Tag: Farmers Protest

‘We Are Prepared To Die, Let Govt Test Our Mettle’

By LokMarg

Digambar Singh, a farmer from Bhadana, Punjab, says Narendra Modi machinery underestimated their resolve in putting up a brave fight against Central laws

Iss bar to aar-par ki ladai hai (It is a do or die situation this time). Just how much can the farmer bear? Some things are better left out of the purview of corporates. We are sons of the soil and we understand the land and its needs much better than corporates. The land we till is our mother, and not a profit making machine, even though we all like to earn well.

When I set out from Bhadana (Punjab) to reach Delhi for protest against the Central Agriculture Laws, I was sad to see that midway in Haryana, the roads had been dug overnight so that we couldn’t reach the protest sites. Heavy concrete barricades had also been placed to block us. Farmers were also being badmouthed. Tear gas, water cannons, lathicharge… but our resolve was firm. Nothing is going to stop us this time.

The government says the various laws are for our benefit and will open up bigger and better markets for us. But if I am a farmer who grows his crops in Punjab, should I go and check out the bigger, better markets in, say, Karnataka or should I be busy sowing the crops? There is already a system in place (adhatiyas) for purchase of our crops and the farmers have been reaping its benefits because of a guaranteed MSP.

ALSO READ: ‘A Farmer Isn’t Afraid Of Police Baton, Water Cannon’

Digambar Singh with fellow protesters at UP Gate protest site

Why try fix a thing that isn’t broken in the first place? You may improve on the existing processes but why do a complete overhaul and that too without proper dialogue with the parties concerned. Farming requires groundwork but the new laws are silent on MSP.

At present I am at the UP Gate (Delhi-UP Ghazipur border) with fellow farmers to register my protest and if the government is going to ignore our voice, then we will also ignore their voice during elections. Fir satta se bahar jane ki taiyari kar lein wo (They better be prepared to stay out of power in that case). Farmers across the country have been committing suicide for many years now and this year the Coronavirus has wreaked a deadly blow to our income. This is the time to protect farmers and let them know they are valued.

The nights here are cold, but we are well-prepared. We have brought rations to last us for a few days and we have also brought bhattis along to cook the food. Let’s see for how long we will need to protest. Sometimes you have to muster up all the strength you have to survive. We are not scared of Coronavirus even though we are taking all necessary precautions.

Our kids have lost precious study time, as rural households don’t have easy access to online learning. Our old parents are suffering. I hear the hospitals are in bad shape due to the pandemic pressure. Par jab marna hi hai to kyu na ladte mara jaye (But if we are destined to die, we shall put up a brave fight?). If the government really wants to help farmers, why not do it directly by strengthening the health and education systems in rural, agrarian zones?

WATCH: ‘Shoot Us In The Chest, We Won’t Turn Back’

Protesters have been camping at Delhi’s Ghazipur border for more than a week now

Watch – ‘Farmers Have Been Betrayed Many Times’

By LokMarg

As farmers from Punjab, camping at Delhi-Haryana border, continue with their protests against three Central agriculture laws, the farming community in Haryana has also thrown its weight behind them. To understand the position of farmers in Haryana and Punjab, LokMarg speaks to Veerendra Singh Badkhalsa, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Haryana.

Badkhalsa says there is a trust deficit between farmers and the Centre. The farming community has little faith in the motive behind these new Central laws. Critical of politics behind the laws, he points out that laws brought in by Punjab Assembly have no new provision to safeguard farmers’ interest.

Watch the full interview here:

‘A Farmer Isn’t Afraid Of Police Baton Or Water Cannon’

By LokMarg

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Nirdesh Choudhary, 40, has been protesting at Delhi-UP border for several days in the cold. Choudhary says farmers are willing to endure the hardship for their children’s future

A farmer’s nerves are made of steel and the resolve firm as a stone. We don’t protest on small matters, but when we do the government better sit up and take notice. We can bear hunger, thirst, rain, winter nights and what have you… only to ensure that the future of our children is secure.

After all, we go through all these while working in the fields. Hum raton me kai baar khet pe hi sote hain, bahut zyada thand me bhi, sadkon ki thand hamara kya bigadegi (We often sleep in the fields to take care of our crops, at times in the dead of winters. So, we can tolerate the cold here). I have been using my voice to protest the three agriculture bills since November 28. I went back home briefly to check on my family and house, and am back with renewed strength now.

We are not scared of the police or their batons or water cannons. I was roughed up by cops, but I take it as my contribution to a larger cause. We have put everything at stake to let the government know that this is not the way to treat farmers. The government thinks corporates will bring about another revolution for the farmers, but it won’t.

ALSO READ: When The Farmer Fights Back

We want the government to give us in writing that the MSP will be maintained or the protests can go on indefinitely. Ye kale kanoon hum nahi manne wale. The thing is we farmers have nothing to lose anymore. The farmer was anyway at the lowest rung in the profit chain and the pandemic this year has meant even lesser earnings. Maybe we fight the best when we have nothing to lose. We as farmers are not going to get bogged down this time.

BKU activists at Delhi-UP border protest site

It does get difficult sometimes, like I had to take a bus to reach the spot and then had to walk a decent distance to reach the venue because of the barricades. Sometimes you wonder about your kids back home but then you remember the larger cause and forget the personal issues. We have got our own dry rations to cook and eat here, and all this gets tiring sometimes, but then we take strength from the collective spirit.

Covid looms large but we are maintaining full social distance and taking all necessary precautions; we distribute masks every day and ask people to carry sanitizers. We try to maintain utmost hygiene while cooking, eating etc. However, the government needs to understand that if we survive the pandemic we need something to survive further.

WATCH: ‘Shoot Us In The Chest, We Won’t Turn Back’

The farmer has no safety net at all, no pension, nothing to fall back on except crops, and if even that is taken up by corporates, where do we go? There are few women out here, numbering between 100- 150 and if need be more women will join the protests. Female farmers are one of the most resilient, hardworking and smart people you will come across. We are not scared of risk taking and have the capacity to make quick decisions.

Police barricades at Delhi-UP border near Ghazipur where farmers are protesting

Farmers have decided we will not go to Burari site, we will go straight to Jantar Mantar. I wonder why Modiji said that other parties are misleading us into protesting. As if we don’t have a mind of our own. If we are smart enough to raise crops year after year that feeds the whole country, aren’t we smart enough to make our own decisions? Kisan apne ghar se nikal aaya hai aur is baar baatcheet poori honesty se honi chahiye.

Protest Against Central Agriculture Laws

Watch – ‘Shoot Us In The Chest, We Won’t Turn Back’

By LokMarg

Delhi Chalo protests by farmers is turning violent. The agitating farmers from Punjab appear determined to break every police barrier to reach Delhi and register their protest against Central Agriculture laws. Their chief demand is: making purchase of crops below minimum support price a punishable offence, instead of allowing corporate sector into the sector.

Women, youth, middle-aged and old from rural Punjab told LokMarg that they would prefer being shot in the chest than run away or turn their back. Calling the Central provisions as Black Laws, the protesters are unfazed by police force or water cannons deployed to bar their entry into Capital.

We apologise for the quality of the video. It was shot by the farmers themselves who are keen to tell the world of their determination. We felt it only right to get their message across. Watch the video:

Watch – ‘Punjab Stood As One Against Central Farm Laws’

By LokMarg

In his second interaction with LokMarg. Dr Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, speaks about the achievements of a sustained protests against Central agriculture laws by Punjab farmers over last two weeks. Dr Pal believes Punjab as a whole, including the legislative assembly, has steadfastly stood against the anti-farmers laws by the Centre.

While detailing out the future course of action, he also predicts political repercussions for the National Democratic Alliance at the forthcoming elections in Bihar.

Watch the full interview here

A Farmer and Social Activist from Patiala

‘New Agri Laws Will Turn Farmers Into Beggars’

By LokMarg

Angrez Singh, 56, a farmer and social activist from Patiala, Punjab, explains why he is protesting against the recently-passed Agricultural Bills

Ye Sarkar anndata ko bhikhari bana degi (This (Narendra Modi) government is bent on turning the farmer into a beggar). We can see it coming. First, this government made changes in the labour laws to suit large industrial houses; next it began to bypass environmental concerns for the benefits of mining magnates; and now come the Agriculture Bills. Can’t you see who the real beneficiaries are going to be?

Large corporate players coming in to invest in farming sector means only big farmers with resources and capacity to bargain with these business houses will benefit. Surely, albeit slowly, this will lead to one company having monopoly in due course of time. The same way as it happened in the telecom sector. And it will only be a matter of time when small farmers will be transported to the days of bandhua majdoori (bonded labour).

I feel the mandis were doing good work and acted as a safety net for small farmers across the country. There was a guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) as well as grievance redressal system in place. If all this goes, the farmers will completely be at the mercy of corporates. I am not saying the systems by the previous governments were perfect, but this change in the name of reforms is sure not going to work. You can’t put a whole system down right to the expectation of goodwill and fair play on part of corporates. We need to have checks and balances in place to safeguard the interest of small farmers.

WATCH: ‘Guarantee That No Farm Produce Will Sell Below MSP’

The new provisions were put in place as abruptly as the demonetisation decision was imposed on innocent people. There was no debate, no effort to build consensus and no pilot projects to see whether a plan, law, reform is actually efficient or not. I wonder if we are regressing to pre-Independence times of bulldozer laws because Agriculture Bills seem like a step in that direction.

I am happy that farmers’ groups and organisations across the country are united on the issue. Many a migrant labourers used to work in the farms of Punjab and because of the pandemic most of them had returned to their homes in other states. Today, we are short of farm hands. Producing food is no child’s play; it takes a lot of blood and sweat. While the farming sector can sure do with being better organized, I don’t think turning agriculture into business is a good idea. Ultimately it is the poorest of the poor who will suffer while the rich will get richer.

Agrez Singh with a family member at his native farm in Patiala, Punjab

Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation from the Union Cabinet and the party’s withdrawal of support from the NDA are too little, too late. Akali leaders should have taken strict measures in June when these bills had been brought in as ordinances. This is only a last-minute effort to save face.

India used to face foodgrain crisis for many years after Independence, until the Green Revolution happened. Haryana and Punjab literally proved themselves as the food bowl of the country; other parts of the country picked up afterwards. Many farmers in Punjab and Haryana had come after Partition and had built their lives from scratch.

India is primarily an agricultural country and we consider the earth as our mother. People are emotionally attached to the land and its produce. We believe in sharing food and are efforts are not solely focussed on profits. The government should consider the emotional cost of these Farm Bills as well.

In the short run, only the farmer community might suffer, but slowly the stress will spread to larger sections of society as prices of foodgrains, vegetables and other farm produce shoot up. We hope social media as well as mainstream media understands the importance of these issues and encourages people to think deeply and convey their concerns to the government and I hope the government listens.