First victory of mass struggle against pro-corporate models of development commanded by Punjab farmers

 

 

 

Success of Phase I of farmers struggle is defining moment against anti-people policies  of Modi government

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

The repeal of the three draconian farm laws in the Parliament today by the Narendra Modi government is a historic moment for this the most peaceful and the longest struggle by farmers witnessed in free India that is also a milestone in the fight against exploitative regimes at the global level. This victory is also likely to contribute to shaping up the political discourse in the coming times.

Implemented through ordinance in June 2020 when the country was gripped by Covid, these bills were rammed through in Parliament without discussion. The ordinance route is resorted to mainly due to the urgency of the situation but there was no such compulsion. It was the rough-shod method of adopting this legislation that raised question marks over the intent too of the Modi government that had touted this initiative as pro-farmer.

However, the reaction in Punjab, the state that was going to be the worst affected, was immediate and finally, majority of the farmers organisations despite their differing ideological positions joined hands to launch joint struggle.

This struggle was confined mainly to Punjab in the first phase.

The defining moment came on November 26, 2020 after the farmers organisations gave a call to stage protest in Delhi for two days. The initial plan was to sit in dharna at the very spot 26 where stopped by the police. The defining moment was the minute when the farmers joined by their counterparts from Haryana broke through the barricades put up by the Haryana police on Ghaggar river bridge. The tractors had turned into tanks and the barricades were pushed back. The march finally was stopped at the Singhu border of Delhi. Yet another group marched from Bathinda side the next day and stopped at the Tikri border. Gazipur became the third protest spot. This was the protest the like of which had never been witnessed.

Many of the protesters even fitted air-conditioners in the trolleys that had been turned into mobile homes. Even make-shift hospital came up. Yet another important dimension was the use of social media. Punjabis flooded Twitter to counter the anti-farmer vilification campaign by the Sangh Parivar handles. Pro-farmer hashtags started trending.

The designs to sabotage this struggle too miserably failed.

The struggle marched ahead focussed mainly only on the agenda concerning the farmers. The demands like guaranteed procurement at minimum support price were added later. The first demand was the withdrawal of three controversial laws.

The victory has come at a heavy cost as about 700 protesters have lost their lives ever since the agitation shifted to the gates of Delhi.

This more than a year-long agitation has two very important dimensions.

It is for the first time, perhaps at the global level, that the model of development rooted in the free markets has been challenged at such a scale, and that too successfully.

These three farm laws flow from the agreement signed by India with the World Trade Organisation that curtails the autonomy of the signatories. The advanced countries had already secured their interests.

It is in this context that the success of the farmers struggle in forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw these acts is important. Modi is considered to be the symbol of the corporate model of development flowing from free markets. This model is antipeople.

The second dimension relates to opposition to the divisive politics of the Sangh Parivar and the BJP.

The farmers struggle has brought people from different religious formations on one platform. This thrust should now continue and this is the only way to protect secular fabric and diversity of the country that is under threat from communal forces.

The massive participation of women in this agitation calls for deeper study. This mobilisation could impact the February 2022 Assembly elections in Punjab too.

The issue now is what next.

The next step is the guaranteed minimum support price. The MSP is operationalised mainly in Punjab and Haryana and that too in case of wheat and paddy and it is because of this reason that the farmers agitation has been the most intense in these two states that were just one Punjab before 1966. The MSP is announced for 23 crops.

Besides MSP, it is the procurement that has to be guaranteed. Without market for the product, the guaranteed MSP would have little meaning. Mechanism has to be worked out in this framework.

The opposition should have forced the government, both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, to adopt condolence motion to pay tributes to the farmers who lost their lives during this protest due to callousness  with which these bills were introduced.

The agitation should now be taken to the logical conclusion by forcing the government and the political parties to commit to the pro-people model of development.