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Farmers Burn Copies of Farm Laws Across the Country as Part of Call for ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’

05 Jun 2021, New Delhi: Farmers across the country on Saturday burnt copies of the three Central farm laws in front of homes and offices of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and MPs, observing the completion of a year when these legislations were brought as ordinances last year.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – a collective of over 40 farmers’ organisations- had given a call to observe the day as Sampoorna Kranti Diwas or Total Revolution Day, as the day marks the historic call by legendary freedom fighter Jay Prakash Narayan to free the country from corruption and authoritarianism under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Saturday’s countrywide demonstrations saw significant support from youth, students and women’s organisations. At Singhu border on Delhi’s north-west front, where farmers are camping to protest the laws for more than six months, the leaders of SKM burnt copies of the law. Holding black flags, the farmers raised the slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, among others.

Addressing the gathering at the Singhu border, Vijoo Krishnan a farm leader of SKM said farmers are fighting second struggle to save democracy and livelihoods of people. “On June 5, 1975, Jai Prakash Narayan had given call for total revolution or Sampoorna Kranti. On the same day, last year the BJP government brought in these laws. So, the farmers are fighting this struggle to save both democracy and the livelihoods of people. We have seen the repetitive storms have left our homes in tatters. But please remember, no storm can break our determination to fight these unjust laws.”

Citing an example, he said: “One of the laws aims to do away with APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee). In Bihar, the state government abolished the APMC in 2006. The farmers in the state are hardly getting 50% of the minimum support price. Is this the model we want in every state? We have seen it is political will that can deliver to farmers. Now, farmers in Kerala are getting almost Rs 1,000 above MSP (minimum support price) at the national level. Similarly, the state government has fixed the base prices of 16 vegetables, which if sold below the price, would be procured by the government.”

Krishnan reminded farmers that June 6, was the day when garlic growing farmers were killed by the Madhya Pradesh Police under the BJP government. “So, we need to understand what this government is offering. The garlic growing farmers complained that they should not get a price below Rs 35/kg. The government contended that it should be Rs 27 per Kg. Even if we accept its contention, the reality was that garlic sold at Rs 1 per kg in the Neemuch Vegetable Market whereas the same was sold at Rs 147 per kilo in Reliance Fresh. This is the model they are offering to us,” the SKM leader said.

Away from the border, the protest saw huge gatherings in Punjab and Haryana where farmers peacefully assembled in front of BJP offices and burnt copies of the farm laws. In Mohali and Phagwara, farmers gheraoed the house of Union Minster Som Prakash. While the situation remained tense, police personnel were deputed to avoid any clash. Similarly, farmers organised protest rallies in Barnala, Mansa, Patiala and Hoshiarpur.

In Hisar, at the residence of Deputy CM of Haryana Dushyant Chautala, braving the deployment of hundreds of police personnel, thousands of farmers assembled and burnt copies of the Acts.

The call was also observed in Central, Northern and Southern India with protests happening in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In Chhatitsgarh, the protests happened in Korba, Rajnandgaon, Sarguja, Durg, Koriya, Raigarh, Kanker, Dhamtari, Bilaspur, Champa and Balod among other places. Sudesh Teekam from Chhatisgarh Kisan Andolan, in a press statement, said the protesters gheraoed the office of Bilaspur MP Arun Sao and reiterated that the farm laws are now showing the impact when edible mustard oil is now out of reach of the common man and it is mainly multinationals like Adanis which are extracting the profits. He added: “The farmers are also fighting the struggle to save the biodiversity which would be killed if the extraction of mineral continues in eco-sensitive areas.”

Protests were also observed in Chikballapur, Mysuru and Bangalore in Karnataka and Adilabad in Telangana and various parts of Tamil Nadu.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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UP: Farmers Observe ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’, Burn Copies of Agri Laws

Abdul Alim Jafri

05 Jun 2021, Lucknow: Hundreds of farmers protesting against the Centre’s three new farm laws in Western Uttar Pradesh marked one year of their agitation on Saturday by observing ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ and burning copies of the laws. Led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), the farmers handed over memoranda to the respective district authorities demanding repeal of the laws.

In Saharanpur, farmers held a symbolic protest and burnt copies of the three legislations outside all five tehsil offices and handed over a memorandum to the tehsil officials, BKU district president Rajveer Singh told NewsClick that a group of farmers in the adjoining Shamli district also burnt copies of the laws outside district headquarter, led by its president Kapil Khatiyan.

At Meenakshi Chowk in Muzaffarnagar district, the hometown of BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, a minor scuffle reportedly took place between police and farmers during an attempt to break police barricades. Police personnel had been deployed and heavy barricades put up close to the district magistrate office.

Similar protests were held in Meerut, Baghpat, Etawah, Bulandshahr, Agra, Aligarh, Sitapur, Sonbhadra and Hapur districts among others with farmers raising slogans in support of their demands, a farmer said.

A large number of farmers have been picketing toll plazas across Western Uttar Pradesh since the last one week, allowing commuters to pass without paying, which has caused losses to these companies. The farmers announced they would continue their protest at toll plazas until the farm laws are withdrawn.

Some farmers in UP’s sugarcane belt also recounted the horror of police action during the early days of their protest, when in large numbers they, along with women and children, went to join their counterparts on Delhi’s border. They said the “nightmare” is yet to sink as many of them had to flee from their villages due to uncalled for police raids amid farmers’ protests.

“Police in Western Uttar Pradesh prepared a list of villagers who went to the Ghazipur border for protests. They were threatened not to participate and in many cases, legal action was taken (FIRs were filed). Besides, hundreds of tractors on their way to Ghazipur were seized by the police. The administration did everything to deter farmers from joining the movement but they braved all and created history,” Ajay Singh, a farmer who was severely injured during the tractor parade, told NewsClick.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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Dispute Simmers Between Govt and Farmers in Haryana

Sagrika Kissu

04 Jun 2021, New Delhi: Twenty-five farmers, including women, were released by the Haryana Police on Thursday, June 3, after being detained for protesting at the residence of Tohana MLA Devender Singh Babli. Two of the farmer activists – Vikash Sisar and Ravi Azad – were sent to judicial custody after a local court remanded them.

Meanwhile, MLA Babli has been accused of harassing and hitting a farmer on his private parts during a protest, following which, the farmers have demanded an apology or an FIR for attempt to murder against the legislator.

Further, national president of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Gurnam Singh Chaduni has threatened to gherao all police stations in the state on June 7 if their demands are not fulfilled.

Hours after the farmers’ release, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday accused the Central government of trying to shift the ongoing farmers’ agitation from the borders of Delhi to Haryana. The statement comes in the backdrop of the simmering dispute between the government and the farmers over the withdrawal of the three farm laws.

A few districts in Haryana including Hisar, Fatehabad and Jind have emerged as the hotspots of the farmers’ movement after a series of direct confrontations between disgruntled farmers and police over the visit of Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janata Party leaders. Farmers’ outfits had announced that all legislators including the BJP, the JJP and the independents who didn’t support the farmers’ movement would be boycotted and won’t be allowed entry into villages across the state.

Flashpoints

While Haryana government has maintained that they have no problem with the peaceful protesters, its actions have often demonstrated otherwise. While the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) – with a sizeable farmer base – is attempting to take a moderate stance towards the farmers, the hostility displayed by the alliance has disappointed them.

Recently, thousands of farmers had staged a massive protest against the Hisar Police for lodging FIR against 350 farmers, alleging rioting, attempt to murder and unlawful gathering and spreading of COVID-19.

The charges were against the farmers who had obstructed the inauguration ceremony of a temporary COVID-19 hospital by CM Manohar Lal Khattar which subsequently evolved into a clash between police and the demonstrators.

“The COVID-19 hospital that CM had come to inaugurate was a school turned into a COVID-19 facility. Is it necessary for the CM to open a temporary facility in the midst of the pandemic? Why was it carried out? It is obvious to everyone. They knew there will be backlash from the farmers,” said Inderjeet.

The charges were later withdrawn, which the farmers viewed as a “major victory”.

This is not the first time that the government has taken a hostile position against the farmers, but has maintained it throughout the farmers’ protest. It had started in November last year when farmers from Punjab were blocked at Haryana borders to stop them from reaching Delhi. At Ambala district, water cannons and tear gas were lobbed to disperse the farmers by the Haryana government.

The huge turnout of the farmers in Haryana had surprised the BJP government which had not expected large-scale mobilisation. BKU leader Chaduni had said then, “Haryana ke log jagte bahut der se hai, lekin jab jagte hain to sote use bhi zyada daer se hai (People of Haryana wake up late, but once they do, they go back to sleep even later.)”

When it became clear that the participation of Haryana farmers was not merely symbolic, the BJP-JJP government, was put under tremendous pressure. Several mahapanchayats were organised against the three controversial farm laws which were seen as major “crowd-pullers” with lakhs of participation.

“The government has been trying to establish that the farmers’ protests were politically motivated by the Opposition against the BJP. But this, too, is not working out for them,” said Inderjeet. Another clash had taken place between the police and the farmers in April this year, after the farmers protested against CM Khattar’s visit to Rohtak as a part of their boycott call. A protester and a police personnel were injured during the clash.

“Many divisive statements have been given by the government to control the farmers’ protest. When everything has failed, the government is trying one strategy after another to instigate the farmers,” said Kuldeep, a local journalist.

Meanwhile, the farmers are resolute in their opposition to the three contentious farm laws. “My brother and I are small land holding farmers. If we lose our lands where will we go? Hum bookhe mar jaaye? Humare survival ki ladai hai jo hum shantipurvak ladenge (Should we starve to death? This is a battle for our survival and we will continue to wage this peacefully). We will stop protesting once the government repeals these laws. It is as simple as that,” said Jitendar Singh, one of the protesting farmers from Haryana.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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Far Away From Media Attention, Rural Punjab Keeps Farmers’ Protest Alive

Pawanjot Kaur

01/Jun/2021: Mohali: “Sannu saal ho chaleya, Modi da pit syapa kardey” (‘We’ve been crying against Modi for over a year now but we won’t stop’), exclaimed Gurpreet Kaur, a woman in her late thirties who is the movement in-charge at Baras village in Patiala district. Her two children and her husband accompany her everywhere.

“We have just come back from Delhi. Right now I am at a morcha near my village and our next trip to Delhi will take place after May 30,” she speaks loudly over the phone. A nearby loudspeaker at the protest site she was at kept drowning her voice.

Gurpreet leads a village-level committee for her union, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan). She mobilises over 100 women from the village. Gurpreet is among the many people in Punjab’s rural areas who have become full-time protesters. She has not taken a break from protesting and says that she is unafraid of the consequences.

There’s a person like Gurpreet in every village of Punjab. The deep sincerity in every protester appears to be the very element that has fuelled the movement into one of the largest protests against an elected government in India.

This one-of-a-kind movement has been reeling under a health crisis, which too is a first. It is natural for a large, prolonged movement to have its low points – especially when the media and public look away from it. But, given the scale of the pandemic and its consequences in India, the movement is also fighting a natural and inevitable setback.

Shadow of COVID-19

Over 20 villages in Punjab became COVID-19 containment zones earlier this month. Shocking stories of death from rural parts of not just Punjab but Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have alarmed many.

Sandeep Singh, a young activist from Khamano village has told The Wire that people are afraid to go out. “Hun COVID tan hai hi (There is COVID, you know),” he says. “Nothing can be done about it,” he adds in a dispirited tone. “But when there are protest calls by the leadership from Delhi, we do as much as we can.”

He was referring to the event of May 26 – the day the farmers’ protest completed six months in Delhi. Almost every village participated in a show of support. Those who couldn’t go out of their houses tied black flags to their terraces and balconies.

Last year, when the protest was gaining momentum in Punjab, many in rural Punjab had been least worried about the coronavirus. There was hesitancy towards testing, health teams were boycotted or driven away and masks were made fun of. But this year, several villages themselves imposed lockdown-like restrictions and villagers are now trying to get vaccinated as quickly as they can.

Avtar Singh of Niamian village tells The Wire that there are not any COVID-19 cases in his village, but over 70% of the people there have inoculated themselves. The aim is to get vaccinated so that the protest against farm laws can get “back on track”.

“See, most of us are back right now. But there’s always one person from this village at the border. There has to be. Yes, there’s COVID but we’re also back because we wanted to sell our wheat and sow our paddy. This is our livelihood. But, you see, after we’ve done the sowing, the numbers at the protest site will increase,” Jagroop Singh, another farmer from Fatehpur says.

The support of artistes, youth

But it’s not just about the numbers. This agrarian uprising has made rural communities extremely conscious, especially the youth. Songs and pop culture on social media were major drivers of this last year.

Sandeep Singh of Khamanon accompanied many regional artistes across Punjab during their rallies in the months of December and January. He has told The Wire that some artists have been busy with their families and work, so they don’t see most of them now. But “Jass Bajwa is among the few,” he says, “who started campaigning once again a week ago. He has also toured a few villages talking to young people, telling them that they shouldn’t lose hope in the movement.”

Bajwa is a famous Punjabi singer and quite influential. From Mohali, on May 19, he says that the farm laws must be fought to “save the existence” of farmers in India. He appeals to other artistes to re-join the movement as soon as they can. He says this while announcing the release of his new song on farmers’ movement – Hokka. The catchphrase of the song – “Dilli nu fer dovaara chaliye, dharney to hokka aaya hai” can be loosely translated to ‘let’s go to Delhi again, the movement is calling us’.

Speaking to The Wire, Amandeep Singh Bains, who is behind the Tractor2Twitter account on the social media site, says that in the meetings with their cadre, in the last couple of months, they came to a clear conclusion that it wasn’t the right time to populate social media with content about the farmers movement, instead they took to creating COVID-19 resource kits for those in need.

“We were bothered about decreasing media attention to the movement but soon enough we realised that social media was being used to cry for help. So religiously, for two months, we stopped what we were doing, re-aligned and helped netizens with links to oxygen cylinders, ICU beds and everything else we could. Now that the situation is a bit under control, we will populate our channels differently.”

Sikh diaspora and international support

While there have been calls for the revival of the movement by artistes, the cadre and the farmers’ union leaders, a large part of the Sikh diaspora feel the union leaders should ‘reach a settlement’ with the government. Amaan Bali, a Sikh activist and author, believes that the protest has been allowed to go on without resolution for far too long. He was active in mobilising the diaspora on the internet and amplifying international support for the movement during the peak of the farmers’ agitation.

“I am in close contact with many influential individuals from the Sikh diaspora all over the world. Some have lakhs of followers on social media and I can say on behalf of them that the diaspora feels the farmers should now reach a settlement with the government. This has gone for far too long. Most of us don’t expect the government to repeal the laws entirely. It has to be two steps forward and one step back. Some of us are citizens of progressive countries, we have families, old people back home and are genuinely concerned about the situation of coronavirus as well”.

But in spite of this, the incidents of January 26, Bali says, have also reshaped the opinion of the Sikhs in the protest.

“Sikhs have felt that the comrades (the farmer unions) did not give them their due for participation in the movement. We are unapologetic about the hoisting of the Sikh flag at the Red Fort too. Having said this, there is definitely support for the cause, but most people don’t want to put their lives on the line,” he says.

The said resentment among Sikh groups is a reflection of the diverse nature of this protest. But like Lacchman Singh Sewewala, the general secretary of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, which represents the cause of Dalit landless agricultural labourers tells The Wire that this movement has given a platform to many to raise their demands “but it must be understood by each stakeholder that the repeal of the three farm laws and the legal guarantee of a minimum support price are immediate causes.”

Dalit landless labourers

“We think this movement will let each person achieve what they’re here for. But it’s far from the truth,” says Sewewala. He believes that the repeal of the farm laws will not solve the fundamental issues of agrarian distress, especially those of landless agricultural labourers.

“Old feuds with landowners and agricultural labourers haunt most of us. They are remembered. Many agricultural labourers have died fighting for their due, but this is the time to stand against the privatisation of agriculture and everything else can follow,” he says.

The harvesting and sowing season coupled with the pandemic restrictions has decreased the already small support of Dalit agricultural labourers. As part of the revival of the protest, Sewewala says he is raising awareness among labourers in the fresh rounds of mobilisation.

“We’re saying that if today they’re together with the landowners, tomorrow the landowners will speak out in favour of land rights, loan waivers and employment as well,” he says.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has given a call for a Sampoorna Kranti or total revolution on June 5. Farmers will burn the copies of the farm bills and remember Indian independence activist Jayprakash Narayan’s similar call for total revolution against the Central government in 1974.

“It is with spaced out events like this, the movement will gain momentum again,” says Abhimanyu Kohar, a leader of the SKM

Talks with government and ‘political damage’

Kohar says that the farmers are willing to talk with the government about their demands. But with a deadlock this strong, there isn’t much left to talk about between the two sides.

“It is unfortunate that the government has been putting conditions on us for talks. But at least from our side, we are open to the invitation,” he says.

Meanwhile, farmers’ unions and many across Punjab feel that it’s not the talks but the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh that will determine the fate of this protest. Especially after the loss of the BJP in the panchayat elections – a strong marker of rural and agrarian sentiments in the state.

“We have already announced ‘Mission UP’, where we will mobilise rural communities against the BJP’s failure in reviving the economy, a grim failure of managing the COVID-19 crisis in the state, and will definitely raise awareness on minimum support price,” he says.

Citing victories in the breaking the alliance of SAD and BJP in Punjab, deep hostility against the Khattar government in Haryana and the loss of BJP in the West Bengal elections, Kohar believes that UP will be a big loss for the Modi government. A situation where rural communities are pacified by a guarantee in MSP will be a win-win for both sides.

(Courtesy: The Wire.)