Sangh Parivar trying to polarise as the situation heads towards confrontation between farmers and Modi government

 

Situation heading towards confrontation between farmers and Modi government

 

Jagtar Singh

Ground Zero

 

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the three farm acts as being in the interest of the farmers while citing specific instances during his ‘Man Ki Baat’ from various regions of the country, the signal was clear. His strong man and Union Home Minister Amit Shah too advanced the same argument while talking to the media at Hyderabad a few hours later where he had gone for campaigning for his party despite Covid.

The situation signals likely deadlock as thousands of farmers converge to the outskirts of Delhi and reject the conditional invitation of talks. It should not be overlooked that at the time when economy is contracting, it is the agrarian sector that is giving the push.

Unfortunately, the social media sections aligned to the Sangh Parivar and a section of the embedded media has started the nefarious game of attacking the agitation by the farmers for survival as part of some Khalistan design. It is ridiculous. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale too has been dragged into this narrative, overlooking the fact that his memorial stands in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex  which is the highest honour for a Sikh.

The farmers who had yesterday managed to reach Delhi braving all the barriers put up by the Haryana government and the Delhi police have made it clear that they would not accept any conditional offer of talks. Shah had called upon the farmers to shift to Burari ground as pre-condition for talks.

The farmers leaders after prolonged deliberations today rejected the offer and said they would return provided the government repealed these laws along with the Rs 1 cr fine decided by the government for stubble burning and legal sanction to minimum support price structure. There was no need for talks and the government could do it unilaterally.

The situation was complicated due to mishandling by the government as the farmers were to stage dharna in Delhi on November 26 and 27 as part of the call given by their national body, not the farmers organisations just in Punjab. Punjab, however, is commanding the struggle. Farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and some other states too joined their counterparts today from Punjab and Haryana.

Farmers are determined that they would not return without satisfactory solution to the crisis that has been triggered by the enactment of three farm laws. The perception that they would be divested of their lands under the new arrangements has taken strong roots. This is the logic of the model that the Modi government has decided to implement.

The Modi government barricaded Delhi citing Covid but then there was no need to enact these legislations under abnormal situation. What was the hurry in implementing the same? The government could have waited  for the situation to normalise. The spark has been lit by the government.

 No government should be insensitive towards the people. The politicians stage the drama of visiting the poor and taking meals in some hut when seeking votes. Now thousands of people are sitting on the outskirts of Delhi but the ruling political class gives the impression that even  extending invitation is a favour. The colonial mindset of the ruling elite and the administration in India must end. This would solve many of the problems. People have every right to give vent to their feelings and stage protest. What  even a sham democracy is all about, if even this much freedom can’t be guaranteed without creating hurdles?

The social medias of the Sangh Parivar supported by a section of the media has been active to malign the farmers by linking the agitation to Khalistanis. The deeper design seems to be to polarise the situation in Punjab. It is not just a Punjab agitation. The farmers now understand such designs and that is why they want unconditional invitation to be extended to the national leaders too.

The basic issue is that of survival. A simple farmer yesterday summed up the issue saying the consumer too would be the worst affected. That precisely could be the disastrous effect of these laws and the only gainers would be the corporates.

Lastly, the Delhi media should try to understand the difference between Khalistan as a slogan and Khalistan as a demand. And also go through the Supreme Court verdict on this issue.