Longest peaceful fight by Punjab led farmers for survival culminates in victory

 

 

Historic victory of Punjab driven longest, most peaceful, farmers national struggle for survival

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

The farmers have finally won their historic struggle for survival, the longest in India since 1947 and unprecedented in recent history at the global level.

That the massive united fight by farmers was against the government at the Centre led by Narendra Modi, the Strong Man who rose from the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh rooted in ideology of Hindutva, is a small dimension of this multifarious struggle that provides new hope to the people fighting for their rights not only in India but on this entire planet.

This struggle that originated in Punjab and spread to the entire country through Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, is multi-dimensional with far-reaching consequences on the political economy at one level and the social dynamics on the other. The empowerment of women is one of the most important dimensions of this secular protest.

This is the first Punjab origin struggle since 1947 that has reached the logical conclusion. Punjab has the history of the longest and the most intense struggles, both peaceful and radical in the post-partition era in India in which thousands of people went to jails and hundreds of others sacrificed their lives.

All these struggles were essentially Sikh struggles but concerning Punjab interests.

It was the Sikh psyche that was the driving force at the first stage behind the Kisan Struggle as the farmers in Punjab are mainly the Sikhs. It is the people from this very section that had been participating in earlier struggles too.

However, no other struggle has been taken to the logical conclusion as this one, although the cost has been high as more than 700 protesters have sacrificed their lives on this altar, again mainly from Punjab.

This struggle was sparked in Punjab against the three farm laws promulgated in India through ordinance when the country was faced with Covid crisis. These laws were rammed through Parliament without discussion in September 2020. The reaction in Punjab was immediate and the strongest as this is the state that was going to be the worst hit followed by Haryana, the two states where the minimum support price architecture for wheat and paddy is well organised.

These laws were a direct attack on federalism that has been a major issue in Punjab’s struggles over the years.

The struggle turned national on November 26, 2020, as the Punjab farmers joined by their Haryana counterparts pushed aside all barriers and barricades to reach the gates of the national capital. They never looked back.

Here was agitation the like of which was never seen by the Delhi media earlier. Temporary townships with more than basic amenities came up at three points around Delhi where thousands of protesters-men, women, and children- came to stay.

Never before an agitation has witnessed such massive participation by women, especially from Punjab and Haryana.

The people at large slowly came to realise that the farmers struggle was not for some profits but concerned the interests of every citizen of the country-the consumer. This struggle has saved the consumer of India from corporate sharks.

Yet another aspect is that it has made those in power accountable. This is an important dimension that must now be taken to the next level.

Here was the struggle in which the political leaders of all shades were kept at a distance. This aspect turned out to be the major strength in the long run and saved it from opportunist political negotiators.

The farmers ideologically rainbow leadership has over time evolved as the major pressure group and this is the beauty of this long protest. Ideological contestations have not been allowed to intervene.

The target initially was just one - the repeal of the three laws that were perceived to threaten the very survival of the farmers by pushing them out of the farm sector which was the main object of these laws. This is the free-market model that has pauperised the farmers even in countries like the USA.

In brief, the farm struggle has questioned and confronted the divisive political discourse that was being aggressively resorted to by the Sangh Parivar affiliates since 2014. This struggle has united India, at least the rural India, the people who are rooted to the soil. This is a big challenge to the divisive architecture constructed by the Sangh Parivar.

This struggle has challenged the free-market model of development and proved that it is anti-people. Ironically, the political class in the country stands for free-market model. Rather the political parties have arrived at a consensus on free-market model. Now they would face the challenge. This would impact governance and growth models in the coming period.

The empowerment of women is a wonderful dimension of this sustained agitation. Every woman in Punjab and Haryana who has participated in this agitation can now take to the stage and every woman has evolved as a fine orator.

For Punjab, it is the first such success of peaceful mass struggle ever since this state- particularly the Sikhs- came into confrontation with Dilli Durbar. This dimension was very dominant at Singhu border today. Dilli Jit Ke Punjab Challiyaa.

It is a victory of the forces of federalism against designs of homogenisation.

Farmers have won, the people’s struggle should continue.

Dilli Fateh.