Skip to main content

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leaders after prolonged deliberations today rejected the offer and said they would return provided the government repealed these laws along with the Rs 1 cr fine decided by the government for stubble burning and legal sanction to minimum support price structure.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.

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Damage to institution of Akal Takht symbolising Sikh sovereignty more important dimension of current crisis in Sikh domain

  Ideological Damage to Akal Takht most important dimension of Akali Crisis Ground Zero By Jagtar Singh The Sikh religio-political discourse entered a new phase on Baisakhi 2025 — the historic day on which Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699, created the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib, completing the ideological foundation laid by Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith. Significant developments emerged from the well-attended Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) conference held at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib on April 13. It was the first major public appearance of Sukhbir Singh Badal since his re-election as party president on April 12, marking his return to the helm after a brief interregnum. Sukhbir, who first succeeded his father, Parkash Singh Badal, as party president in 2008, resumes leadership of a party long dominated by the Badal family—an influence that has spanned over three decades, the longest in the SAD’s history. For months, the religio-political landscape of Punjab has remained i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Akal Takht intervenes to reset Sikh religio-political discourse

  Akal Takht intervenes to reset Sikh religio-political discourse Ground Zero Jagtar Singh Chandigarh, Dec 8: The Sikh religio-political domain has the tendency to dictate religio-political discourse of Punjab whose polity is different from other regions in the country. This is the state where a national dynamic minority is in majority. This minority was the third entity in all the political negotiations leading to India’s independence. What happened in Punjab on December 2 has to be reviewed in this backdrop as this development is going to have far-reaching impact not only on the future of the Shiromani Akali Dal but also the political tendencies at several levels. It is pertinent to mention at this stage itself that the Sikh religio-political discourse is presently affecting even India’s geo-politics, especially in the American sub-continent in the context of the activities of a section of the Sikh Diaspora. December 2 was unprecedented in the history of more than a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Killing of Sidhu Moosewala is chilling reminder that all is not well with Punjab but not the time to indulge in blame game

  Something continues to be wrong with Punjab going by killing of Sidhu Moosewala Ground Zero Jagtar Singh   The killing of  Punjabi pop star Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu popular as Sidhu Moosewala is more than shocking. It has not only numbed Punjab but has triggered shock waves across the seas. The only inference that can be drawn from this tragic end of a young icon is that something is not right with Punjab, despite illusion created by degenerated political elite of so called normalcy. It is the system that has to return to normalcy. It has not. The unabated degeneration in the system at times tend to play havoc. This is not the time to play blame game. Rather this is the time to rise above parochial political interests. Punjab needs consensus to facilitate the return of this historically disturbed state and the injured psyche to return to normalcy. And it is not an easy task. What Punjab lacks at this juncture is a role model. After all, Punjab is not a state like any other...
Post a Comment
Read more