I have been observing headlines of the leading Indian newspapers over the last couple of weeks; I am stunned to see that the Delhi borders’ farming protest is hardly securing major news on the front page. Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and should report about significant demonstrations like this in Delhi fairly and honestly.
No one is suggesting the media take sides; it is the media’s role to report on the latest events of such importance openly to inform all people across the country and abroad. Punjabis have done a fantastic job raising awareness about the farming protest via social media, although most of this has been in Punjabi.
Many citizens of India and people from other countries, especially people who live in megacities, still don’t understand why the Punjabi farmers took the lead to challenge the new farming laws. Most people also can’t comprehend why the elders and children from farming families are protesting on the edges of Delhi in freezing temperatures away from the warmth of their homes. People want to know how this protest has stayed peaceful so long, and the scenes from the protest site with free food langars and book libraries are telling different stories to the one presented on the Primetime TV channels. I prefer to compose my social media posts in my mother tongue Punjabi. I noticed that there isn’t enough material in Hindi or English on Social media to tell people more about the new farming laws and their impact on ordinary farmers and farm labour. Hence I have decided to write a snippet in simple English to share my views on the “Indian farmers protest” to provide some context for people who never lived in Punjabi villages or experienced farming life. I would also encourage others to create awareness in other languages, especially in Hindi, so that more Indian citizens can understand why the farmers are protesting on the roads and why the others should join this peaceful protest.
In September 2020, when the entire world was busy dealing with the horrors of COVID-19 pandemic. A so-called democratic government of a so-called fast developing country in Asia was busy enacting new laws to remodel how farming is conducted, and how the farm produces are sold & bought across the nation. When in a democratic country the government of the people, by the people, for the people rush to pass and execute new regulations without much of consultation with the concerned communities and prevents meaningful debate in the elected house, one has to think that all is not well (or as they would say locally is that ‘daal me kush Kala hai’). The farming was the only sector in India that economically performed well last year; in contrast, the manufacturing & services sectors came to a standstill due to COVID concerns. India’s GDP went down the pan, and it would have been even worse without the help of Kissan (the farmers). Given that the farming sector was delivering economic results, why did the government rush to make these changes by bringing in ordinances in the parliament that are generally used in emergencies?
Many farmers are concerned that due to the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act (aka the first farming law), the small farmers will lose control over their lands due to legalisation of massive scale contract farming, the wealthy landlords sitting in their air-conditioned offices in suit and tie will start to dictate what and how to grow crops in farmers lands. The massive scale automation will leave many farm labourers jobless without the support network in their villages. Like the supermarkets and malls are eating up small and local high street shops across the world, the big contract farmers, aka corporates, will easily washout the small Indian farmers out of their fields without lifting a finger. Most of the farming population wouldn’t afford the right level of legal aid, and most contracts will end up being in favour of the lessee rather than a lessor.
In Punjab, our ancestors freely ploughed these lands for generations; hence the farmers are emotionally attached to their lands. Farming in Punjab isn’t just a business it’s a way of life. I was born in Southern Punjab, and I saw my father’s generation working hard to grow more food for the country by levelling up fields and enriching soil year on year. Under the “Green revolution” banner Punjab took on the challenge to feed the rest of India so that the country didn’t need to import elsewhere. In the last four decades soil, water and air in Punjab have been polluted due to inadequate Government policies and heavy pesticides. If there is even anything right in these new bills, the ordinary people have lost trust in the policymakers due to their previous mistakes; people are afraid of further degrading their lives and surroundings.
The Governments says that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act (aka the second farming law) will allow farmers to sell their harvest (produces) in open markets. Provision of free market access seems to be a false promise and false hope without legalising the minimum support price (MSP) and without the necessary controls to protect the rights of poor and uneducated farmers from exploitation from the major buyers in the open market. According to the farmers’ unions, this law will destroy the existing Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). They are right about it because this is what happened in other Indian states without MSP. The current APMC markets also fund for the local development and maintenance of roads and supporting infrastructure. It will be a big blow to the local infrastructure development funding if the existing APMCs set-up collapses. The open market access won’t change the selling behaviours due to volumes produced in the farms; the farmers will not afford to sell their harvest in faraway places due to transportation costs. The traders or “commission agents” (aka Artias) in the existing APMC markets are farmers ATMs all year round, and without this support mechanism, most farmers will not have enough money plough their lands and grow crops.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act (aka the third law) removes limits on hoarding essential foodgrains and vegetable; which means large food distributors would easily manipulate markets by tentatively controlling supply and demand. This law won’t just impact the farmers but all citizens in the country; the big merchants would control prices in the market, directly affecting all consumers across India who consume food. This will impact more people in the cities rather than in the villages because villagers will always find a way to grow their food locally, but people in the towns and cities won’t have much choice.
To understand the real impact of these laws on ordinary farmers and their livelihoods, you would need to see beyond just the wording of clauses’ on the white papers. There is a big gap between the policy itself and Policymakers’ intentions. This protest isn’t just about what is being done; it’s also about why and how it is being done. It’s a systematic failure by the policymakers.
Farming isn’t just an occupation in Punjab; it’s a way of life and an integral part of the region’s socio-economic knitting. Agriculture is the core foundation of Punjab’s being. It would be suicidal to replace the existing farming model in Punjab without systematically transforming the supportive subsystems.
The union Government keeps stating that these laws are designed to increase farmers’ income, but they have failed to prove this in practice until now. It has become clear that these laws will leave many farmers across the nation vulnerable hence one of the recent suggestions from the government itself had been to put these laws on hold for the foreseeable future to conduct a review. If they had truly consulted real farmer unions and farmers before enacting these laws, they could have avoided the loss of many farmers lives during the protest.
Many government sympathisers and nationalists need to understand that according to the Indian constitution, only the state governments have the legal right to enact and alter the farming laws. When the politicians celebrate the republic day on 26th Jan, they need to think about the respect they have for India’s constitution.
I am not the one to say that the agricultural reforms in Punjab aren’t required; instead, I would welcome attaining solutions to the region’s farming crisis. The policymakers can only achieve this by understanding the pros and cons of the existing set-up, including the threats and opportunities by directly consulting the farmers and farm labourers.
I am proud of the conduct of Punjabis in this peaceful protest. Many corrupt media companies attempted to colour this protest in many anti-national labels, but the truth always prevails. It’s good to see that significant cabinet member admitted that this is a genuine farmers protest and nothing else.
All eyes are now on the Tractor Rally (Kissan Parade) on 26th Jan in and around the Delhi; I am confident that Punjabis and especially our youth will remain peaceful by following instructions from our esteemed farmer union leaders. I would also encourage non-farmers to support this Kissan Prade, especially people who live in Delhi and the surrounding areas to influence the government to revoke these unconstitutional laws.
The policymakers need to admit that these farm bills don’t address the sector’s core problems so should be repealed straight away. Suppose the union government is earnest about improving farmers’ livelihoods; In that case, they should further invest in research facilities to seek new and alternative farming models. The union government should then work with the state governments to establish independent committees to consult all local parties to draft new state-level regulations to open new avenues for farmers and farming.
Written by – Kanwar Brar Tehna
ਅੱਖਰ 