Commending the country’s farmers for the unprecedented success of their year-long peaceful movement, Chandigarh-based Kirti Kisan Forum, an organisation of retired IAS, IPS and Army officers as well as civil society members on Thursday recommended that the Nobel Peace Prize be given to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of 32 farmers’ unions which led the historic protests.
A special meeting of the Forum’s core committee took place in this regard, hours after the SKM leaders announced that they were calling off the protest and would leave for their homes on the morning of December 11.
Besides achieving what is set out to (the repeal of the three farm laws as well as the acceptance of their other demands by the Union government), the movement’s other achievements were also talked about at the Forum’s core committee meeting, such as strengthening bonds of brotherhood among people from various parts of the country and fostering unity among the masses for a larger, common cause. “The process and achievements of this movement will continue to be researched for a long time,” the committee pointed out.
“All members of Kirti Kisan Forum took part in this struggle with open hearts and went ahead according to their finances. It was also decided that the forum would continue its work in the future to improve the lives of the people of the countryside,” the statement mentioned.
In the statement, the Forum’s patrons, former IAS officers Swaran Singh Boparai and Ramesh Inder Singh, congratulated the SKM for its unique role in protecting the futures of over 50% of the working peasant population of the country and recommended that the Nobel Peace Prize be given to its members.
The statement also noted that the success of the kisan andolan been lauded all over the world. “When the farmers of Punjab rallied a year ago and crossed barricades with their fellow Haryana farmers at the Sambhu border in Patiala, marching for miles and miles, no one knew that this movement would make history. The tenacity and discipline of the peasant agitators against all odds has set new benchmarks for all concerned,” the statement read.
It also remembered the farmers who lost their lives in the agitation for their fearlessness, while also praising the unity and discipline of the farmers’ organisations.
Among those who attended the meeting were P.S. Sahi, Dhanbir Singh Bains, G.K. Singh, Harkesh Singh Sidhu, Pirthi Chand and Sarbjit Dhaliwal.
On December 9, the Union government had sent a formal letter acceding to all of the farmer’s key demands, after which the SKM formally announced that it would lift the dharna from Delhi’s Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders.
Though the farmers had initially decided to celebrate their victory on December 10, they decided to push celebrations back by a day in the wake of the tragic Mi-17 V5 chopper crash which killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other defence personnel.
Talking to The Wire, former IAS officer Singh, who retired as the Chief Secretary of Punjab in 2009 and then served as the Chief Information Commissioner in the state till 2014, said that there were three major reasons for recommending the peace prize for the SKM. “Firstly, the SKM led a prolonged and peaceful protest, which was spread across a geographical area, persuading the power to concede to their demands,” he said. “Secondly, the farmers’ movement led to the unification of plurality, cutting across religious, linguistic, caste and ethnical differences of people.”
“Lastly, people from non-farming backgrounds including women and youth joined this movement on their own in different capacities. We felt that these efforts, which scripted history in the world, need to be appreciated and recommended the SKM leaders for the Nobel Peace Prize,” Padma Shri winner Singh said.
“With the repeal of the three controversial farm laws, farmers arrested the changes which would have led to further decline of agriculture,” he continued.
Another member of the forum, Mohali-based Brigadier Harwant Singh (retired) said that the farmers’ movement set a new paradigm for the entire world. “With high input cost and low output, farming was not a lucrative profession anymore. In a country like India, where 60% of the people are directly involved in farming, leaving agriculture at the mercy of corporates was not correct. The only thing corporates care about is their returns. Had these laws not been repealed, not just farmers, even the consumers would have suffered heavily,” he said.
Brigadier Singh also said that through this movement, farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have not only shown a mirror to the world but have also paved the way for research in this field on how to improve the livelihood of farmers. “The farmers’ protest became a world movement. We feel that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee should look at this recommendation and examine if it is worthwhile. Nowhere in the world has any movement has lasted for one year, that too peacefully and with voluntary participation. It was a spontaneous and organic protest,” he claimed.
Even in the deadly second wave of COVID-19, when everybody was fearing for their lives, farmers continued their agitation, distributing sanitisers and masks and ensuring cleanliness at the protest sites. “Not just langar sewa, farmers also provided educational facilities, books, libraries, medical aid and other basic aid to people. The Nobel Peace Prize committee should definitely study the recommendation and honour the SKM leaders,” he continued.
On an emotional note, Brigadier Harwant took note of how farmers exhibited sensitivity and nationalism by postponing their celebrations in light of CDS Rawat’s untimely death. “It is highly commendable on their part since the farmers richly deserve to celebrate their victory but they decided to postpone it. Even schools should include farmers’ protest in their curriculum,” he said.
Boparai, who retired as the secretary of the Planning Commission in 2002 and later served as vice-chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala said that the farmers’ protest united the country, re-established democracy and taught people that one must persevere in order to gain something.
“What was tried worldwide (the corporate model in farming) had already failed in the US, leading to high suicide rates among their farmers. When the farm laws were passed, no economist spoke against them. But our farmers got together and articulated their demands, uniting the entire country. They proved why this protest was necessary and created history,” he said.
On the topic of recommending the SKM for the Nobel Peace Prize, Boparai said that the farmer’s movement will remain unparalleled in the world for its secular, democratic methodology, rule of law and its contribution to raising economic side of farming. “It is going to have a deep impact on farming across the world. We felt that we should recommend the SKM for the Nobel Peace Prize for its path breaking success and enlightening the world economy about farmers’ distress,” he said.
Dhaliwal, former senior journalist at the Tribune, said that the Kirti Kisan Forum has been associated with the farmers’ protest from the very start. “We held a meeting at Chandigarh where eight members of its core committee felt the need to recommend the SKM for the prize. Our forum has supported the farmers’ movement in different capacities though financial support, writings, providing books, literature, distributing pamphlets besides visiting the protest sites. It has been an Indian tradition to protest peacefully. Even pre-Independence movements were led peacefully and farmers’ set a benchmark through their protest,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the repeal of the three controversial farm laws on the occasion of the Gurpurab of Guru Nanak Dev on November 19, one week before the protest’s one-year anniversary.
(Courtesy: The Wire.)
