Indian farmers in no mood to forgive despite Modi's U-turn on reforms
Saurabh Sharma
Fri, November 19, 2021
MOHRANIYA, India, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have caved in https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-modi-repeal-controversial-farm-laws-2021-11-19 to farmers' demands that he scraps laws they say threaten their livelihoods.
But reaction to the shock U-turn in India's rural north, where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces key elections next year, has been less than positive, a worrying sign for a leader seeking to maintain his grip on national politics.
In the village of Mohraniya, some 500 km by road east of the capital New Delhi and located in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, farmer Guru Sevak Singh said that he and others like him lost faith in Modi and his party.
"Today Prime Minister Modi realised that he was committing blunder, but it took him a year to recognise this and only because he now knows farmers will not vote for his party ever again," said Singh.
For the young farmer, the matter is deeply personal.
Singh's 19-year-old brother Guruvinder was killed in October https://www.reuters.com/world/india/son-india-govt-minister-arrested-accused-killing-farmers-2021-10-10 when a car ploughed into a crowd protesting against the farm legislation, one of eight people who died in a spate of violence related to the farmers' uprising.
Thousands of agricultural workers have protested outside the capital New Delhi and beyond for more than a year, shrugging off the pandemic to disrupt traffic and pile pressure on Modi and the BJP who say the new laws were key to modernising the sector.
"Today I can announce that my brother is a martyr," Singh told Reuters, weeping as he held a picture of his dead brother.
"My brother is among those brave farmers who sacrificed their lives to prove that the government was implementing laws to destroy the agrarian economy," he added.
Around him were several police officers, who Singh said were provided after his brother and three others were killed by the car. Ashish Mishra, son of junior home minister Ajay, is in police custody in relation to the incident.
Ajay Mishra Teni said at the time that his son was not at the site and that a car driven by "our driver" had lost control and hit the farmers after "miscreants" pelted it with stones and attacked it with sticks and swords.
'HOW CAN WE FORGET?'
In 2020, Modi's government passed three farm laws in a bid to overhaul the agriculture sector that employs about 60% of India's workforce but is deeply inefficient, in debt and prone to pricing wars.
Angry farmers took to the streets, saying the reforms put their jobs at risk and handed control over crops and prices to private corporations.
The resulting protest movement became one of the country's biggest and most protracted.
Leaders of six farmer unions who spearheaded the movement in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab states said they would not forgive a government that labelled protesting farmers as terrorists and anti-nationals.
"Farmers were beaten with sticks, rods and detained for demanding legitimate rights ... farmers were mowed down by a speeding car belonging to a minister's family ... tell me how can we forget it all?" said Sudhakar Rai, a senior member of a farmers' union in Uttar Pradesh.
Rai said at least 170 farmers were killed during anti-farm law protests across the country. There are no official data to verify his claims.
A senior BJP member who declined to be named said the decision to repeal the laws was taken by Modi after he consulted a top farmers' association affiliated to his party.
The politician, who was at the meeting when the party agreed to back down, said those present conceded the BJP had failed to communicate the benefits of the new laws clearly enough.
Leaders of the opposition and some analysts said Modi's move was linked to state elections next year in Uttar Pradesh - which accounts for more parliamentary seats than any other state - and Punjab.
"What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections!" wrote P. Chidambaram, a senior figure in the opposition Congress party, on Twitter.
But farmers like Singh warned that the government could pay a price for its treatment of farmers.
"We are the backbone of the country and Modi has today accepted that his policies were against farmers," said Singh. "I lost my brother in this mess and no one can bring him back."
Saurabh Sharma
Fri, November 19, 2021
MOHRANIYA, India, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have caved in https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-modi-repeal-controversial-farm-laws-2021-11-19 to farmers' demands that he scraps laws they say threaten their livelihoods.
But reaction to the shock U-turn in India's rural north, where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces key elections next year, has been less than positive, a worrying sign for a leader seeking to maintain his grip on national politics.
In the village of Mohraniya, some 500 km by road east of the capital New Delhi and located in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, farmer Guru Sevak Singh said that he and others like him lost faith in Modi and his party.
"Today Prime Minister Modi realised that he was committing blunder, but it took him a year to recognise this and only because he now knows farmers will not vote for his party ever again," said Singh.
For the young farmer, the matter is deeply personal.
Singh's 19-year-old brother Guruvinder was killed in October https://www.reuters.com/world/india/son-india-govt-minister-arrested-accused-killing-farmers-2021-10-10 when a car ploughed into a crowd protesting against the farm legislation, one of eight people who died in a spate of violence related to the farmers' uprising.
Thousands of agricultural workers have protested outside the capital New Delhi and beyond for more than a year, shrugging off the pandemic to disrupt traffic and pile pressure on Modi and the BJP who say the new laws were key to modernising the sector.
"Today I can announce that my brother is a martyr," Singh told Reuters, weeping as he held a picture of his dead brother.
"My brother is among those brave farmers who sacrificed their lives to prove that the government was implementing laws to destroy the agrarian economy," he added.
Around him were several police officers, who Singh said were provided after his brother and three others were killed by the car. Ashish Mishra, son of junior home minister Ajay, is in police custody in relation to the incident.
Ajay Mishra Teni said at the time that his son was not at the site and that a car driven by "our driver" had lost control and hit the farmers after "miscreants" pelted it with stones and attacked it with sticks and swords.
'HOW CAN WE FORGET?'
In 2020, Modi's government passed three farm laws in a bid to overhaul the agriculture sector that employs about 60% of India's workforce but is deeply inefficient, in debt and prone to pricing wars.
Angry farmers took to the streets, saying the reforms put their jobs at risk and handed control over crops and prices to private corporations.
The resulting protest movement became one of the country's biggest and most protracted.
Leaders of six farmer unions who spearheaded the movement in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab states said they would not forgive a government that labelled protesting farmers as terrorists and anti-nationals.
"Farmers were beaten with sticks, rods and detained for demanding legitimate rights ... farmers were mowed down by a speeding car belonging to a minister's family ... tell me how can we forget it all?" said Sudhakar Rai, a senior member of a farmers' union in Uttar Pradesh.
Rai said at least 170 farmers were killed during anti-farm law protests across the country. There are no official data to verify his claims.
A senior BJP member who declined to be named said the decision to repeal the laws was taken by Modi after he consulted a top farmers' association affiliated to his party.
The politician, who was at the meeting when the party agreed to back down, said those present conceded the BJP had failed to communicate the benefits of the new laws clearly enough.
Leaders of the opposition and some analysts said Modi's move was linked to state elections next year in Uttar Pradesh - which accounts for more parliamentary seats than any other state - and Punjab.
"What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections!" wrote P. Chidambaram, a senior figure in the opposition Congress party, on Twitter.
But farmers like Singh warned that the government could pay a price for its treatment of farmers.
"We are the backbone of the country and Modi has today accepted that his policies were against farmers," said Singh. "I lost my brother in this mess and no one can bring him back."
(Additional reporting and writing by Rupam Jain in Mumbai; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
"After a year of strikes—and having faced brutal repression that claimed some 700 lives—India's farmers are victorious in their struggle."
Various student unions took to the streets of Kolkata, India on November 19, 2021 to celebrate and congratulate the farmers on the retraction of farm laws against which they have been protesting for a year. (Photo: Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
KENNY STANCIL
November 19, 2021
Workers' rights activists around the globe rejoiced on Friday after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will repeal three corporate-friendly agricultural laws that the nation's farmers have steadfastly resisted for more than a year.
"We will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament."
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of over 40 farmers' unions that led the protests, called the development a "historic victory" for those "who struggled resolutely, unitedly, continuously, and peacefully for one year so far in the historic farmers' struggle," India Today reported, citing a statement from SKM.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to repeal three farm laws is a welcome step in the right direction," said SKM, though the organized labor coalition did not commit to ending its mobilization. "SKM hopes that the government of India will go the full length to fulfill all the legitimate demands of protesting farmers, including statutory legislation to guarantee a remunerative MSP [Minimum Support Price]."
Rakesh Tikait, a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, welcomed Modi's announcement but said that "we will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament," where the winter session starts on November 29. He added that in addition to the MSP demand, "the government should talk to farmers on other issues."
Modi's announcement—and the sustained resistance of India's farmers—were celebrated by progressives worldwide.
Workers' rights activists around the globe rejoiced on Friday after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will repeal three corporate-friendly agricultural laws that the nation's farmers have steadfastly resisted for more than a year.
"We will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament."
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of over 40 farmers' unions that led the protests, called the development a "historic victory" for those "who struggled resolutely, unitedly, continuously, and peacefully for one year so far in the historic farmers' struggle," India Today reported, citing a statement from SKM.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to repeal three farm laws is a welcome step in the right direction," said SKM, though the organized labor coalition did not commit to ending its mobilization. "SKM hopes that the government of India will go the full length to fulfill all the legitimate demands of protesting farmers, including statutory legislation to guarantee a remunerative MSP [Minimum Support Price]."
Rakesh Tikait, a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, welcomed Modi's announcement but said that "we will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament," where the winter session starts on November 29. He added that in addition to the MSP demand, "the government should talk to farmers on other issues."
Modi's announcement—and the sustained resistance of India's farmers—were celebrated by progressives worldwide.
Al Jazeera reported that Modi's "sudden concession comes ahead of elections early next year in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, and two other northern states with large rural populations." Opposition parties attributed the prime minister's move to sinking poll numbers, characterizing it as part of an effort to appeal to voters who support or sympathize with the nation's struggling farmers.
According to CNN, "Farmers are the biggest voting bloc in the country, and the agricultural sector sustains about 58% of India's 1.3 billion citizens. Angering farmers could see Modi lose a sizable number of votes."
"The repeal of the three farm laws... is a major political victory for India's peasant movement."
As India Today noted, "Hundreds of farmers have been camping at three places on the Delhi border since November 2020, demanding the repeal of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020."
For over a year, CNN reported, "Indian farmers have fought the three laws, which they said leave them open to exploitation by large corporations and could destroy their livelihoods."
Al Jazeera explained that "the legislation the farmers object to," passed last September, "deregulates the sector, allowing farmers to sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers are assured of a minimum price."
Modi's cabinet said the laws are "aimed at giving farmers the freedom to sell directly to institutional buyers such as big trading houses, large retailers, and food processors," Reuters reported. While Modi claimed the legislation "will 'unshackle' millions of farmers and help them get better prices," opposition parties said that "farmers' bargaining power will be diminished."
Small farmers expressed alarm about the legislation, saying that "the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business, and that they could eventually lose price support for staples such as wheat and rice," Al Jazeera reported.
Beginning last September, farmers from regions of India that are major producers of wheat and rice blocked railway tracks, which was followed by larger, nationwide protests, including some that used trucks, tractors, and combine harvesters to block highways leading to New Dehli, the nation's capital.
Indian Farmers Continue Historic Protests After 250 Million People Rise Up Against Modi's Neoliberal Policies
Brett Wilkins
By last December, "protests spread across India, as farm organizations call[ed] for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with the government," Reuters reported, adding that demonstrations also took place throughout the Sikh diaspora.
In January, "India's Supreme Court order[ed] an indefinite stay on the implementation of the new agricultural laws, saying it wanted to protect farmers and would hear their objections," the news outlet noted.
Over the course of several months, which included a brutal winter and a devastating Covid-19 surge, farmers continued to agitate for full repeal of the three laws. Repression from Modi's right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party resulted in hundreds of deaths.
At the largest rally to date, more than half a million farmers gathered in Uttar Pradesh on September 5, roughly 10 weeks before Modi announced that he will repeal the laws.
In response to Modi's decision on Friday, "farmers at [the] protest sites of Ghazipur, Tikri, and Singhu borders celebrated by bursting crackers, distributing sweets, and welcoming the [government's] move," India Today reported.
The Transnational Institute praised "the resilience, courage, and determination of India's farmers who succeeded in overturning the pernicious farm laws," calling it "the power of movements."
That sentiment was shared by numerous other observers.
"The repeal of the three farm laws—unconstitutional, with no demonstrable benefits, and aimed to expand corporate control over agriculture—is a major political victory for India's peasant movement," said R. Ramakumar, an economics professor in the School of Development Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. "Their resolute struggle has shown and amplified the power of dissent in our democracy."
Priyamvada Gopal, a professor of postcolonial studies at the University of Cambridge, placed the overturning of Modi's unpopular reforms in a broader context, arguing that "the victory of farmers in North India is not a local matter."
"This is a victory of global significance," she added. "Immense class and oppressed caste solidarity, fierce determination, [and] deep courage defeated the combine of chauvinist authoritarianism and corporate greed—our common enemy."
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