❈ ❈ ❈

Emerging Unity of Farmers and Workers A Sign of Hope in India’s Difficult Times

Bharat Dogra and Jagmohan Singh

It is very good that the farmers’ movement has given a call for observing February 27 as Day of Unity of Farmers and Workers. On this day the nation is observing Sant Ravidas Jayanti. Along with other saints of the Bhakti and Sufi movements Sant Ravidas stood for devotion and spirituality which contributes for justice and welfare for all humanity and indeed for all forms of life. Several centuries have passed but if India follows the path of bhakti and sufi movements, the path of Guru Nanak, Sant Kabir, Sant Ravidas and Garib Nawaz then India will become an ocean of devotion and love that leads to justice and welfare and create a confluence of inter-faith harmony which will contribute to great peace, learning and spirituality. Everyone respects Sant Ravidas but there is a special place for him in the hearts of toiling masses, dalits and workers and so it is all the more appropriate that his birth anniversary is being observed as the day of the unity of workers and farmers. February 27 is also observed as the martyrdom day of the great revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad. He was the coordinator of the foremost organization of revolutionary freedom fighters called the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association which placed a lot of emphasis on working among farmers and workers and called upon young freedom fighters in particular to do so. Azad in particular became a symbol of the highest form of courage and determination among freedom fighters. So it is very appropriate that his martyrdom day should be observed as the day of unity of workers and farmers.

At a time of increasing distress of people and the adoption of anti-worker, anti-farmer policies by the government which is also resorting to many undemocratic and discriminative actions and laws in other contexts, this forging of unity and common cause by workers and farmers is welcome. This gives some new hope to the overall agenda of justice, equality and democracy in India in difficult times.

It is a welcome sign that organizations of more or less landless farm workers have also been joining the protest of farmers to some extent, but it is not yet clear how many farmers’ organizations support the cause of at least some land distribution among the landless. On the whole , despite some limitations of the farmers’ movement, this movement as well as the increasing efforts of the unity of farmers and workers should get wide support. The farmers’ movement should consider improvements like getting closer to rural landless workers, ecologically protective farming ( which can also help in checking climate change) and some badly needed social reform efforts.The farmers’ movement has done well to raise issues relating to food security and protecting the public distribution system in particular.

The workers’ movement has increasingly raised issues of much wider public interest including threats from bad debts of banks, privatization of banks and insurance sectors, many sided harm from disinvestment policies as well as the wider systemic plunder by crony capitalism. This should bring in much wider support of concerned and honest citizens. Hence the growing unity and strength of the movements of farmers and workers should be accompanied by these wider concerns to protect food security and overall economy, in the process also widening its support base further.

(Bharat Dogra is a senior journalist and author. Jagmohan Singh is Chairperson of Shahid Bhagat Singh Creativity Center and Chairperson, All India Forum for Right to Education. He is also nephew of Shahid Bhagat Singh and has devoted his life to spreading the ideas and ideals of the great revolutionary and his colleagues.)

❈ ❈ ❈

Rakesh Tikait Warns of March to Parliament with 40 Lakh Tractors, Asks Farmers to be Ready

Abdul Alim Jafri

28 Feb 2021, Lucknow: “This is my appeal to farmers of Uttar Pradesh that they should continue to work in their fields but also keep an eye on their tractors with tanks full of fuel as they may have to come to Delhi any time,” Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait told farmers on Sunday while addressing the ‘mahapanchayat’ at Lakhnaur in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Amid the ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders against the three central agricultural laws, this was the first time after his January 28 outburst that Tikait was addressing a mahapanchayat in Western Uttar Pradesh where scores of farmers from the sugarcane belt came. “Farmers are being conveyed to be ready to leave for Delhi once a call is given. Get your tractors filled with fuel,” he said.

The BKU leader further questioned the ‘silence’ of the central government over the farm laws, claiming that the Centre was attempting to ‘lock their grains’ inside a locker and unleash a ‘business of hunger’. “They (Centre) formulate laws without taking farmers into confidence or consulting farmer leaders and then ask us to point out the shortcomings. When the entire laws are black then they should be taken back. The government want to lock grains inside a locker, and want to do business on hunger in the country — that will not happen,” the farmer leader said.

“It is necessary to hold mahapanchayats across the country because this is the problem of the entire nation and people in rural areas are being connected through it. Dharna will also continue alongside these mahapanchayats. As of now, we have planned programs till March 24. We will travel across the country,” Tikait said. Along with the western part of the state, the mahapanchayats in Eastern UP received good response.

Talking about the roadmap of the protest, Tikait said political parties would not change the fortune of the farmer, instead non-political organisations would alleviate the plight of the farmers. “Corporates are running the government. Had it been vice versa, a solution would have been possible. The fact is that neither the government wants to take back farm laws nor does it want to come up with a law on Minimum Support Price (MSP),” he said.

BKU threatens to gherao Parliament

Tikait warned the Centre of a march to the Parliament if the government did not scrap the three agriculture laws against which farmers have been protesting on several borders of Delhi for nearly three months. He said the outfit would soon announce the date and roadmap for the march towards Delhi. “This time 40 lakh tractors will be there instead of four lakh tractors. Once sugarcane and wheat harvest is over, farmers will reach the protest sites in larger numbers,” he said.

Asking the youth to be prepared for a ‘hal kranti’ (plough revolution), he said, “You are the backbone of the movement and played an important role from day one to mobilise people for the protest. You will remove the hurdles that the government has put in the farmers’ path,” Tikait said.

(Courtesy: Newsclick)

❈ ❈ ❈

‘Supporting BJP My Biggest Mistake’: BKU’s Naresh Tikait at Munderwa Mahapanchayat

Manoj Singh

27 Feb 2021: The Bharatiya Kisan Union’s grand farmers’ meeting at Munderwa in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh on February 25, gave impetus to the movement in the Purvanchal region.

Large multitudes of farmers in green turbans, green-white caps, women and youth gathered for the mahapanchayat in a field near the Munderwa sugar mill, in spite of the fact that the Mahapanchayat had not been publicised much. Shortly after the panchayat started, four-wheelers were stopped by police from entering the assembly venue.

The Kisan Mahapanchayat, which lasted for more than four hours, was addressed by Naresh Tikait, the national president of the BKU. In his address, Tikait alleged that the BJP government is bent on destroying the farmers. “If we lose our lands, and can no longer carry out farming, what will we be left with? We have carried out farming for thousands of years and will not leave our land under any circumstances,” he said.

Tikait urged the farmers to sever all ties with BJP legislators and not to invite them to any events. He added that extending support to the BJP was his biggest mistake and that he never meant for his meetings to become BJP’s election rallies. “Today, the government has clashed with us (farmers). We only want the talks to happen smoothly, the prices of crops to be paid properly, and our soil to be saved,” he said.

Munderwa has been a favourite with farmers as a site of protest for decades. The BKU has a strong base in this area. Diwan Chandra Chaudhary, who hailed from the region and passed away in March 2020, was the national vice-president of the BKU once. Under his leadership, a huge movement was kickstarted in 2002 over cane prices. Three farmers were killed in police firing in these protest.

At the Kisan Mahapanchayat on February 25, all farmer leaders including Naresh Tikait paid homage to Diwan Chandra Chaudhary as well as the farmers killed in the 2002 agitation, Badri Prasad, Jugni and Tilak Raj. Tikait described Chaudhary as the right-hand of the farmers’ union in Purvanchal and also paid tributes to other towering farmer leaders of Purvanchal like Mukesh Chaudhary, Benimadhav Tiwari and Pateshwari Chaudhary. He said that it was the responsibility of the youth to galvanise the current movement which is inspired by their legacy.

The Mahapanchayat was addressed by national vice-president of BKU Balram Singh Lambardar, Mahendra Pal Singh Chauhan, state vice-president of the BKU’s youth unit Digambar Singh, Harnam Verma, Suresh Yadav and others.

Tikait said that the farmer community is hardworking and intelligent. “We will spread the movement from east to west and drive it with discipline. We do not have a personal enmity with anyone, but if someone is in the wrong, we will definitely correct them,” he said.

Tikait said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cast a spell on common people in 2014 and swayed the popular vote in his favour. “Five years into power, Modi said that it took him this long to fix the deteriorated situation of the country. With this, he paved his way to victory once again in 2019. But do you see any improvement? After coming to power, he peddled beautiful dreams to farmers. In 2014, he had promised that if voted to power, his government will fix the price of sugarcane at Rs 450 a quintal. It has been seven years but the promise is not fulfilled yet.”

Commenting on the hike in the price of petrol and diesel, Tikait said that ever since the BJP came to power, the prices have shot up by Rs 55 and Rs 45 respectively but the price of sugarcane has stayed the same. “How will farming continue in such a situation?” he asks. “This government is bent on destroying farmers. If the prices of diesel and petrol have increased, why is the government not granting us subsidy? The government is charging Rs 40 as tax on diesel and petrol. Can’t the Centre and the state government reduce the tax for farmers by Rs 10 each?” he asked.

He narrated an anecdote. “One day a merchant comes to a village and announces that he will buy cats at Rs 100 each. The villagers catch some cats and sell them to the merchant. The next day another merchant arrives and announces that he will buy the cats at Rs 500 each. The villagers have no cats left. So, they begin looking for the first merchant who demands Rs 300 for each cat now. The villagers pay the amount and purchase the cats. But when they go to sell the cats to the second merchant, they can’t find him anywhere. The villagers then realise that they have paid an extra Rs 200 from their pockets to buy the very cats that they cannot even sell,” Tikait said.

“This is how the government is also stealing from us,” he added.

“They have a very dangerous plan. This government wants to do away with street vendors of vegetables, peanuts, and sweets. They intend to sell every item in malls and big shops at hefty prices. Flour will be sold at Rs 50 to Rs 100 in the malls and we will be forced to buy it. The government is also planning to make it mandatory for cattle owners to get an electrical connection of four horsepower.”

Tikait asked to be cautious of the law and its implications on contract farming. “The law states that once land is allotted to a party on paper, it will become their property. This is nothing but fraud. We have given our lands for development. We were told that we will be paid four times the price of the land which is acquired for development, but the farmers whose lands were acquired have been cheated,” he added.

The BKU leader alleged that the government is so afraid of the farmers that it erected concrete walls at the major farmers’ protest sites on the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh border and cemented the roads with two feet long iron nails. Calling it a dharma-yuddh (a war of principles), he said, “Today all the resources have been taken over by 31 industrialists…Many of them fled the country after siphoning off thousands of crores of rupees. You can see what these people will do to the country.”

He said, “The problem of power supply is worsening in Uttar Pradesh. In Haryana, the bill for tube-well usage is Rs 250 while in Uttar Pradesh it has touched Rs 2,000 or Rs 2,200. The state government claims that it is providing free irrigation facility to farmers even though irrigation from the canal was already free. It was not something initiated by the BJP government. This is how the people are being conned.”

“These are testing times. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. The government’s policy is absolutely wrong. Anything can happen to anyone, any charges can be levelled against anyone. But we must maintain peace and keep moving forward…Even after three months, the farmers’ morale is still high and further getting a boost. Farmers from all over India are looking up to our organisation.”

Tikait urged farmers to sever ties with BJP leaders, not to speak to them, turn away upon seeing them, and socially boycott them. “I am not asking for a lifetime ban on BJP MPs and MLAs, but stay away from them as long as the movement is going on,” he says.

He also criticised the prime minister over his “andolanjivi“ (one who thrives on protests) remark in the parliament and called it shameful and hurtful to farmers. “What is our fault? We made the country self-sufficient in food. We are only asking for a law on MSP. Make the MSP mandatory for all. Ours is a fight to save agriculture, to save the land,” he said.

(Courtesy: The Wire.)

❈ ❈ ❈

First Farmers’ Mahapanchayat in Eastern UP Sees Huge Response

Abdul Alim Jafri

26 Feb 2021, Barabanki: Since early Wednesday morning, hundreds of tractors, cars and bikes lined up on the Harakh Chauraha near Haidergarh road of Barabanki district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, unloading scores of supporters, mostly women, who had come to join the protest in the village against three farm laws.

Hundreds walked several kilometres to reach the protest site, singing Awadhi folk songs, waving the tricolour and raising slogans to encourage the movement, which gained fresh impetus a few days ago; Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), held its first ever ‘mahapanchayat’ in Eastern Uttar Pradesh also known as Purvanchal on Wednesday.

This was the first ‘mahapanchayat’ of farmers in the region after a massive congregation in Muzaffarnagar on January 29, then Baghpat, Bijnor and in Mathura, resolving to support the ongoing BKU-led protest at the Ghazipur border against the three new farm laws.

“Mahapanchayat is being organised in Eastern Uttar Pradesh just to create public awareness and to make the farmers conscious about the three farm rules because people in rural areas are still unaware about the implications of the farm laws. It is high time to convey the message to the layman that how the government is doing injustice with the farmers. We have been distributing a handy pamphlet to the marginal farmers in the simplest of languages on the loopholes of farm laws. Hence, the farmers and especially landless farmers who work in the villages during the harvest season will also play a major role in the chaos,” Chandrabhan, a farmer from Jeoli village in Barabanki district told Newsclick, adding that anger among the farmers is intensifying.

The mahapanchayat witnessed the participation of around 10,000 people from Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Ayodhya, Faizabad, Amethi, Bahraich Raebareli, and Fatehpur districts. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, Digamber Singh, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Youth) president, Harinam Singh Verma and Balram Singh Lambardar of BKU addressed the gatherings.

“While Western Uttar Pradesh farmers are joining protests on borders and farmers in Eastern Uttar Pradesh have difficulty in reaching there since there is no train. So, we have decided to hold mahapanchayat in every region including Gorakhpur and Varanasi. Barabanki is known as an entrance gate for Purvanchal and when we successfully mobilised farmers here, the flame we lit here, will continue till the repeal of the black laws,” Verma, vice president of BKU, Barabanki region, told Newsclick,

Attempt to connect marginal farmers

The ripples of the farmers’ protest against the new agri laws on the Ghazipur border have spread further in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s bastion Purvanchal via Western Uttar Pradesh. BKU is taking the agitation against agricultural laws from Western UP to Purvanchal through ‘mahapanchayats’, so that small farmers who cannot reach the Delhi border can be connected.

Usha Devi, a woman farmer associated with BKU walked around 100 km from Faizabad to Barabanki to participate in the mahapanchayat along with her 50 colleagues. Usha, a potato grower, expressed deep anguish over the Modi government’s stand on the Minimum Support Price (MSP). “We are forced to dump potatoes as they are not getting the required MSP for our crops. Our potatoes are sold for Rs 100 per tonne and we have to pay Rs 250 per tonne for cold storage. Farmers are forced to shell out extra money from their pocket for storing the produce,” says a distraught Usha.

Usha says that the cost of growing every kilogram of potato was put at Rs 10-12, farmers sell them only at Rs 3-4 per kg. Even the best quality potato sold at the mandi at Rs 170 for a bag of 50 kilos. “Where MSP has gone now? I would rather give away my potatoes for free to the needy ones but not sell below the costing,” Usha said as she broke into tears.

Surjinder Singh, a young farmer from Sitapur was excited and nervous as well. Excited, because the farmers’ mahapanchayat is being organised in Eastern UP almost after three months, but also nervous as the police is making house arrests, illegally detaining people, arresting and issuing legal threats to prevent them from joining the protest on state borders.

“We have been raising our voice against the farm laws ever since the protest started in Punjab but the Yogi government has put us under house arrest and is threatening us if we give a call for protest in Sitapur. This is the reason why farmers are not being able to join protests on borders, but since Barbanki has given the nod, the protests will reach every nook and corner of Purvanchal,” Singh said.

BKU president Naresh Tikait said the government is under a “misconception” that only the farmers of Punjab and Haryana are in this “battle” and asserted that farmers across the country want the scrapping of the “repressive” legislations.

“The government first claimed that only farmers from Punjab and Haryana are in the ongoing protests and West UP followed suit; they said it was only Jats. What will the government say now after seeing massive gatherings in Purvanchal?” Tikait told Newsclick, adding that the government is under the wrong impression that only the farmers from Punjab and Haryana and Jats are in this movement. Farmers across the country, be it Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Northeastern states or any other place, have the same sentiment,” he added.

Guarantee MSP on crops

Lambardar, vice president of BKU Uttar Pradesh, said due to absence of MSP-based procurement, farmers in Uttar Pradesh are forced to sell their produce at much lower prices. “Maize MSP is around Rs 1,800 per quintal and Paddy MSP is around Rs 1,868 but private traders are buying it at Rs 800-900 per quintal in UP,” he said.

Accusing the Modi government of working for corporate biggies like Adani and Ambani, Tikait said, “We will not let our children become slaves of these corporate families. We will sacrifice our lives but not let this happen.” Tikait said adding that this mahapanchayat was also against big corporate houses.

A similar mahapanchayat was also held on Thursday in Munderwa in Basti district. BKU said it will organise such gatherings in Gorakhpur and Varanasi next month to garner support of farmers.

(Courtesy: Newsclick)

❈ ❈ ❈

UP: BJP Leaders Face Locals’ Ire over Farm Laws, Forced to Return

Abdul Alim Jafri

22 Feb 2021, Lucknow: While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command has been pushing its leaders to reach out to Khap heads in western Uttar Pradesh in a bid to break an ongoing deadlock, the latter’s efforts were met with massive resistance by the former’s leadership, which is ardently against the Farm Laws, on Sunday. Baba Surajmal Chaudhary, the head of the Battisa Khap in Bhainswal village of Shamli district, turned down the offer of a meeting with Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan.

Balyan, the MP from Muzaffarnagar, was visiting the village where the headquarters of the Khap is located. As word got around that the MP would be visiting the village a large group of farmers gathered and started shouting slogans against Balyan. “Sanjeev Balyan Murdabadad, Kisan Ekta Zindabad…Baliyan go back and don’t return till your government withdraws the Farm Laws,” were some of the slogans that welcomed the BJP leaders, forcing them to flee.

“A group of BJP MLAs and MPs led by Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan landed up at my residence without any invitation late at night but we rejected their proposal,” said Surajmal Chaudhary, the 60-year-old who has been actively promoting mahapanchayats in his region against the contentious laws.

“They had come to talk to the Khap leaders about the ‘benefits’ of the new laws but I told them that nothing would come out of their meeting. Either Balyan should resign from his post of union minister to ensure the support by Khaps or approach the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) which is representing the voices of farmers at the borders,” he told Newsclick, adding that BJP leaders were looking for a “photo-op” with influential Khap or gotra leaders to earn some brownie points with their higher-ups and project that the Khaps were not united in their fight against the farm laws.

Gajendra Ahlawat, head of the Ahlawat Khap, who also refused to entertain Balyan, said that he did not want to meet BJP leaders but that they landed up at his place. “Nearly three months have passed since farmers have been camping at the borders against the laws and challenging BJP leaders to persuade them; (over the laws) we are not children waiting to be told about the benefits of the laws. They should talk to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha,” Ahlawat told Newsclick, adding that if BJP leaders were not able to put their demands before the government, they must resign from their posts. “Since we have boycotted BJP leaders they should not conduct such events till the ongoing farmer agitation persists,” he added.

Last week, BKU president Naresh Tikait had warned farmers’ leaders at a panchayat in Muzaffarnagar that they should refrain from inviting BJP leaders to weddings and family gatherings and that if anyone was found doing so, they would have to feed 200 people as punishment or face a social boycott.

Similarly, the outfit’s national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait called for the boycott of BJP leaders in western Uttar Pradesh till the Farm Laws were not repealed.

On Sunday, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan along with state minister Bhupendra Chaudhary, MLAs Tejendra Nirwal and Umesh Malik and the BJP’s western UP president Mohit Beniwal went to the villages to convince the agitating farmers about the supposed benefits of the three laws. However, they encountered their ire.

Dalit activist Sushil Gautam, who has been touring western Uttar Pradesh ever since the farmers’ protests began, said he felt a growing resentment among people against the BJP over the Farm Laws and it would have repercussions for the upcoming assembly elections in the state in 2022. “The BJP has been particularly concerned after the farmers’ protests intensified in western Uttar Pradesh since the state votes early next year. Aside from the farmers, political parties like the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Congress are now organising farmer mahapanchayats which are drawing huge crowds while also giving sleepless nights to the ruling party,” Gautam told Newsclick.

(Courtesy: Newsclick)

❈ ❈ ❈

In Show of Strength at Barnala Rally, Farmers, Labourers Reiterate Support for Protests

Courtesy: The Wire

22 Feb 2021: Over two lakh farmers and agricultural labourers gathered at the Barnala grain market in Punjab on February 21 in a massive show of strength against the new agri-marketing laws. This was one of the first mass mobilisations against the laws that happened in Punjab after the January 26 chaos.

The rally was organised by one of the largest farmers’ unions in Punjab – the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) – along with the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union. Leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – a group of over 500 farmers’ unions across the country – were also present at the event. A large number of youth organisations, democratic activists, servicemen and other pro-people sections also participated in the rally.

The rally was an attempt by the unions to increase the participation of agricultural labourers in the struggle and highlight the “non-religious character” of the protests.

Addressing the gathering, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), said, “There is a need to strengthen the non-religious character of this struggle and to protect it from the interference of the opportunist political parties.”

Ugrahan added that the Modi government tried to communalise the current movement but the unity of those participating in it didn’t let that happen.

Senior SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal called the ongoing farmers’ struggle “historic”. He said that the struggle can only be successful by uniting against the BJP and its corporate nexus. He stressed on the unity between different castes, religions and regions of this country.

Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union state president Lachman Singh Sewewala explained that the new laws are very harmful for the employment and livelihood of agricultural labourers.

“This attack, aimed at ending the public distribution system, is part of a greater imperialist attack on the food security of our country, which has been advanced under the policies of economic reforms directed by imperialist organisations,” Sewewala said.

Highlighting the role of women in the struggle, the women’s-wing leader of BKU (Ekta- Ugrahan) Harinder Bindu said that the agricultural labourers and women farmers are a powerful section of this struggle and that their unity is necessary to make it succeed.

From the stage, she also called for the release of 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi and 23-year-old Dalit rights activist Nodeep Kaur who have been held in prison for participating in the farmers’ movement in different ways.

Hinting at the independent nature of the farmers’ protest and slamming the Punjab Congress government, Jhanda Singh Jethuke, the state vice-president of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), said that the Punjab government should fulfil its promise to repeal the Contractual Farming Act implemented by the Badal government.

He added that the Punjab government should also restrain itself from introducing anything similar to the new farm laws. He stressed that the anti-farmer amendments made to the APMC act in 2017 should also be revoked. In addition, he demanded that the contracts with private thermal power companies should be quashed, and the promise to abolish the debt of farmers and labourers be implemented.

Strengthening the struggle against the laws, the SKM has also released a calendar of events which will be held this month as part of its mobilisation for the movement.

Remembering the peasant struggle under Sardar Ajit Singh, a ‘Pagdi Sambhal Diwas’ will be celebrated on February 23 at all protest sites. The peasant movement of 1907, with which the song Pagdi Sambhal Jatta was associated, had faced repression from the British government at the time. Equating the muzzling of dissent by the British and the present Modi government, the farmers will celebrate the struggle of Sardar Ajit Singh.

On February 24, a ‘Daman Virodhi Diwas’ will be held at the protest sites where farmers and citizens will protest against repressive tactics of the government. On this day, a memorandum will be given to the president of India via tehsil and district headquarters.

On February 26, honouring the contribution of the youth in this movement, a ‘Yuwa Kisan Diwas’ will be organised, and on February 27, on Guru Ravidas Jayanti and martyrdom day of Shaheed Chandrasekhar Azad, ‘Kisan Majdoor Ekta Diwas’ will be celebrated.

❈ ❈ ❈

Farm Laws: With Harvesting Season Here, Focus Shifts on Youth, Workers to Keep Delhi Morchas Running

Ronak Chhabra

22 Feb 2021: When at the end of November last year Delhi was ostensibly laid siege to by the agitating farmers – then primarily hailing from Punjab and Haryana – in protest against the controversial Farm Laws, the timing of their move to camp at the national capital’s borders worked well to their advantage.

In both the states the harvesting of the Kharif paddy and even the sowing of wheat for the new Rabi season was over, resulting in what was described as “free time” for the farmers. They could afford to stay put away from their farmland for months until the laws were rolled back, as their demand goes.

Come the end of February, with the capital sit-in near to the three-month mark, the seeming upper hand that the Samyukt Kisan Morcha – the umbrella body leading the agitation – enjoyed while negotiating with the government interlocutors is no more.

The wheat harvesting period is due within a few weeks, if not days, and that will make it necessary for a section of the protesting farmers, if not all, to report back to their villages. It will be here even as the deadlock with the Centre continues; talks too fell apart last month after a proposal by the latter to keep the contentious laws in abeyance was rejected.

In a press conference held on Sunday the SKM leadership informed the media that planning for the “third stage” of the ongoing movement will be decided after a meeting on February 28.

However, a look at the programmes lined up in the run-up to the said meet suggest that the farmer leaders, anticipating the challenge, are already looking to put a strategy in place to keep the morchas at Delhi’s borders running.

For example, out of the total four events announced on Sunday, two are specifically targeted to attract the participation of the youth and workers to the ongoing protests. On February 26, it was stated, a “Yuwa Kisan Diwas” will be organised; subsequently, the next day, on Guru Ravidas Jayanti and the martyrdom day of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad, a “Kisan Majdoor Ekta Diwas” will be celebrated.

“Both the programmes were announced keeping in mind the upcoming wheat harvesting period,” Dr. Darshan Pal, president of Punjab-based Krantikari Kisan Union, who also holds a prominent position with the SKM, told Newsclick on Monday over the phone. He added that both the events will ensure the “running of morchas at (Delhi’s) borders” with the participation of the youth and workers’ groups at a time when some farmers are expected to “go back home” for a short period.

Gurnam Singh Chaduni, another SKM leader who heads the Haryana-based Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), echoed a similar viewpoint. He further suggested a shift in focus to attract other sections of the society to join the protests came with the added advantage of also projecting the ongoing agitation as a “mass movement”.

“Right now our focus is to make different sections of society to join the protest against the farm laws; turning it into a mass movement. We are doing this by highlighting how the reforms in farming will not just affect farmers, but others as well,” said Chaduni, adding that a lot in this direction had been achieved by the recently-organised mahapanchayats in Haryana.

Celebrated for galvanising the farmers’ protest after spirits were said to be dampened after the Republic Day controversy, these mahapanchayats – large village council meetings – witnessed considerable participation by women, landless agricultural workers, and even those engaged in salaried jobs.

For the wheat harvesting season in Haryana, Chaduni added that a “routine” was also being planned. “Multiple rotations will be made by the farmers, if required. We will ensure that the wheat produce of every farmer is taken care of,” he said.

The need to actively engage with sections of society which are not exactly land-holding tillers is not being felt just by the SKM, but also by other farmer groups active in the protests.

One such faction is the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest farmers’ unions in Punjab, one that is spearheading the protests at the Tikri Border. On Sunday, in a virtual show of strength, BKU (EU) and the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union – its wing which represents landless agricultural workers – jointly organised a “Mazdoor Kisan Maha Rally” in Punjab’s Barnala, in a gathering that reportedly saw over a lakh attendees.

“The huge crowds were the answer to all those who wrongly claimed that andolan pheeka pad gaya hai,” Shingara Mann Singh, state secretary, BKU (EU), told Newsclick over the phone from Tikri Border. He added that with the “Maha Rally” the union was also successful in driving home the point that the ongoing movement was not just about the livelihoods of farmers.

“This protest against the kaale kanoon (black laws) is not only of the farmers, but of farm labourers as well,” Singh said, adding that “to honour the role of women in farming” a call to celebrate the upcoming Women’s Day (on March 8) at border camps at the outskirts of Delhi was also given.

Jora Singh Nasrali, president, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, said that mobilisation drives are currently on to ensure continued participation of farm labourers at Delhi’s borders. “The farm laws will not only affect the livelihood of farmers but also the employment of a farm worker. Also, the PDS (Public Distribution System) will be severely diluted with the reforms – putting food security of these workers in danger,” Nasrali told Newsclick from Punjab’s Bathinda.

He added that after a union meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the preparation of a list of all those union members joining the “Delhi morchas” by February 27 will begin. “We are using the farmers’ protest platform to also highlight the issues surrounding caste-based oppression,” said Nasrali. Majority of the farm labourers in Punjab belong to Dalit groups.

Asked about the contradictions between the interests of farmers and agricultural labourers, most apparent recently during the lockdown, Nasrali claimed that it is imperative for both the groups to first unite to fight against the “privatisation, and corporatisation” that is unleashed by the Centre. “Through this unity, ways to resolve the contradictions will also be found.”

(Courtesy: Newsclick)