Thousands of farmers have taken their tractors to the streets of India as unions demand the government take action over crop prices and regulations.
The “Delhi Chalo”, or “Let’s go to Delhi” march, said Reuters, has “brought back memories of the chaos which prevailed” in 2020-21, when millions of farmers united in action against the introduction of three agriculture laws, said the BBC.
The year-long uprising posed one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “biggest challenges”. And with just weeks until the country’s general election, the government won’t want to lose the support of farmers, who are the “most influential voting bloc in India”.
What do India’s farmers want?
The “headline demand” of the farmers’ 12-point agenda is that a minimum support price (MSP) must be legally guaranteed, said The Indian Express. The MSP is a “safety net” for farming communities, said Al Jazeera, setting the price at which the government buys crops from producers, providing an “assured” income in the midst of “market uncertainties”. Farmers are calling for the MSP to be at least 50% higher than the cost of producing the crops.
Organisers are also calling for farm loans to be waived, for policies they claim “hurt” farmers to be overturned and for farmers to receive pensions. They also want India to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and for all free trade agreements to be frozen.
The movement’s leaders claim members of more than 200 unions are now participating in the march “under the banner” of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), said The Indian Express. Talks between the unions and the government have so far been “inconclusive”, said Sky News.
What happened in 2020-21?
The introduction of three “controversial” agricultural reforms in 2020 sparked a “massive” year-long protest, said the BBC. The proposed laws “loosened rules” around the sale, price and storage of farm produce, which had “protected farmers from the free market for decades”.
The demonstrations “descended into violence several times”, said Sky News. Farmers “hunkered down, encircling the capital and blocking key highways” before Modi repealed the laws in November 2021. “Dozens” died during the protests.
The farmers now want promises made by the government in the aftermath of the demonstrations to be carried through. These include providing compensation for the families of farmers who died during the protests and the formation of a committee focused on providing price guarantees.
How has the government responded?
Delhi has been “converted into a fortress”, said Al Jazeera. Some of the city’s entry points have been blocked with “barriers of barbed wire, spikes and cement blocks”.
Drones dropped tear gas on thousands of farmers along the border between Punjab and Haryana earlier this week, and police and paramilitary officers are “stationed all along the highways” to block “tractor convoys” from getting to the capital, said Sky News.
With India’s general election due to take place between April and May, and farmers comprising some two-thirds of the country’s population, the government “will be keen to contain” the disruption and “not repeat past mistakes”.
But the farmers have described talks with Modi’s government so far as “delaying tactics”, said the BBC. The movement’s leaders say they have adequate resources to camp out for at least six months if necessary.
Unions march towards capital claiming government failed to keep promises made after 2020-21 demonstrations
