Indian Farmers Protest

There is a feeling of frustration rising among the farmers of India, enough that disputes and clashing are occurring. Most of the protesting farmers are from Punjab and Haryana, but other areas are holding their ground on their own. A majority of Indians rely on agriculture for their income and that dependence only grew ever since COVID-19, so the three farm acts that were recently passed greatly upset the population. Ongoing protests ever since August 9, 2020 demonstrate no sign of ending any time soon.

By September 27 2020, the two houses and president of the Parliament of India have all given their approval for three farm acts. The first is the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce Act which opened the trade of produce to areas outside of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), enabled e-trading of produce, and prohibits state governments from imposing taxes and fees on buyers, sellers, or e-trading platforms outside of the “trading area” provided by APMC. This act sounds beneficial, but it was subject to a multitude of criticisms. Such criticisms include being accused of incentivizing farmers to exchange their produce outside of APMC, which harms them since it was supposed to be the designated commonplace for all produce transactions. The second is the Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act which supposedly protects farmers from buyers by providing the framework for two parties to come together and create a contract that establishes a fair price for the goods ahead of time. It also defines a conciliation process to settle disputes if any should rise. Again, it sounds beneficial for the farmers, yet it has its share of criticisms. Farmers claim that this act favors the private entities that are buying their goods since their interests can be overshadowed without proper regulation. It would be easier for the buyers to get the deal they want since farmers do not have the money for court. The third is an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act which removed cereals, pulses, potatoes, onion, edible oilseeds, and oils from the list of essential commodities. Furthermore, the number of stocks on these items that can be held per person was limited and will only increase when the price of the product increases. Even though the Parliament of India had the farmers in mind, many of them (and even other people) believe the acts favor businesses and corporations much more, resulting in the protests.

Farmers want the recently passed farm acts to be repealed in fear that they’ll be subject to the unfairness of corporations and buyers even more than they already are. While India’s government wants to “unshackle farmers and private investment” (Mashal) to encourage growth, farmers want the government to regulate and watch over the agriculture industry in order to protect them. Without the government intervening, farmers will no longer be guaranteed minimum prices for certain crops which helped them overcome some of their financial troubles. Unfortunately, no demands have been met and no compromises have been agreed upon yet despite this movement lasting for about six months now. This stand-still prompted farmers to change their tactics and the once peaceful protests turned violent. On Tuesday, January 26, farmers riding tractors, wielding melee weapons, and carrying flags stormed into New Delhi during a military parade. Their tractors broke through barricades which enabled them to overtake the Red Fort, a palace that was once used for the rulers of India. Officers, on the other hand, wielded assault rifles, batons, and tear gas. Police officers retaliated with force and beat protestors in order to push farmers back.

The farmer’s protests grew to the point that Twitter got involved. The popular social media service blocked accounts related to the protests in India and censored many tweets. The blocked accounts criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party and the government felt their authority was being threatened. Many accounts also used “the false hashtag ‘ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide’ ” (Perrigo). Regardless, Twitter’s actions drew plenty of backlash which caused them to undo the mass blockages. The protests continue and the two sides don’t seem to be able to reach an agreement as of now.

References

Mashal, Mujib, et al. “India's Farmer Protests Explained.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/world/asia/india-farmer-protest.html.

Perrigo, Billy. “Twitter Blocks Accounts Linked to India Farmers Protests.” Time, Time, 1 Feb. 2021, time.com/5935003/india-farmers-protests-twitter/.