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Mahapanchayats in Madhya Pradesh
Shinzani Jain
21 March 2021: With massive participation of regional farming communities, farmers’ agitation against farm laws has gained wider support in various North Indian states. In the last two months, scores of massive Kisan Mahapanchayats have been held in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Following their lead, farmers from Madhya Pradesh (MP) have also begun to make their presence felt. Since February, close to 40 panchayats have been organised in different regions of MP. The Mahapanchayats held in Sheopur, Rewa and Jabalpur are reported to have discomforted the state government with a participation of more than 15,000 farmers in each.
Joint Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Badal Saroj, said, “After the events that unfolded in Delhi on January 26, it was decided that we need to take the movement to our respective regions. We decided to begin with the parliamentary constituencies of the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar – Morena and Gwalior.” Tomar was elected to the sixteenth Lok Sabha in 2014 from Gwalior. In 2019, he changed his constituency to Morena and was re-elected.
Both Morena and Gwalior are a part of the Chambal region where Kisan Panchayats are being organised on a daily basis since February 2020. In district Morena, Kisan Panchayats have been organised in Sabalgarh, Kailaras, Deora and Morena proper. The Panchayat held in Sabalgarh saw participation of more than 5,000 farmers. In district Gwalior, a total of eight panchayats have been organised including in villages Mohana, Kuleth and Tighra.
Chambal is a relatively prosperous region of Madhya Pradesh with better irrigation facilities as compared to other regions which are completely dependent on monsoon rains for irrigation. Located within the parliamentary constituency of Tomar, Sheopur is also a part of Chambal region. The Mahapanchayat of March 8 was held in Sheopur where more than 15,000 farmers poured in to hear speeches of farm leaders Rakesh Tikait from Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) and Amra Ram, Vice President, AIKS.
Explaining the reasons behind the enthusiastic response of the state’s farmers to Panchayats Radheshyam Meena, a farm leader from Sheopur, said that the farmers have now understood that there is nothing for them in these laws. He added, “BJP members are also trying to organise meetings in villages but the resentment and anger of farmers has made it difficult for them to even organise these meetings. Even Narendra Singh Tomar has not visited his constituency since the agitation has started.”
Discussing the repressive measures undertaken to curb farmers’ Panchayats, Meena said that the government has filed multiple cases against farm leaders and five FIRs have been filed against him. “They want to weaken the movement through these measures, but the more they try to repress us, the more the movement will be strengthened,” he added.
Expanding to other regions of MP, Panchayats have been organised in districts Rewa, Satna and Singrauli in Vindhya Pradesh. The most successful Mahapanchayat in the region was held on March 14 in Rewa with attendance of about 15,000 people including small and medium farmers, landless labourers, workers from cement factories in Rewa and Satna and Anganwadi workers. This Mahapanchayat saw significant participation of women. Amongst the senior leadership that addressed the farmers in this gathering included Rakesh Tikait, Amra Ram, Major Singh Punnawal (General Secretary, Punjab Kisan Sabha), and Dr. Vikram Singh (Joint Secretary, All India Agricultural Workers Union).
On March 15, another Mahapanchayat was organised in Sehora in Jabalpur district which was attended by more than 15,000 farmers. Panchayats with an average of 500-1,500 farmers are also taking place in villages in Malwa and Mahakoshal on a daily basis. In Malwa, six major Panchayats have taken place in Shajapur, Sehore, Dhar, Ratlam and Badwani. In the fifth region of Bundelkhand as well, farmers have started mobilising.
Alongside the Panchayats in MP, Kisan mobilisation has also begun in Chhattisgarh. In the last week, three Panchayats have been held in Bastar, Darbha and Raigad with an average turnout of 150 farmers from the Adivasi community. In the coming two weeks, 20 more panchayats have been planned.
The dedication of the farmers and their families towards the movement is such that they have been celebrating all familial occasions on the site of dharnas. On March 18, the commitment of the farmers in Rewa was reflected when Sachin Bihra and Aasma Singh got married on the premises where a dharna has been going on since January 3. The father of the groom is the District General Secretary of AIKS, Rewa and has been involved in the movement since the beginning.
Bihra explained, “It was not possible for our family to withdraw from the movement to make arrangements for our wedding. We have resolved to continue our struggle till the three farm laws are repealed. So, we decided to get married at the dharna site. The bride also comes from a family of farmers and they were supportive of this decision.” The bride and the groom took their oaths swearing on the Constitution of India and the families rejected all forms of ritualism. The expenses incurred in the ceremony were borne by the Kisan Sabha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
Talking enthusiastically about the intended message of this wedding, AIKS leader Girijesh Singh Sengar asserted, “while we are fighting to protect agriculture and our livelihood, it is also our responsibility to simultaneously fight the regressive traditions in our society.” Bihra added, “Through this initiative, we wanted to send across our message to the government and the society that the movement cannot be stopped and we will fight against the black laws until they are repealed.”
(The writer is an author and a research associate with Newsclick. Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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As Gujarat Tries to Scuttle Protests, Farmer Groups Form New Platform to Oppose Agricultural Laws
Aarefa Johari
Mar 21, 2021: Since December, farmers in Gujarat have made several attempts to join the huge protests at the borders of Delhi against three new agricultural laws.
Most of these efforts were stifled by the Gujarat authorities: the police would detain farm leaders before they could even leave the state, and only small groups managed to get to the protest sites outside the Capital.
Now, farmer groups in Gujarat are making a renewed effort to make their voices heard in the protests against the new laws, which they claim will open up India’s agricultural markets to corporate exploitation and undermine their livelihoods.
On Saturday, over 100 farmer leaders representing organisations across Gujarat announced the formation of the Kisan Sangharsh Manch or KASAM, a state-wide platform that aims to launch decentralised district- and block-level protest movements against the new laws.
KASAM was formed on March 20 at a private meeting of farm leaders that Scroll.in attended, in Surendranagar district’s Mera village. The group was largely composed of farmer organisations from North Gujarat, as well as representatives from South Gujarat and the region of Saurashtra, each of whom pledged to mobilise hundreds of farmers within their networks to join the agitation.
KASAM members announced that their first protest – tiled “Haiyya Holi” – will take place on March 27 on the eve of the Holi festival.
“In villages across Gujarat, farmers will burn copies of the three black laws and dedicate our protest to Holi Mata,” said Lalji Desai, a prominent leader of North Gujarat’s Azad Kisan Sangathan and one of the founders of KASAM. “After that we will announce more andolans [campaigns].”
Yakub Guraji, a farmer leader from South Gujarat’s Bharuch district, said farmers in the region were less aware of the implications of the farm laws than their counterparts elsewhere because it was a “BJP stronghold”. “We will be raising more awareness,” he said.
Protesting in disguise
“There is a perception among people from other states that Gujarat’s farmers have no problem with the three farm laws and are happy with them,” said Lalji Desai, who is also the chief organiser of Seva Dal, a national grassroots organisation affiliated to the Congress party. “Our aim is to change this perception.” Desai claimed that in reality, the situation in Gujarat is like an “undeclared emergency”.
Several farmer leaders present at Saturday’s meeting echoed this assessment of the Gujarat state authorities’ response to grassroots farmers’ movements, particularly those who are opposed to the controversial farm laws passed by Parliament in September.
Karan Desai, general secretary of the Maldhari Vikas Sangathan, an organisation working for maldharis or cattle-owning pastoralist farmers, said: “In Gujarat, every andolan or discussion is surveilled by the government.”
Palbhai Ambaliya, the chairman of the Gujarat Kisan Congress in Saurashtra region’s Devbhoomi Dwarka district, said he was detained several times by the police when he tried to organise protests in December and January.
On December 6, 23 organisations from across Gujarat made their first attempt to create a state-wide, non-partisan platform to opposethe farm laws. The Gujarat Kisan Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti planned to bring 3,000 farmers to Gandhinagar on December 11 and then travel to the protest site at the Shahjahanpur border between Rajasthan and Haryana by December 14.
“But from December 9 itself, the police began making house arrests of farmer leaders, saying we could not go to the protest,” said Ambaliya. “I escaped house arrest by changing my car and phone, shaving my head and going to Udaipur in disguise.”
Eventually, only 300 out of the 3,000 farmers – many of them in disguise – made it to Shahjahanpur, led by just four of the 24 leaders who had initiated the forum. The Samanvay Samiti platform dissipated soon after that.
Yakub Guraji, the farmer leader from Bharuch, also had to put on a disguise to join the December 14 protest at Shahjahanpur. “The police had detained me for 18 hours the day before, telling me I could not go to Delhi, but ultimately they had no grounds to lodge an FIR against me,” said Guraji, the head of Bharuch’s Khedut Hitrakshak Dal.
Strategic difference
At the March 20 meeting, farmer leaders claimed that KASAM would adopt a different strategy to protest the new farm laws.
“Earlier our aim was always to go to Delhi to join the protest,” said Ambaliya. “Now we will set up the movement here in Gujarat itself, with local-level protests.”
The group also aims to reach out to every village in the state to raise awareness among farmers and other residents about the potential impact of the three laws. Their concerns are shared by farmers across the country: the laws, they fear, will destroy the system of minimum support prices that has helped farmers sell their produce at a basic fair price to government agencies in case they are unable to sell at market rates.
“These laws will also destroy the mandis [local wholesale markets for agricultural produce] where farmers sell their goods,” said Karan Desai of the Maldhari Vikas Sangathan.
He added: “The laws favour big companies who will buy from farmers at a lower price than they currently get, and sell it to the public in big malls where everything will be more expensive. So the laws affect everyone – farmers, maldharis, workers, women and the middle-class.”
(Courtesy: Scroll.in.)
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Farmers Denounce New FCI Guidelines, Protests Held at Govt Mandis
Courtesy: Sabrangindia
20 Mar 2021: Farmers at many mandis in India demonstrated against the central government’s agri-related policies on March 19, 2021 in response to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) call for the same.
“The Government of India’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) has brought in new quality specifications and procurement norms in a direct attack on the procurement regime and ongoing protests,” said the SKM adding that farmers submitted memoranda from different protest locations across India in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, for Shahadat Diwas of ‘Muzara Lehar movement’ – the movement in the early twentieth century that secured rights for oppressed tenant farmers – family members of martyrs were felicitated at the Tikri Border protest site on Friday. Families were warmly welcomed by protesters. Bengaluru farmers also paid their respects to martyrs during a well-attended Shraddhanjali meeting on the same day that was joined by SKM leaders.
While these activities took place at Delhi borders, Punjab’s farmer unions joined hands with Arhtiya Association representatives in several places with meetings at Sangrur, Barnala, Jagraon, Rampura and other districts to oppose the new FCI guidelines. Protesters submitted memoranda to Deputy Commissioners. In Kurukshetra and Sirsa of Haryana, mandi secretaries received memorandum addressed to Modi.
In the spirit of a united front by peasants, the SKM extended its full support to the call given by Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions against privatisation of public sector entities and against the four recently enacted labour codes. Farmer leaders also expressed full support for the panchayat to be held at the tehsil- and district-level on March 24 and March 25.
Other initiatives of farmers’ movement also continue such as mahapanchayats in Odisha and Sitamarhi district of Bihar. The Mitti satyagraha that started from Maharashtra has now passed by Barwani Rajghat region in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. Another march, the Kisan Mazdoor Jagriti Yatra from Uttarakhand reached Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh recently and convinced many traders associations and public to make the Bandh call for March 26 a success.
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Farm Laws: Farmers, Workers and Women Begin ‘Padayatra’ from Mathura
Abdul Alim Jafri
19 Mar 2021, Lucknow: The five-day ‘padayatra’ from Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura to the Palwal border in Haryana was flagged off by Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), in the presence of senior farmer leaders, on Friday, to mark the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on March 23.
Farmer leaders including Uttar Pradesh Kisan Sabha (UPKS) secretary Mukut Singh and Uttar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Union (UPKMU) general secretary Bri Lal Bharati were also present.
National Highways leading to the national capital were swamped with farmers who came in from as far as Etawah, Basti and Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as from the sugarcane belt in western Uttar Pradesh. Farmers, workers and women took a pledge to ensure the success of the ongoing farmers’ agitation against the three Farm Laws.
The padayatra will cover around 95 kms in four districts over a span of five days. “The padayatra is being conducted from two districts in Uttar Pradesh — Mathura and Bulandshahr – and will arrive at the Palwal Border on March 23 to mark Bhagat Singh’s death anniversary, also observed as Martyr’s Day,” UPKS president Bharat Singh told Newsclick.
“As it passes Mathura more and more farmers from other districts will join the convoy and extend support to farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders for the last four months while braving the cold and now the scorching heat,” he said, adding that a large group of farmers from the sugarcane belt will participate in the agitation.
Meanwhile, to widen the ambit of the protest against the three farm laws, a 22-day tractor march from Ramraj in Muzaffarnagar district began last week. It will culminate on March 27 at the Ghazipur Border where farmers, under the leadership of Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Rakesh Tikait are protesting against the laws.
(Courtesy: Newsclick)
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Haryana: Farmers, Workers Take Out Padyatra Ahead of Bharat Bandh Call on March 26
Ronak Chhabra
18 Mar 2021, Hansi/Haryana: Anecdotes of sacrifices made by people in what was termed as India’s ‘First War of Independence’ in 1857 are known all too well across the region around Haryana’s Hansi city. The British government had crushed over 100 persons under a road roller here as punishment for participating in the ‘sepoy mutiny’. The historic road, known as Lal Sadak or Red Street, signifying the blood of those killed, bears testimony to the struggle of the people.
On Thursday afternoon, it was here that thumping drumbeats and raucous vocals galvanised the crowd and set the mood for what is coming to be the next phase for the ongoing farmers’ movement against the three farm laws brought in by the Narendra Modi government.
Right next to the memorial to the martyrs of 1857, the place was teeming with farmers and workers. They were assembled under the aegis of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella of around 40 farmer unions, and Haryana’s worker groups to set out for a “padyatra” (foot march) highlighting their demands.
The march – there will be a series of them — will also begin from Haryana’s Jind, Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura and Punjab’s Khatkar Kalan, and will culminate at the border protest sites in Delhi on March 23, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
Notably, Khatkar Kalan is also the birthplace of the revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, from where farmers will march on Friday.
At Hansi’s Lal Sadak, as the march began on Thursday, if the “common enemy” were the corporate houses, a binding factor was the fear of being at the receiving end of the “draconian” policies of the Modi-led Central government.
As such, a common refrain among the protesters was: that the Centre’s idea of ‘development’ is “anti-people”, and must be protested tooth and nail.
Said Saroj Kumari, a resident of Hisar district, who is in her 40s: “The Modi government is selling everything – almost all the PSUs (public sector units) – thereby jeopardising the livelihood of everyone.”
Kumari, who’s an advocate by profession, said: “Do we need more reason to join the farmers’ movement and turn it into a people’s movement?”
Likewise, Ishwar of Rohnat village claimed that if the Modi government doesn’t pay heed to those “who elected them in the first place”, there would be a “revolt”.
“Just like the martyrs of 1857, we also won’t shy away from sacrificing our lives, if it comes to that,” said the 47-year-old.
According to estimates, nearly 300 protesting farmers have already died due to varied reasons, ever since farmers started camping at the outskirts of Delhi in November last year.
Among the leaders who were present on Thursday in Hisar was Gurjeet Kaur, niece of martyr Bhagat Singh.
“The credit for the continuance of the ongoing agitation must be given to the people – it is they who are sitting at Delhi’s borders, braving winter, rain and now summer,” said Gurjeet Kaur. She warned the Modi government of an “uprising” if it doesn’t resolve the issues at the earliest.
Meanwhile, slogans paying tribute to the freedom fighters and terming the BJP-led Central government as “no different than the British government” rent the air, as the protesters marched.
Among the slogans that summed up the message was: “Modi Sarkar Bhagao, Desh Bachao.”
(Courtesy: Newsclick)
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SKM Finalises Bharat Bandh on March 26; Progessive Associations to Join
Courtesy: SabrangIndia
18 Mar 2021: Thanking Indian farmers for the historic peasant struggle, many progressive organisations pledged full support for the Bharat bandh on March 26, 2021 and committed to mobilising thousands of people into protest sites, while farmers attend to wheat harvesting operations.
On March 17, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) organised a meeting with trade unions from organised and unorganised sectors, arhtiya associations, workers’ unions including agricultural workers unions, transporter associations, teachers’ associations, youth associations and others at the Singhu border.
“We will fight, not just in Punjab but all over India. All members have asserted that the movement will have to continue with a renewed vigour. The government needs to withdraw laws such as the recent policies regarding FCI [Food Corporation of India]. If it doesn’t, we will make announcements on March 18,” said All India Kisan Sabha Finance Secretary P. Krishna Prasad.
Following the meeting, leaders stated that shops and vehicles will be shut down during the bandh that will be observed as a “Janata bandh”. Moreover, the SKM pointed out that the central government had sanctioned the discussion of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 despite promises to dispose of the legislation during Centre-farmer meetings.
Prasad furter said, “The central government is cheating us. This is the Prime Minister’s biggest cheating. They told media persons at the time that 50 percent of farmers’ demands were granted. Now, accept demands were not granted. Apologise!”
Further, farmers announced a Shaheed Yadgar Kisan Mazdoor Padyatra between March 18 and March 23. The first phases of the march will start on March 18 from Lal Sadak Hansi in Hisar district of Haryana and will reach Tikri Border. The second padyatra will start from Khatkar Kalan village and pass through Panipat before reaching the Singhu Border. The third padayatra will set off from Mathura before it reaches Palwal. Later, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab farmers will join Shaheed Diwas events marking the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on March 23.
Similarly, in Karnataka, a 400-km padayatra is underway with good participation in villages along the route. After completing the march in Ballari on March 23rd, the soil being collected from the villages en route will be brought to Singhu Border on April 6. Here, a memorial is being planned for the martyrs of the movement.
Regarding the Delhi police force, the SKM noted that officials had increased the barricading around protest sites.
“This illegal and irrational act of Delhi Police is condemned. The SKM demands that the police remove such barricading including on internal roads so that the life of locals can be kept easier and their livelihoods protected,” said SKM leader Darshan Pal.
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Anti-Privatisation Day: Over 1 Lakh Protests, Video Message to UNHRC and More
Courtesy: Sabrangindia
16 Mar 2021: Farmers and workers in over one lakh locations across India protested the privatisation of the public sector on March 15, 2021, by observing ‘Anti-Corporatisation, Anti-Privatisation Day’. Peasants assembled in front of offices and railway stations in rural areas and suburbs areas as well.
Farmer leaders addressed gatherings in cities. In Delhi, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) members highlighted increasing petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. Trade union leaders and farmers alike spoke about the decreasing budgets for education, health, water resources, sanitation, and MGNREGA while rising petrol and diesel prices impact the cost of all essential commodities touching all aspects of life. Later, participants across India submitted memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to district collectors and sub-district magistrates.
Meanwhile, SKM leader Darshan Pal addressed the forty-sixth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in a video message on Monday. He stressed how the three farm laws – the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services Act, the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act – violated the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas of which India is a signatory.
Farmers at Sunehra-Jurehra border commemorated the martyrdom day of late King Hasan Khan Mewati with a mahapanchayat. Participants, who came from nearby Mewat district, pledged their continuing involvement in the movement. A large number of women were present during the event that honoured the sacrifices of people who died during the battle with Babar.
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50,000 Railway Stations Across India Witness Demonstrations by India’s Peasantry!
Courtesy: Sabrangindia
15 Mar 2021: Around 50,000 railway stations across India witnessed demonstrations by trade worker unions on March 15, 2021 Anti-Privatisation Day to protest the anti-people policies of the central government.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) General Secretary Tapan Sen told SabrangIndia that all states across India sent in reports of demonstrations outside railway stations and public sector companies, in addition to the demonstrations held in front of public sector banks. In some areas, protests continued on till Monday evening to decry the central government’s plans to privatise the public sector and to corporatise sectors like agriculture by introducing new farm laws.
Farmer leaders also joined the agitations outside New Delhi railway station. In Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, a protest meeting was held in front of Central Electronics. CTUs and SKM leaders addressed the meeting. States like West Bengal, Assam, Telangana and Punjab were some of the places where farmers and peasants came together to decry the central government’s laws.
Specifically in Punjab, Contract Employees Struggle Morcha leaders participated at the district and tehsil-level in response to trade unions’ calls. State leaders such as Varinder Singh Momi demanded that both central and state governments should back away from privatisation policy.
This agitation against privatisation will be continued on March 16 as well by bank employees who have long since been voicing their distress regarding the privatisation of PSUs. As per a joint workers pamphlet, March 17 will observe a general insurance strike and March 18 will witness a strike by LIC employees.
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Mitti Satyagraha Begins on the Same Day as the Historic Salt Satyagraha!
Courtesy: SabrangIndia
13 Mar 2021: On March 12, 2021, 40 people gathered at Wadala to observe a ‘mitti (soil) satygraha’ organised by a collective of people’s movements from across the country to symbolise resistance to the forces of crony-capitalism that are “destroying India”.
Commemorating the historic salt march carried out by Mahatma Gandhi during the Independence struggle, organisers announced a soil march from March 12 to April 6 wherein participants will pick up a fistful of soil and pledge to defend India’s fields, rivers, lakes and the public sector form private corporates.
“Soil symbolises natural resources, farms, forests and all that is threatened to be privatized. Farmers’ struggles have always been a quintessential part of India’s history. Thus, we have reaffirmed our commitment to the values enshrined in our constitution, and defend our democracy and country,” Feroze Mithiborwala told SabrangIndia.
The first phase of the mitti satyagraha will go on until March 28. The decentralised event will visit nearby settlements and discuss the recent farm laws, labour codes and pressing issues in Maharashtra.
“So, this is not simply a single-agenda movement but a holistic movement to bring up pressing issues of the people. The movement will bring together farmers, workers and the people. We are trying to keep the march as simple as the original march,” said Mithiborwala.
The first phase of the march will then be concluded by burning copies of the three farm laws – the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services Act, the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act – in the Holi bonfire.
Accordingly, marchers will then head towards Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and conclude the event at Delhi’s protest sites. Before reaching Singhu border on April 5, members will visit the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar district and collect the soil from there.
The collected soil will be presented to farmer leaders to create a memorial for the near-300 farmers who died during the farmers’ protest. Members hoped to create a Smarak at every protest site along Delhi.
Similarly, since the Wadala salt pans from where the event began is also part of the historic salt satyagraha, organisers asked the Maharashtra government to create a memorial there to commemorate the 100 years of the Non-Cooperation movement.
The Friday event was attended by respected freedom fighter Dr. G G Parikh. Speakers spoke at length about the recent peasant uprising.
