sector accounts for 15% of the national economy. About 85% farmers own less than two hectares. An official report in 2011 revealed that on average 2,000 farmers were daily leaving their occupation. Farmers’ slogan ‘Why are you so afraid of us that you don’t want to listen to us’ looks like to be the undoing of the BJP government.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2020.
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