In a move without precedent, Indian farmers have warned all Members of the Indian Parliament in a letter in both Hindi and English, to raise their voices in Parliament to express the demands of the farmers. The farmers, writing under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) have accused the Union Government of not carrying out the promises made in[Read More…]
A massive Kisan Mahapanchayat was organized at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, March 20, on the call of the United Kisan Morcha (SKM). Thousands of farmers from all over the country thronged to the venue. A manifestation of the unity and resilient spirit of the farmer’s movement. In this mahapanchayat organized by Samyukta Kisan Morcha, farmers, tribal farmers, women farmers, farm labourers[Read More…]
‘The Journey of Farmers Rebellion’ is one of the most positive, productive or informative compilations or any reader wishing to gain an insight into the vagaries or intricacies of the farmers protest in Delhi. It portrays a diagnosis uncovering a wide spectrum of views. The book is a perfect manifestation of the relentless non –sectarian spirit of the movement. It[Read More…]
To loot, or to advance economy, farmers are encountered. Role in economy makes farmers an important question in countries. This sub-continent too can’t ignore the question. Amit Bhaduri examines aspects related to recently concluded farmers’ movement in India in his The Emerging Face of Transformative Politics in India Farmers’ Movement (Aakar Books, Delhi, India, 2022, www.aakarbooks.com). The Emerging Face …[Read More…]
Responding to the the call of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), today (26 November, 2022), thousands of farmers, supported by workers, students, youth, women and ordinary people, staged mega foot-marches and rallies all over the country. Protest gatherings engulfed 25 state capitals, more than 300 district headquarters and numerous tehsil headquarters .History of a kind was made. The spirit of resistance[Read More…]
Farmers under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) lifted their dharna after 21 days from near the local residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today, after the government assured them of fulfilling their demands. The farmers should be congratulated for demonstrating such resilience and BKU(Ugrahan) for organisational skill. The protest terminated after a meeting was held between the[Read More…]
Over 5000 Farmers organised by the BKU Ekta(Ugrahan) relented to return to homes for Diwali and instead celebrated Diwali together at the protest site near the local residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Farmers had been sitting here on an indefinite protest since October 9. The protest organised by BKU Ugrahan, the largest farmers’ union in Punjab has been going[Read More…]
Almost a lakh of farmers thronged in an indefinite action led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union(Ugrahan)for almost a week from October 9th-15th , near the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s local residence, at Sangrur. Similar to last year’s agitation at the Singhu and Tikri borders, they came prepared , parking their loaded tractors on the roadside, cooking food and establishing a[Read More…]
The 3 day protest of Samyukta Kisan morcha at Lakhimpur Kheri concluded at 3.pm on 20th August.. By the 3rd day around 450000 farmers congregated the venue. Sadly the administration prohibited the march at Rajapur Mandi from being held .This illustrated how much the protest had embarrassed the authorities in their very backyard and their authoritarian nature. It violated civil liberties.[Read More…]
The following is an unpublished transcript of an interview the author did for a UK-based TV channel that covers issues of interest to the worldwide Sikh diaspora. It concerns three pieces of farm legislation in India that were repealed in late 2021 after a prolonged protest by India’s farmers that gained global support and recognition. Although the interview took[Read More…]
Massive protest lodged by BKU Ekta Ugrahan demanding action against Lathi charge on farmers demanding compensation for loss to cotton crop A large number of farmers, including women, under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) in a massive protest near the Muktsar District Administrative Complex (DAC) demanding the departmental action against the Deputy Commissioner, Malout SDM and[Read More…]
I have written five-six articles on the unprecedented farmers movement organised under the aegis of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) against the three agricultural laws. Therefore, to avoid repetition, this short comment. The peasant movement was kept apolitical in the sense that the leaders of any political party were not allowed to use the platform of the movement. However, the[Read More…]
Toward the end of 2021, Indian farmers achieved the impossible: a win against the right-wing government of Narendra Modi by forcing a repeal of three draconian farm laws. This is the remarkable story of how the farmers persevered through chilly winters, blistering summers, monsoon floods, the pandemic’s second wave, and a relentless, ruthless propaganda war unleashed by the government through its[Read More…]
On 15 January, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) met at Delhi’s Singhu border, to review the progress made by the government on its promises made at the time of the repealing of the three agri laws. Following Parliamentary and written assurances, the farmers had suspended their movement and lifted their occupation of the Delhi borders. At the review meeting, it[Read More…]
Barely a few days are left to go now and all eyes, certainly of the farmers and their supporters, are on 15 January – the day Sunyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) is to reassemble in Delhi. There, SKM will seek to evaluate the progress made on the promises made by the government following the repeal of the three agri-laws in November[Read More…]
With all the constraints of time, I do wish to share my views with a large number of friends and likeminded people on an issue, which is very crucial in the coming days and times. This issue concerns farmers participation in coming Punjab Assembly elections, may be in other states -UP and Uttarakhand too, but primarily in the context of[Read More…]
The farmers spirit elevated and reverberated at a boiling point in Ferozepur like a spark turning into a prairie fire, in protest staged a few days ago by the farmers groups of Punjab .It was one of the most comprehensive acts of rebellion and striking blows to neo-fascism. Prime Minister Narinder Modi was virtually compelled to retreat towards Delhi due[Read More…]
A qualitative protest of around 500 workers was staged at Rampura Phul today in front of the office of the State district magistrate. The agricultural workers vociferously raised slogan condemning the government betraying their promises. In the last few months through united activity they have waged a sustained struggle for their demands. The farm labourers left their work to[Read More…]
The recent repeal of the farm laws by the central government sets an example which re-assures the power in people’s voices entrusted in democratic values, processes and practices. It is a win to celebrate and remember that such authoritarian governance and policies can be overthrown with people’s solidarity, vision, perseverance, and resilience. In India, the farmers and their families protested[Read More…]
History of all sorts was created in Punjab on December 12th when the dalit agricultural labourer’s organisations for the first time conducted a rail blockade independently, without support of organisations of the landed peasantry. In total around 20000 labourers participated in 12 districts. Without doubt an event that embarrassed the ruling parties in their very belly. . Displaying death defying[Read More…]
A message from Workers Peasants Unity 11.12.2021 (a rough translation of the Page 1 article of Ei Muhurte Kichhu Bhavna Dec21-Jan22) 381 days. More than 725 martyrs. So, what did we see in the year-long battle? “Modi-Shah-BJP-RSS are unbeatable. Whatever they say are final. Modi ne kiya hain toh kuch soch samajh ke hi kiya hoga (Modi has done it,[Read More…]
In the past one year, farmers of the country have demonstrated the force of popular determination against an arrogant and defiant government. The farmers’ movement has proved that the revolutionary spirit of the ‘peasant’ had not diminished with the arrival of new networks of capital. It has established that ‘peasant consciousness’ in the country remains intellectually sharp, socially sensitive and[Read More…]
The farmer’s organisations of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha have decided to vacate from the Tikri border and temporarily withdraw the agitation. After a letter from the ruling party it undertook this step. All the leaders of the major farmer’s organisations left no stone unturned, in thanking all the families and persons who volunteered, including those of ruling class parties. The[Read More…]
Recently on November 18th a most inspiring talk was delivered at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus by Surkh Leeh editor and BKU(Ugrahan) coordinator Pavel Kussa.In recent months he has written many an article in punjabi newspapers exposing the neo fascist agenda and economic policies of the ruling party in most analytical fashion. I recommend every democrat to listen to his[Read More…]
Repealing farm laws by the central government seems to be a political compulsion for upcoming state assembly elections, particularly in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as the ruling central government could not popularize politically its agro reform decisions at larger level. Although, the government is well aware of its blunder decisions of farm laws as the long lasting movement against the[Read More…]
In a major victory for the agitating farmers in India, a bill to cancel the three contentious farm laws was passed in record time in both houses of the parliament. The government plans to get it signed by the President by tonight. The Farm Laws Repeal bill was passed in Lok Sabha within four minutes – it was tabled at[Read More…]
A historic Shetkari Kamgar Mahapanchayat took place in yesterday in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on November 28th, with at least 100 organisations coming under one umbrella. Peasants, workers, agricultural labourers, women, youth and students of all religions and castes from all over Maharashtra culminated at the venue, like an army marching in to celebrate the victory in terminating the farmers bills..[Read More…]
A Canada-based online magazine that covers alternate politics unveiled its annual calendar in Surrey on Saturday, November 27. Dedicated to the year-long farmers’ protest in India, the 2022 calendar bears important dates related to the struggle that eventually forced the right wing government in New Delhi to roll back controversial farm laws that prompted the agitation. The event began with[Read More…]
BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) commemorated the annual anniversary of Delhi Morcha at Pakaura Chowk, New Delhi with a huge historic public rally, constituting around 50000 persons. A most illustrative example of a festival of the masses and the consistency of revolutionary political practice of the BKU(Ugrahan) who exhibited the spirit of an army battalion. Without doubt one of the most outstanding[Read More…]
On November 19, 2021, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “[W]e have decided to repeal all three agricultural laws.” The prime minister was referring to the three agriculture laws that were rushed through the parliament in 2020. During his speech to announce the rollback, Modi told the farmers that they “should return to [their] homes, fields and to [their] families. Let’s make a[Read More…]
The three farmer laws, that were once named “reform package,” will go out of statute book through a cabinet resolution and a bill to repeal in Parliament, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That should have been the end of agitation. The best course for the farmers leaders is to go to negotiation table and press for real reforms[Read More…]
After the acceptance of the demand for the repeal of three farm laws, the minimum support price (MSP) issue is now the main remaining issue between the government and the farmers’ movement. Unlike the simpler issue of repealing or not repealing the three controversial laws the MSP issue is a more complex issue which needs to be more carefully integrated[Read More…]
Like many others I also scanned closely the video of the Prime Minister making the ‘historic’ announcement on the farm bills. But I did not find a speck of sincere contrition and remorse in it.His eyes distant and his tone studiedly lofty,he was expressing a strategic and perhaps temporary withdrawal.Explaining the repeal as a failure to convince a minority of[Read More…]
I wholeheartedly salute the victory of the farmers in resisting the iron feet of oppression confronting the three Agricultural bills enforced by the neo-fascist Bharatiya Janata party .To me it will win a permanent place in the annals of Indian history amongst the struggles withstanding tyranny, resurrecting the spirit of the anti-colonial Struggle. The farmers took grit and courage to[Read More…]
At last that day has arrived for which lakhs of farmers were undergoing trials with patience and resolute determination for the past one and a half year. The Prime Minister himself had to announce the acceptance of their most prominent demands. This announcement was listened most attentively by the peasants of the country and all the working people sympathetic to[Read More…]
Our farmers know the way, go the way and show the way! Thanks to their relentless struggle and their great sacrifices, for all of us – the three anti-farmer laws have finally been repealed. For more than a year now – with blood, sweat, toil and tears, their protest has continued unceasingly. In heat and cold, in the pouring rain[Read More…]
The announcement for repealing the three notorious farm laws that were passed by Parliament, by the Prime Minister is definitely a big victory for the farmers movement and those who have been protesting against these unjust laws for the last one year. The government failed to the extent that BJP lost one of its oldest allies Akali Dal at that[Read More…]
Dear Shri Yogendra Yadav, Let me first convey my solidarity and compliments to you and your compatriot farmers for the historic victory against what can be termed as an “anti-people”, undemocratic attempt on the part of today’s political elite to suppress dissent and take unilateral decisions! In a way, the farmers’ victory shows that no power on the earth should[Read More…]
The government has decided to repeal all the three agricultural laws. The government will also have to clarify its role regarding MSP. This is a great achievement of an unprecedented peaceful movement. On this decision of the government, Rakesh Tikait has said that the agitation will not be withdrawn immediately, let’s wait for the day when the agricultural laws will[Read More…]
On November 19 the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi announced the important decision of repealing three highly controversial farm laws. This decision should be widely welcomed cutting across narrow narrow political divides. The Prime Minister has been full of praise for his government’s farm policies and in fact even for the farm laws even while agreeing to repeal[Read More…]
The Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi announced the Government of India’s decision to repeal all three anti-farmer, pro-corporate black laws first brought in as Ordinances in June 2020. He chose to announce this on Guru Nanak Jayanti. Samyukt Kisan Morcha welcomes this decision and will wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures. If this[Read More…]
On 29/10/2021, a massive congregation of around 4000 dalit agricultural workers belonging to the joint front of the rural and farm labour organizations flooded city of Morinda to besiege the house of Chief Minister Charanjit Channi in a huge rally. It was part and parcel of a protracted campaign initiated in a 3 day dharna in Patiala in early[Read More…]
On October 28th Three women protesters — Sukhvinder Kaur (60), Amarjit Kaur (58) and Gurmail Kaur (60) of Khiwa Daluwala village in Punjab’s Mansa district — were run over by a speeding truck carrying construction material near the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border here on Thursday morning. Two others sustained injuries. The incident of Laxmpur Kheri literally repeated itself. They were cremated today[Read More…]
After celebrating virtually a festival of the masses on 114th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) has left no stone unturned in tackling the burning issues of the peasantry like damages to crops or organising solidarity protest campaigns against the brutal murder of farmers by son of Ashis Mishra. The spirit of struggle is intensifying[Read More…]
Real life has a way of surprising theory. One of the most intensely discussed theoretical questions on the Left has been how to bring agricultural labourers and peasants, including well-to-do peasants, together in a common struggle against landlord domination in India’s countryside. Numerous Marxist gatherings have for years discussed the contradiction between peasants and labourers holding up a decisive resolution[Read More…]
The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre will be remembered as a painful chapter in the history of the farm movement of India. The whole truth of this incident has been revealed to the country through all the videos that have become public so far. It is clear that this incident did not happen suddenly. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra[Read More…]
The Samyukt Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM) endorses the “Maharashtra Bandh” on 11th October called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in support of the Farmer Victims of Lakhimpur Kheri! The entire nation stands shocked at the brutal Lakhimpur Kheri murders. Despite the worst provocations, the Farmers protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful over the course of the last 10 months. The[Read More…]
Independent film-maker Rajkumari Asthana has produced a documentary on the ongoing farmer’s struggle in India. It is the first episode of a series called Jab Tak Raat Baki Hai, planned as a people’s history of the farmer’s movement. Anand Patwardhan’s Vikalp@Prithvi showed the film last weekend. This is an independent, completely non-commercial effort.
There are increasingly worrying signs of the government becoming increasingly becoming more repressive towards farmers. On October 3, just a day after Gandhi Jayanti, four farmers and a journalist were killed at a protest site in Lakhimpur Khiri district (UP) when a car of a son of a union minister crashed into them. Just a little before this, the BJP[Read More…]
Ashish Tripathi writing in DECCAN HERALD(October 4) has quoted an SC bench hearing a case against farmers’ protest objecting that it impedes the public’s freedom of movement by blocking roads.The bench made two observations.First since the laws have been stayed there was no reason for protests to continue. Secondly,the validity of the laws will be tested and decided at the[Read More…]
4th October 2021: The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) vehemently condemns the murderous attack on protesting farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri which resulted in the death of 4 farmers – Shri Daljeet Singh (35), Shri Nachattar Singh (60), Shri Gurvinder Singh (19) and Shri Lovepreet Singh (20) – and serious injuries to several other farmers and protestors including Shri Tajinder[Read More…]
In an urgent virtual press conference called by Samyukt Kisan Morcha, members of the 9-member coordination committee of SKM addressed the media with regard to the ghastly incidents in Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh. SKM’s Richa Singh and Guramneet Mangat who are in Lakhimpur Kheri (the former during the occupation of the helipad in Tikonia earlier in the day and[Read More…]
When we hear of “economic reform”, we think of policies that might make for greater growth and efficiency. However, what we often get is liberalization, privatization and globalization, all of which are aimed at facilitating large corporate players. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Agreements are not negotiated so much by sovereign nations as corporate interests. Farmers, workers[Read More…]
It is now one year since controversial farm bills were passed into law in India in September 2020. The three bills and the subsequent legislation have triggered a massive 15-month farmers’ protest that has attracted worldwide attention and support. Farmers, farmers’ unions and their representatives demand that the laws be repealed and state that they will not accept a[Read More…]
The recent outburst against Communists by a spokesman of India’s ruling right wing Hindu nationalist BJP should come as a wakeup call for those fighting against each other over the control of an ongoing farmers’ agitation in Punjab. Harinder Singh Kahlon had asked for throwing “comrades” behind bars for instigating the peasantry struggle. The Indian farmers have been camping outside[Read More…]
Under the invitation of the joint front of the rural and farm labour organizations, Ten thousand dalit agricultural labour gheraoed the house of Captain Amrinder Singh at Moti Mahal in Patiala. He was forced to issue a written letter to scrap metres on electricity bills and pay occupation of labourers cut plots in a month, allot residential plots and scrap[Read More…]
According to Reuters, more than 500,000 farmers attended a rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on 5 September. Hundreds of thousands more turned out for other rallies in the state. Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers’ leader, said this would breathe fresh life into the Indian farmers’ protest movement. He added: “We will intensify[Read More…]
The Ganesh festival is celebrated country-wide with prayers and rituals, greetings are exchanged, and various food delicacies are prepared. When we relish the delicacies, it is appropriate to remember that every one of those preparations is based upon farm produce, be it grains, vegetables, fruits, or the banana leaves on which the feast is served. This farm produce is the[Read More…]
When the ongoing farmers’ protest in India began last year in the states of Punjab and Haryana, nobody could predict that it would go on for so long and its resonance would be felt across the country. It’s been going on for nine months now and is the longest running protest by farmers in Indian history. The farmers have been[Read More…]
A massive Kissan Panchayat was held in Muzfarnagar, UP on September 5 and resolved to intensify ongoing agitation and called for Bharat Bandh on Sept 27. The Panchayat organized by Samyukth Kisan Morcha witnessed a huge congregation of farmers and farm workers from 22 states from all over India. Large presence of youth and farm women is visibly seen. BKU,[Read More…]
The boiling pot of indignation is simmering at it’s optimum point after the attack on the farmers in rally at Moga.The ruling classes are embarrassed in their very backyard, sending shivers down their spine. Contradictions are intensifying within the ruling classes at an unprecedented scale with farmers assaulted even in a Shiromani Akali Dal rally. The Moga police on Thursday[Read More…]
During the Vidhan Sabha session yesterday, various organisations of agricultural or landless labour of Punjab, converged at the public district headquarters in 5 districts and hundreds of villages of Punjab, inspite of the intervention of heavy rainfall. On the other hand levies like electricity bills are imposed on them. It was undertaken as a follow up of a 3 day[Read More…]
“The farmers not only know how to farm, but they also know how to protect their fields,” said a farm leader from Punjab at the protest site on the outskirts of Delhi, where protesting farmers have been camping since last November. “We will fight over and over again and generation upon generation, but we will not let our land go,”[Read More…]
A discussion hosted by the World Sikh Parliament network and run on KTV – a UK-based satellite TV channel for the Sikh diaspora A detailed horror tale in the making for India, an exposé on what is planned, via the farm laws, to hand over Indian sovereignty and food security to big business. There will come a time pretty soon –[Read More…]
The security of democracy depends on our conscience and our adherence to democratic values! Replying to a question on the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proudly said that India is not only the largest democracy in the world, but also the oldest. They were mostly referring to the Licchavi Republic. The Licchavi Republic was established[Read More…]
The Kisan Andolan is closing in on nine months – braving deeply disturbing times, braving weather extremities, braving police brutalities, braving government’s insouciance and subterfuge, braving the dark Covid clouds, braving the despair of over 500 compatriot deaths. Nine months! Displaying a clear understanding on the subject and its issues, and a clearer sense of purpose. Not for a day[Read More…]
On August 15th Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) celebrated the Farmer Labor Mukti-Sangharsh Day at 40 places with three big gatherings in hundreds of villages and cities across Punjab. The stage was inaugurated by paying tribute to more than 500 martyrs of Kisan movement everywhere and to Chacha Ajit Singh, the leader of the Anti-British Kisan Movement, on the occasion[Read More…]
Arguably the most qualitative protest of the dalit landless labourers challenging casteist oppression in the entire nation took place near the chief minister’s palatial house at Moti Mahal in Patiala, yesterday. Around 2000 dalit agricultural labourers led by the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Commitee besieged Caspian Amrinder Singh’s residential house. The intensity of the demonstrators was immense. The protest embarrassed the[Read More…]
‘Such is your state; This is the cause; Remove the cause.’ -Ved Prakash Varuk Constantly forged in the crucible of struggles and resistance the peasant farmers’ protest reveals the transformative resolve to constitute a new Republic. To chart a more comprehensive emancipatory alternative, and negate frightening modes of domination, dispossession and racial hierarchy. The peasant insurgents endowed with a surfeit[Read More…]
It is truly a heart touching sight, to witness the back breaking work of a dalit agricultural labour and the manner he is still bonded in the so called age of democracy. The shackles of casteist oppression embedded for centuries, are still entrenched. Under the invitation of Sajha Mazdoor Morcha based on rural and farm labour organizations, thousands of villagers[Read More…]
Farmers have been protesting in Delhi for three-and-a-half months over three agricultural laws passed by Parliament. Farmers’ organizations say the laws are for the benefit of corporates. Once these laws are enacted, corporates will not only be able to easily purchase farm produce, but will also be able to enter into contracts as required and purchase and store the products[Read More…]
I don’t remember where exactly I read the story of the APMC Mandis falling apart in certain regions not immediately involved in the farmers’ stir.I hope fervently it is one of the shoals of fake stories swirling around in the ocean of Internet.But if true I think it should ring alarm bells in the leading circles of the mammoth farmers’[Read More…]
Most heartening that the momentum of democratic resistance continues to flourish at Tikri border in Delhi, to challenge the oppression of the Saffron rulers. In a range of spheres it most relentlessly challenged the nefarious economic policies of the BJP govt. and called on people to leave no stone unturned in toppling them. Every democrat should be truly impressed by[Read More…]
The entire farm sector, comprising at least a quarter of the total population of the country, is up in arms. The structural crisis engulfing this sector was growing over a long time and periodic outbursts about the distorted state of affairs were happening over the past several decades. These outbursts had forms both violent and non-violent. The violent manifestations[Read More…]
On June 26, lakhs of farmers and farm-workers will assemble in various border points of Delhi will observe “Save Democracy, Save Farmers” day. On that date three important occasions are coinciding — (i) completion of 7 months of the historic continuous sit-in protest of lakhs of farmers around Delhi on the border points; (ii) 7 years of first swearing in[Read More…]
It has been almost a year since I joined IIT Gandhinagar, and about six months since Indian farmers have been protesting against the three controversial farm laws. Around the time the protests began, a new hobby group with a focus on society and politics emerged at IIT Gandhinagar. The group, called ‘Awaam‘, laid down its objectives and stated that it[Read More…]
Six people, from Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson to Sahib Kaur Dhaliwal, a young student from the University of Ottawa, have been presented with medals of courage by a Canada-based online magazine that covers alternative politics. Radical Desi, which started its journey in 2014, had established a medal bearing the quote of Desmond Tutu: “if you are neutral in situations[Read More…]
It is most encouraging witnessing the youth emerging at the forefront of the agitation against farm bills, displaying the intensity of coal fire in a furnace. In recent days they have illuminated the flame of resistance to a crescendo to crystallise a sustained movement. Youth club shave been set up and cultural programmes performed to galvanise the youth and integrate[Read More…]
For 3 continuous days under the tutelage of the Bharatiya Kisan Union(Ugrahan) farmers demanding adequate arrangements for health facilities for the people related to the Corona epidemic, lit the spark of resistance at it’s optimum magnitude. The venue literally resembled the convocation of a huge army battalion making the impact f a Tsunami.It was a spectacle for anyone to witness[Read More…]
On May 26 farmers in India observed the completion of six months of their protest dharna (sit-in) at Delhi borders. This was observed as a protest day against the union ( central) government, symbolized by waving of black flags, as the government has all through refused to accept their main demand of taking back three highly controversial farm laws of[Read More…]
This year’s birth anniversary of Lord Buddha coincides with six months of the ongoing farmers’ agitation in India. On May 26, when the Indian farmers observed black day to make the deaf government hear their demands, the prime minister of the country was lecturing the people on the philosophy of Buddhism. The farmers in India have been struggling for the[Read More…]
There could hardly have been a better celebration of six months of the Delhi farmers protest at Tikri border in Delhi completed today, with the flag of liberation shimmering at a crescendo, on the call for a bandh of Samyukti Kisan Morcha.An impact of an inferno or intensity of coal burning in a furnace was displayed at Tikri border by[Read More…]
CDRO SUPPORTS FARMERS CALL TO OBSERVE BLACK DAY ON 26th MAY CDRO stands in solidarity with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s call for observing 26th May 2021 as a Black Day. The second half of 2020 saw protests against the Farm Bills passed by the BJP-led government. It is now well-known that the central government had refused to pay due attention[Read More…]
On the Tikri border the water continues to simmer at a boiling point with magnitude of intensity of agitators never decreasing. With surgical skill the mass leaders and activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union(Ugrahan) enable the flag of resistance to flutter. Below I am submitting four reports which perfectly illustrate the sheer power of the farmers resistance, like call continuously[Read More…]
In times of doubt and despair, remind yourself of a line from Pablo Neruda: “You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep Spring from coming”. The government has done everything to cut all communications. The roads have been blocked; trenches have been dug to prevent tractors from entering the city; beds of sharp nails have been laid out[Read More…]
Counting from the day the dharna of farmers started at Delhi borders, soon the movement will be completing six months or half a year. These are difficult days. Much of the work has to be done in exceptionally difficult conditions of the pandemic. There are several restrictions on mobilizations imposed by the authorities in pandemic times, and many normally sympathetic[Read More…]
The tempo of farmers movement continues at Tikri border at similar pitch as before with intensity of Coal in a blast furnace. A series of programmes have been launched by the Bharatiya Kisan Union)Ugrahan) commemorating the Ghadri Mela through confronting the neo-fascist tyranny of the agricultural bills imposed by the BJP party. The rebellious spirit of farmers is intensifying in[Read More…]
Since November 26, 2020, lakhs of farmers and workers have been in their continuous sit-in protest at different points around Delhi Border. On April 26 it will complete 5 months. And the human-cost is enormous: 400+ deaths. But braving death, terrible cold, rain, storm and now around 40°+ at noon, threat of covid19, the farmers and workers are continuing; after[Read More…]
The appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to observe the Kumbh related rituals in more of a symbolic way to avoid crowding and protect public health in times of an escalating pandemic had the desired impact on at least some groups of holy men and they agreed to leave the site of the great religious celebration at an early date.[Read More…]
Days have passed into weeks and weeks into months , but the farmers’ dharna (protest sit-in) at important points on Delhi border has continued. Winter gave way to spring and spring has yielded space to summer. The winter (rabi) crop which the farmers planted before coming for the dharna has been already harvested in most villages. On April 24 farmers[Read More…]
As a development and environmental economist with interest in India and the Punjab, I have been writing and speaking on India’s three farming laws enacted in September 2020. As a part of enriching my research on the subject, I wrote to the British Prime Minister (who is from the Conservative Party), the two Members of Parliament from Oxford (Oxford West[Read More…]
Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson was presented with the Radical Desi medal of courage by members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Thursday, April 15. Swanson had recently brought a motion in support of the Indian farmers who have been camping outside New Delhi for the past several months. The agitating farmers are opposing the controversial laws passed[Read More…]
The Modi Government is worried that if it is forced to withdraw the farm bills under pressure of the farmers’ movement, it may inspire people’s struggles against other elements of neoliberalism imposed on India by the World Bank – such as cut in education and health subsidies. It is now 47 days since the farmers began their epic struggle on[Read More…]
On every front or sphere Punjab continues to simmer spark of resistance or crystallisation of democratic forces at a boiling point .This gives the fulcrum to the historic farmer’s resistance on the Delhi border, providing the very fuel. Countless rallies and programmes are staged confronting the neo-fascist economic policies of Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party and the corporates it[Read More…]
Written by Rahul Singh Rana and Sandeep Pandey The Farmers’ protests are into their fourth month now. These protests started with people from Punjab and Haryana breaking barricades and heading towards the Indian capital. As expected, these protesting farmers were met with force at several places. Undeterred by the challenging circumstances, the farmers were able to reach at the borders[Read More…]
More than half of rural households in India are landless, or almost so. This deprives them of the most obvious asset needed for sustainable livelihoods and food security in villages–farmland. After agriculture the next most important source of rural livelihood in India is dairy farming but here too the household with farmland has free access to crop residues which is[Read More…]
Sir, Your article “Why Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath Remains the Most Memorable Saga of Displaced Farmers and Migrating Workers” that appeared in Countecurrents on April 8, 2021, presented us a scope to visualise the current distress of the farming communities, the peasants, workers, who are getting dispossessed, dislodged, against the backdrop of the novel John Steinbeck wrote. ‘The Grapes of[Read More…]
The important phase of the farmers’ movement in India starting with the dharna (sit-in) at Delhi borders in the last week of November has crossed over 130 days at the time of writing. There is as yet no immediate indication of a negotiated settlement, or of the movement withdrawing. So this is proving to be quite a prolonged movement which[Read More…]
The youth must support the farmers’ movement! The fight against the farm bills is also a struggle to save several crore jobs!! The farmers agitation completed one month on December 26, 2020. Despite the biting cold, the resolve of the farmers shows no signs of weakening; on the contrary, their movement continues to strengthen as the days go by. More[Read More…]
The ongoing farmers’ movement is one of the most widely discussed social movements of recent times. Despite this there is an uneasy feeling that in the middle of all the reporting, comment and discussion, we may still be missing the wood for the trees or giving less attention to some of the more basic issues. After all, we cannot forget[Read More…]
In June 2018, the Joint Action Committee against Foreign Retail and E-commerce (JACAFRE) issued a statement on Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart. It argued that it undermines India’s economic and digital sovereignty and the livelihood of millions in India. The deal would lead to Walmart and Amazon dominating India’s e-retail sector. These two US companies would also own India’s key consumer[Read More…]
In Punjab today 7 lakh Dalit families are still landless and 1,50000 belong to the poor peasantry.Lakhs of acres of land is lying vacant and unavailable. If all land was distributed every Dalit family could possess at least 4 and a half acres of land. In recent years the Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union has done some of the most commendable[Read More…]
India’s right-wing government has been deploying all the modern tools of repression against a historic farmers’ protest. Much is at stake. For the people of India, their agricultural system is about to get far more precarious. For its farmers, ruin, and bankruptcy for millions, is all but guaranteed. For the government of Narendra Modi and his elite backers, it’s a[Read More…]
With resolute determination the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union representing the dalit landless agricultural labour, continues to flash the torch of resistance. The agricultural labour are merciless victims of the Agricultural bills and engripped by the ruler’s policies which patronise neo-colonial slavery. On the invitation of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union State Committee, thousands of farm labourers men and women on[Read More…]
In many countries we see a similar worrying situation that most small and medium farmers are facing increasing problems and stress. For several of them this culminates in losing the land and independent livelihood of the family for this as well as perhaps the next generation as well. So the number of family farms and independent small farmers ( working[Read More…]
In most discussions on food and farming systems in India a concern that comes up time and again is that pressures and particular interpretations of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) can increase problems of India’s farmers and the public distribution system (PDS) for food. A large number of India’s mostly small farmers face a number of[Read More…]
Keeping in view the increasing concerns worldwide to check increasing corporate control over farming and food systems, there is a need to look more carefully at various forms of this increasing corporatization and consider carefully various ways and means of resisting this. Firstly there is the increasing trend of land grab. This can be more clearly seen in the purchase[Read More…]
The flame of liberation of women shimmered at its crescendo literally painting the venue red. The scenes were reminiscent of an Ocean or a deluge. Revolutionary spirit touched the very core of the souls of everyone. For 2 weeks forces were mobilised from districts of Punjab with truckloads of women hurtling in to Delhi Democratic forces must all over the[Read More…]
Recently the very tragic suicide of a farmer from Haryana at the protest site on Delhi border drew widespread attention. He left behind a note which stated that the demand for repealing the three contested farm laws should be accepted very soon so that the protesting farmers can return to their villages happily. This note stated that farmers are no[Read More…]
6th March, 2021: The historic and globally recognized farmers’ movement, which entered into an electrifying phase with the ‘Delhi Chalo’ Call on 26th Nov, completes 100 days today. The movement continues to challenge the notorious ‘Three Farm Acts’ that would herald unprecedented levels of corporate control over agriculture, nullifying the mandi system, diminishing the significance of the Minimum Support Prices[Read More…]
Farming in India has been increasingly discussed at world-level in the context of the on-going farmers’ movement in India. India has a special position as a leading country where nearly two-thirds of the population still lives in rural areas. Therefore whatever policy options it adopts in the context of farming are considered very important at world level. Hence it is[Read More…]
March 5, 2021 marks the 100th Day of the sit-in of more than half a million farmers and workers and it is indeed an unthinkable affair compared to farmers’ movements that happened in the recent past. It will not be irrelevant if we probe a little bit of history to understand its uniqueness. In the past, we have seen bigger[Read More…]
A collage of green handprints added a new dimension to an anti-racism initiative launched by Burnaby-based Spice Radio this week. The broadcasters and other team members at the station, came together to raise their voices for Indian farmers in a unique way. They not only left their handprints in green on a white sheet, but also scribbled their greetings to[Read More…]
Amid the continuing farm protests, with the farmers completing almost three months camping at the borders of Delhi, the international news agency Reuters published a report based on multiple internal documents of Amazon regarding its India operations over the last few years.[2] Amazon is a global e-commerce giant, and it has already achieved close to $10 billion annual sales (value of[Read More…]
We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable-but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Ursula K. Le Guin Despite narratives of inferiority imposed by the dominant elites the peasant farmers are creating lasting landscapes of resistance, arising from a new consciousness leading to a re-opening of History.[Read More…]
Freedom fighter and martyr, Bhagat Singh who inspired and continues to inspire millions of Indians to fight for a democratic, secular, egalitarian Indian society and polity had declared, “Freedom is not when the rule is taken over from the white man to brown man. This is only transfer of power. Real freedom is when the person who works on land[Read More…]
In India there has been much discussion in recent times of the dangers of increasing corporatization of farming and food sectors. This is welcome, as there needs to be increasing public awareness of this harmful and high risk trend. In the course of this discussion the name of two billionaires has been increasingly taken to such an extent that has[Read More…]
From many parts of world there have been disturbing reports of not only increasing distress of farmers but also small and medium farmers being pushed towards loss of land and livelihood. At the same time that their numbers are increasing, the livelihood problems of rural landless people are increasing in many contexts, worsening further in Covid times. A huge question[Read More…]
Conference in Barnala in Punjab on February 21st exhibits revolutionary intensity at it s pinnacle in confronting the tide of neo-fascism with record participation History was literally made at Barnala grain market in Punjab on February 21st in a conference staged jointly by the Bharatiya Kisan Union(Ugrahan)) and the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, protesting the Agricultural bills or black laws.[Read More…]
Written by Bharat Dogra and Jagmohan Singh It is very good that the farmers’ movement has given a call for observing February 27 as Day of Unity of Farmers and Workers. On this day the nation is observing Sant Ravidas Jayanti. Along with other saints of the Bhakti and Sufi movements Sant Ravidas stood for devotion and spirituality which contributes[Read More…]
Although the on-going farmers’ movement has faced much repression and victimization and the participants have endured many hardships – at one stage even essential water and sanitation services were disrupted—it has been exceptionally fortunate in one other respect. This is in terms of obtaining the deep affection , support and emotional connect of a very large number of people. The[Read More…]
Food justice advocates and many US farmers on Wednesday issued a statement expressing solidarity with the farmers on protest at the borders of India’s national capital for over two and a half months. The unjust farm laws will increase the stranglehold of agribusiness on the food system, the statement said, adding that the three new Central laws were passed in[Read More…]
In September 2021 the UN will hold a Food Systems Summit. The aim will be to reshape world agriculture and food production in the context of the Malthusian UN Agenda 2030 “sustainable agriculture” goals. The recent radical farm laws from the government of Narenda Modi in India are part of the same global agenda, and it’s all not good. In[Read More…]
In the recent negotiations of the farmers movement with the government spread over several rounds, the non-acceptance of the farmers’ demand for the repeal of the three controversial farm laws was presented as the most important reason for not reaching an agreement, while the truth is that this should be an easy demand to accept by any sympathetic government. Acceptance[Read More…]
With the expansion of the movement through consolidation of democratic forces from other states to support the Peasant agitation the movement is on the verge of creating the impact of an inferno. The Punjabi peasantry have inspired the famers of other states, particularly Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to join the ranks of the movement. We must salute the peasantry for[Read More…]
FCI storage yards with wheat bought at MSP, scene across Punjab and Haryana. Water is sprinkled on wheat bags to let the grain rot, and is thrown out as waste. Sold to distilleries by “ 5-star farmers and their agents” now agitating on Delhi border. Rs 6000 to 7000 cr per year involved. Going on for 45 years. So the[Read More…]
It appears now that an early agreement with the government is not likely and so the farmers’ movement has to prepare for the long haul. The popular farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has said that the sit-in or dharna can continue up to October this year, and he as well as others have said that this will continue till the three[Read More…]
The Kisan Andolan has brought many new faces, young and dynamic activists full of ideological commitments as well as active on the ground which is a positive sign. When the movement started, many people asked me the question about the agricultural workers, Dalit, Adivasis. I was very clear that farmers have now realised that corporate culture is anti-farmer which is[Read More…]
India, since 2014, has been witnessing sharp polarization between people who support the government and people who adhere by the values that define this nation. Unfortunately, majority of the celebrities with millions of followers on social media accounts support the government blindly, disregarding the social conditions, the plight of the ordinary citizen and the democratic value system which sustains this[Read More…]
In the previous two parts (I & II) of this article, we saw how (1) the Government is trying to ram through a conclusive determination of property rights in agricultural land throughout the country. This is being done explicitly in order to develop a “vibrant land market”, i.e., in order to facilitate transfers of land; (2) for the last 20[Read More…]
Mahatma Gandhi fought the British and their sedition case, invented Satyagraha (righteous indignation) and laid down his life for communal unity. He might have never imagined that the British weapon of sedition law would be used against Satyagrahis in Independent India. He strongly opposed bad laws and awakened the nation saying non-cooperation with evil is equal to cooperation with good.[Read More…]
Rihanna, Susan Sarandon, Greta Thunberg, John Cusack – the list of well-known celebrities endorsing the struggle of Indian farmers against the country’s new corporate-authored farm laws is growing by the day. What started out as a domestic fight by thousands of Indian farmers to preserve their livelihood and way of life is rapidly morphing into a global cause. And the[Read More…]
Globally, there is an ongoing trend of a handful of big companies determining what food is grown, how it is grown, what is in it and who sells it. This model involves highly processed food adulterated with chemical inputs ending up in large near-monopoly supermarket chains or fast-food outlets that rely on industrial-scale farming. While the brands lining the shelves[Read More…]
Two achievements of the ongoing peasant movement in opposition to the three agricultural laws which have transformed this movement into nothing sort of exemplary are: carving out a space for democratic resistance; and expanding awareness of the ill effects of capitalism pushed through policies of privatization-corporatization. These two achievements of the peasant movement contain special significance in view of the[Read More…]
“They may kill me but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body but they will not be able to crush my spirit”. These statements of Shaheed Bhagat Singh still echoes in the minds, hearts, ideas and soil of India. Though the colonisers killed him and finished his body, but the spirit of Shaheed Bhagat Singh continues[Read More…]
Kangana Ranaut again and again is attacking the Indian farmers as terrorists. She has done that in response to the world famous pop singer Rihanna and famous environmentalist girl Greta’s support to farmers movement. Sachin Tendulkar and other pro-BJP forces also joined the chorus. Most of these forces are pro-monopoly houses and hardly have any engagement with the agrarian production.[Read More…]
The irony of this is lost on a government drowning in its testesterone: with every nail studded barricade installed at Tikri, Ghazipur or Singhu, Delhi is making itself progressively redundant to the ongoing course of events, and perhaps even to the future shape of things in India. A subterranean tsunami is slowly building in the country and the power elite,[Read More…]
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s tears has changed the dynamics of not merely farmers movement but politics particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Till January 26th, it was clear that the protesting farmers were largely from Punjab and those in power with their daily calculators at hand were visualising for a political profiteering from the prolonged movement. They had[Read More…]
The questions of national sovereignty are dominating debates in Indian politics today. The Indian media has become the voice of the BJP government led by Mr Narendra Modi. The government and media derides anyone as anti-national if one question’s the government of the day. The students, youths, religious minorities, Dalits, tribals, Kashmiris, human rights activists, lawyers, rationalists, writers, journalists, comedians,[Read More…]
Identity politics cannot subsume real politics. Hindutva built on Hindu identity cannot stop emergence of a challenge built on solidarity of the oppressed classes. Mandir Masjid can polarize and keep the people divided in the name of Hindu Muslim. But the challenge can come from somewhere else (Sikhs), though not on the basis of identity. Challenge can come from anywhere[Read More…]
In the previous part of this article we saw that the Indian rulers are actively preparing the legal groundwork for parting peasants from their land. In the following part we place this in an international context. The world economy is witnessing an intensifying drive by international investors to get control of land, including agricultural land, in the Third World. Why[Read More…]
The Farmers’ Protest Movement has brought into sharp focus that India consists of two countries. One is the mighty sprawling urban India where all of us fortunate live spoilt by consumerism and wanting more and more at the cost of others. The other is the weak scattered rural population who are waiting still since 1947 independence to survive poverty, hunger,[Read More…]
What has happened in the context of the farmers’ movement in India in recent days has brought joy and pride to its increasing number of supporters. A movement that can spring back to a position of such great and increasing support and strength within just a few days—less than a week—of terrible victimization tactics surely deserves congratulations and praise for[Read More…]
On December 18, addressing a Kisan Sammelan (farmer conference) in Madhya Pradesh by video conferencing, Narendra Modi declared: We are compelled to do things which should have been done 25-30 years ago…. The new laws that have been made for the farmers are in the news for some time now. These agricultural reforms have not come about overnight. Every government of[Read More…]
The Bollywood actor’s support to India Against Propaganda campaign demands prompt action from the federal government. The # campaign is in response to the Barbadian pop star’s tweet in support of agitating farmers of India. Thousands of farmers are protesting near New Delhi, the Indian capital, against controversial farming laws that favour corporate control over the agro industry, threatening the[Read More…]
As fake news becomes a propaganda tool, there is also great outrage about everything that is not true. I want to share a recent experience on a Whatsapp group meant solely for journalists, which set me thinking about the difference between false and fake. I shared a video that I had received on another group, of two women being crushed[Read More…]
MK Gandhi was remembered across the board, on his death anniversary, January 30, but amid a flood of lies and half-truths in the Big Media, and clouding up truth about what happened in broad daylight on January 26, in capital Delhi. Gandhi is linked with Truth and non-violence, cited as basic tenets of his life and work. But the day[Read More…]
Part 1 The protesting kisans on the borders of Delhi repeat one thing over and over: When fighting against the three farm-related Acts, they are fighting to save their land. “See, they want to capture our land. Adani, Ambani, corporate houses…” says one young protester. Though wheelchair-bound, he has come from Punjab to take part in the Delhi protest. An older kisan,[Read More…]
MK Gandhi was remembered across the board, on his death anniversary, January 30, but amid a flood of lies and half-truths in the Big Media, and clouding up truth about what happened in broad daylight on January 26, in capital Delhi. Gandhi is linked with Truth and non-violence, cited as basic tenets of his life and work. But the day[Read More…]
Samyukta Kisan Morcha Press Note 69th day, 1st February 2021 (being released on 2nd Feb morning) Samyukta Kisan Morcha meeting was held today, which was chaired by Shri Balbir Singh Rajewal. SKM decided that there can be no formal talks with the government until police and administration harassment of different kinds against the farmers’ movement is immediately stopped. It noted[Read More…]
On January 30 the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi told floor leaders of various political parties that the union government’s offer on three farm laws made to protesting farmers still stands and it was only a phone call away for talks. Informing about this meeting the Parliament Affairs Minister Sh. Prahlad Joshi said, “ The Prime Minister assured that the[Read More…]
The arrest of Mandeep Punia, a young independent journalist from the farmer protest site in Delhi is a reminder how Indian state is afraid of independent information. It is surprising that when the ‘powerful’ media houses have completely surrendered and have become merely hate mongers and fixing up their prime time shows to humiliate and castigate the opponents of the[Read More…]
Janhastakshep takes strong note of and unequivocally condemns the fascist state crackdown on farmers and the journalists factually reporting the movement and the state action. Two independent journalists, Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh were detained by Delhi Police near Singhu border late night on 30th Jan, 2021. Punia is associated with Junputh and The Caravan while Singh works for Online[Read More…]
The issue of minimum support price or MSP for various crops grown by farmers has seldom attracted the kind of intense debate as has taken place in recent times, due to the ongoing farmers’ movement. There is wide agreement that government should provide MSP based purchase for various crops, as this helps to ensure and stabilize a fair price for[Read More…]
MK Gandhi was remembered across the board, on his death anniversary, January 30, but amid a flood of lies and half-truths in the Big Media, and clouding up truth about what happened in broad daylight on January 26, in capital Delhi. Gandhi is linked with Truth and non-violence, cited as basic tenets of his life and work. But the[Read More…]
In the darkness of nights, the Hindutva fascists and their trained henchmen are trying to attack farmer’s protests and provoke violence with the help of police. The objective of the BJP government is to discredit the peaceful and democratic movements of the Indian farmers. All slanderous campaign by the ruling classes against farmers movements have failed. But the days of[Read More…]
According to a new report by Oxfam, ‘The Inequality Virus’, the wealth of the world’s billionaires increased by $3.9tn (trillion) between 18 March and 31 December 2020. Their total wealth now stands at $11.95tn. The world’s 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by $540bn over this period. In September 2020, Jeff Bezos could have paid all 876,000[Read More…]
There has been a lot of interest in the farmers’ movement and many people in distant parts of the India, and even outside India, feel a strong emotional connect with the movement. Recently this movement has been passing through a critical phase . It is useful to see what some well-informed persons in important positions have said in this context.[Read More…]
Written by Amit Bhaduri and Chaman Lal The script of collaboration is in two parts. The first part was written long ago when the once revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was released after long years from prison in the Andamans. He collaborated with the British as he had promised in several petitions for mercy he had written to the British authorities[Read More…]
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF INDIA Shri Ramnath Kovind President of India and Supreme Commander Rashtrapathi Bhavan New Delhi 110001 Dear President and Supreme Commander, Shri Kovind ji, I am writing to you, as my Supreme Commander, to inform you that I am deeply concerned and saddened by the turn of[Read More…]
CDRO strongly condemns the continuing targeting and intimidation of the farmers’ protests/ foisting false cases against farmers’ leaders and arrest of protesting farmers 26th January 2021 will go down in history as a landmark day in the history of independent India. It is not yet another Republic Day because farmers decided to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution of India[Read More…]
The tug-of-war between Indian farmers and government over new laws facilitating corporate takeover of the country’s agriculture is getting uglier by the hour and likely to get quite bloody too. And when the blood does flow, it will not only be the hands of Indian corporates that will be drenched in red but also those of global investors backing them.[Read More…]
Peaceful protest movements by various sections of people are an essential part of a democracy. A government in a democracy should respond to smaller movements at an initial stage at a decentralized level so that the issues are tackled at an early stage and there is no need for protests to become too big and overwhelming. Systems should be in[Read More…]
Attempt to vilify and intimidate the farmers movement will fail. The modus operandi of those guiding the north block is amply known to all who have followed their actions since 2002. First try to intimidate a protest followed by efforts to prolong it deliberately, then create disturbance among them by infiltrating anti social elements in these movements. The shameless loudspeakers[Read More…]
There are several indicators of a hardening attitude of the government towards the farmers’ movement. Therefore it needs to be emphasized at this juncture that a policy of repression will be very harmful for the nation and those who are committed to peace, democracy and justice within and outside government should do all they can to prevent this. There is[Read More…]
Samyukta Kisan Morcha has released a Press Statement late night on 28th January, after observing the latest actions by Modi and Yogi Government at Ghazipur Border. The Statement has been produced here in full: Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns the action by Uttar Pradesh police in cutting off basic facilities for the protesting farmers at Ghazipur Border and its attempts to[Read More…]
On 1 August 1920, Asahyog Andolan or a Non-cooperation Movement, the first of the three major Satyagrah in the course of the country’s freedom movement, was launched by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. As part of this, the people would stop cooperating in the functioning of the government – give up their government jobs, titles[Read More…]
Nearly 40 leaders of unions of farmers have been negotiating with the government regarding important demands of farmers for over 8 weeks. In the course of negotiations the representatives of the government including the Agriculture Minister have expressed their appreciation of the disciplined and peaceful nature of the protest. Others in the national and international media also appreciated this. The [Read More…]
The Hindutva stooge, Deep Sidhu with his real Masters. He is the culprit who tried to derail the historic farmers struggle by putting up a religious flag at Red Fort on January 26, with no Delhi police which works under the Indian home minister Amit Shah, a senior RSS cadre who is often described ‘Iron Man’ by the Hindutva gang[Read More…]
Conspiracy of neo-fascist state to give an anti-national tilt to one of India’s most genuine revolutionary democratic agitations of all time in Delhi on Republic day Tragically a historic peaceful march in the Capital of over 20 lakh peasants has been foisted as a conspiracy against the nation. By the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.The sinister act of hoisting the Sikh[Read More…]
The tractor rally on Republic Day in Delhi allegedly turned violent at several places as the protesters clashed with the police and tried to remove the barricade but these incidents could be termed as stray as given the nature of it things could have gone out of control. Ofcourse, the attempt to run through a tractor trolley in and around[Read More…]
Since the time of Pandemic led lockdown different sectors of Indian economy were experiencing the heat and stress. Particularly significant is the case of agriculture. Agriculture constitutes a very important aspect of people’s social and economic life and not merely of the farmers and traders. Annual growth rate of agriculture in real terms has been constantly low in past several[Read More…]
India’s historic farmers’ tractor parade breached police barriers and briefly took control of the historic Red Fort. The agitating farmers climbed on a pole and foisted a flag sacred to Sikh religion. There were violent clashes between farmers and the police. One farmer died in the commotion in ITO. Police used tear gas on groups of farmers and resorted to[Read More…]
At a time when the farmers’ movement is in the middle of a courageous and much needed struggle for preventing the farming and food movement from falling further into the stranglehold of big business interests, it is of great importance that many leading social activists and public-spirited intellectuals got together to organize a kisan sansad ( farmers’ parliament ) with[Read More…]
“Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet….” Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sang in 1968. I was reminded of this song, the moment I reached Singhu border of Delhi. Although the sounds were not of marching and charging feet, but the song resonated with what I saw. As is common knowledge now, the country is witnessing a mass[Read More…]
The Republic Day is the time of the year when feelings of national unity and working together to create a better India are at their highest level among all the citizens of India. This may be just the right time for the Government of India, and more particularly for the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, to reach out to the[Read More…]
The farmers’ peaceful protest demanding repeal of the farm laws began on 26 November 2020, Constitution Day, non-violently overcoming physical and political obstacles, to encamp at the gates of Delhi. The repeal-the-farm-laws “ball” served to government by the farmers, was tossed into the Supreme Court by government. Without hearing pending petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the farm laws, the[Read More…]
January 11 remains a great day in the current history of the Supreme Court when it strongly stood by the agitating farmers. Chief Justice of India Mr Justice Sharad A Bobde was humane, highly reasonable and was in right form in questioning the political executive’s complete failure in dealing with the farmers agitation against its unconstitutional laws. But the interim[Read More…]
The farmers and the Govt’s rallies will run parallel on Republic Day. Which one makes the point? From first being noticed to gathering worldwide recognition to now cruising at a steady momentum the farmer’s protest has been going strong since it emerged from Punjab and Haryana, joined later by the other states of India. Amongst everyone but mainstream news outlets[Read More…]
While the union government inexplicably finds it so difficult to agree to the simple, straightforward and well-justified demand of repeal of three controversial farm laws, social movements as well as public spirited intellectuals have been quickly reaching near consensus on supporting this most emphasized demand of the farmers’ movement. One point of consensus is that these three laws will make[Read More…]
Sometimes when a very powerful person in the family has become unreasonably adamant and is not listening to the good advice coming from several sides, then it is the duty of family members themselves to come forward and convince the powerful member of the family to stop being adamant and accept the good advice that is coming from many well-intentioned[Read More…]
These days it has become a common invective to denounce particular popular actions as ‘political’ or ‘politicized’ in order to delegitimize them. This is a tactic that has traditionally been employed by all ruling parties in India’s political history, but has become an especially handy tool for the Bharatiya Janta Party and its supporters within the media and public. The[Read More…]
The Three Farm Laws passed by the Central Government will be burdensome for the agricultural labourers, city poor and other marginal sections of the society along with the farmers. Presently, Punjab Government under the Public Distribution System, distributes 420 million, 69 thousand and 500 quintals of wheat on 3.6 million and 57 thousand ration cards, and it covers nearly 14[Read More…]
After several rounds of talks between the representatives of Kisan organisations and a group of ministers the deadlock continues. There is no further progress towards settling the issues/demands raised by the Kisan movement. This Impasse is causing a lot of hardship for the participants in the cold and harsh winter weather. It has already taken life of several farmers, more[Read More…]
With over 800 million people, rural India is arguably the most interesting and complex place on the planet but is plagued by farmer suicides, child malnourishment, growing unemployment, increased informalisation, indebtedness and an overall collapse of agriculture. Given that India is still an agrarian-based society, renowned journalist P Sainath says what is taking place can be described as a crisis of civilisation[Read More…]
It is a very important part of the quest to create a better and safer world that just as we should know what to adopt, similarly we should know what to avoid. All ideologies based on a mix of inter-faith hostility ( called communalism in India), fundamentalism and sectarianism should be avoided like plague. Whether ideologies based on sectarianism, communalism,[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey, Simran Kaur and Harleen Sandhu The Bhartiya Janata Party and its historical ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh have used religion in manipulating the sentiments of the masses to gain political mileage, strengthening its grassroots presence as well as skyrocketing its electoral mandate. A mosque was demolished a few decades ago to mobilize the Hindu votes in[Read More…]
The farm laws will lead to the corporatisation of agriculture and its control by foreign agribusiness corporations. Our very food sovereignty and thus the sovereignty of the country itself is at stake. As we write this, lakhs of peasants – men, women, youth and children – are camping at entry points to the country’s capital, demanding the scrapping of the[Read More…]
Devraj Singh Kalsi gives a unique perspective on the Farmer’s Protest in India The nation knows them as truck-drivers, transporters, dhaba-owners (eatery-owners), soldiers, and farmers who made the nation green with revolution (and envy) half a century ago. They perform these jobs so well that nobody in India wants them to do anything else. It would be a waste of time and resources[Read More…]
Governments in many countries grapple with the challenge of retaining the support of farmers who are considered important in electoral politics. At the same time several of these governments work under the impact of powerful business interests. From the narrow point of view of these governments the skill is in somehow managing to keep both business interests and farmers happy.[Read More…]
1 Each system has its own underlying dynamics which propel it forwards and also aid in its preservation and perpetuation. In India, the advancement of neo-liberalist/finance capitalist system through privatization/corporatization, which is being linked to the phenomenon of neo-imperialism, is also no exception. Since 1991, the neo-liberalist/finance capitalist system has been at the heart of the country’s policies in open[Read More…]
Women Farmer Day is being celebrated at leading protest site Kundli as well as some other protest sites of the courageous farmers’ movement today on January 18. A large number of women arrived from several villages of Haryana and Punjab as well as other places on Sunday. They are taking over many duties today and will be participating even more[Read More…]
The following excerpt is taken from Bhagat Singh’s “Letter to Young Political Workers” (The Bhagat Singh Reader, pp. 224-245), written on February 2, 1931: The real revolutionary armies are in the villages and in factories, the peasantry and the labourers. But our bourgeois leaders do not and cannot dare to tackle them. The sleeping lion once awakened from its slumber[Read More…]
In the murky netherworld of the mafia the Godfather is the one who speaks softly, but whose words carry the deadliest intent. On 15 January as yet another round of talks between agitating farmers and the Indian government failed the International Monetary Fund, an institution that heads the Mafiosi of global finance, put out a bland and very measured statement.[Read More…]
Stepping back to November 2020, farmers marched peacefully on Delhi on Constitution Day with the aim of reaching Ramlila Maidan to hold a rally objecting to the three new farm laws. Government flexed its muscle military-style to stop them, by digging up the national highway and installing heavy obstacles and razor-wire concertinas. When farmers breached the obstacles, police used tear-gas[Read More…]
Parliament, despite its Constituent power under Article 368 to amend the Constitution, cannot legislate on state subjects, even if two-thirds of its members and half of states agree. Leaving agriculture to States is substantive part of federal character which is basic feature of the Constitution. The doctrine of basic structure laid down by Supreme Court in 1973 prevents Parliament to[Read More…]
On the night of Friday, January 15, the members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together to reject controversial Indian laws . To mark the 92nd birth anniversary of the towering US civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burnt copies of the contentious Indian farming law, besides Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the draconian Unlawful[Read More…]
In a short video on the empirediaries.com YouTube channel, a protesting farmer camped near Delhi says that during lockdown and times of crisis farmers are treated like “gods”, but when they ask for their rights, they are smeared and labelled as “terrorists”. He, along with thousands of other farmers, are mobilising against three important pieces of farm legislation that were[Read More…]
I am Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Chief of the Naval Staff . I served the country in Uniform for 45 years and came straight to this village from Delhi after retirement. First of all let me begin by offering shraddhanjali to all those who have paid with their lives during these two months of peaceful protests camping in the bitter[Read More…]
The ninth round of talks between the farmers’ movement and government representatives on January 15 again did not yield any breakthrough, but kept some hopes alive by scheduling a next round of discussions—the tenth one—for January 19. In the meanwhile the farmers’ unions and organizations will be deliberating on the course of actions during the next few days. As they[Read More…]
During the hearing of the farmer movement, the Supreme Court expressed concern towards the elderly and women and asked them to withdraw from the movement which is revealing the court patriarchal mentality towards women as well as the movement. Supreme court is directly trying to disturbed unity and organization of the movement. Chief justice of India said That “We do not[Read More…]
On 5 January, British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wrote a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to convey to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “heartfelt anxieties” of MPs’ constituents (many emanating from Punjab) regarding the treatment of protesting farmers in India. The letter was signed by more than 100 MPs and Lords and had cross-party support. Dhesi stated that[Read More…]
The stalemate in resolving key issues relating to farmers’ movement continues, even though millions and millions of people in the country want the prolonged stalemate to end on a note of satisfaction for farmers. Although attempts are being made repeatedly to depict the farmers as being unreasonable and obstinate, in fact they have displayed remarkable maturity as well as foresight[Read More…]
The Supreme Court has been unusually aggressive with the government on the three farm bills. The Chief Justice of India made tough talking about this and said that he is going to form the ‘expert’ committee and will stay the implementation of the bill. And today, the court decided that a four member panel will speak to the farmers and[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together on Sunday, January 10 in Surrey, to remember more than 60 farmers, who have laid down their lives during the ongoing agitation in India. Organized by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the vigil was in protest against the recent deaths of farmers who have been holding a demonstration near New Delhi to press upon[Read More…]
The ongoing farmers’ movement in India has evoked strong feelings on both sides. This has been praised to an awesome extent; on the other hand very unfair criticism has been inflicted on it repeatedly. It will be useful at this stage to attempt an unbiased appraisal of this movement. Strengths of Movement The most persistent demand of this movement for[Read More…]
Tempo building up for spark to turn into a prairie fire on January 26th tractors March in Delhi to protest laws representing neo-fascism of Narandra Modi led BJP A protracted war of resistance is being waged by the peasant organizations on the border of Delhi protesting the three agricultural laws. In the manner of preparing for a great war a[Read More…]
The ongoing farmers’ movement has led to the coming together of many farmers’ organizations and this unity has been sustained despite several efforts to divide them. As many farmer representatives have stated repeatedly, the mobilization of farmers on Delhi borders would have seen even greater participation from various parts of the country but for the fact that travel conditions in[Read More…]
Disappointing the very large number of people who had high hopes that the stand-off with farmers’ organizations will be resolved soon, the government has not accepted this main demand after even 44 days of peaceful and disciplined protests by farmers at five places on Delhi border. The talks today on January 8 were particularly dismal as the farmer representatives, judging[Read More…]
Almost all social movements set a lot of emphasis on their immediate demands. These are obviously very important and often the success or otherwise of a movement is almost entirely judged in terms of the realization of these demands. Such a view, although very common, is not entirely correct. The achievements of social movements can also be very important, sometimes[Read More…]
It is easy to have very wide agreement on the obvious fact that food and farming sector is one of the most important sectors, perhaps the most important sector, of human efforts and needs. But while the realization of this importance should lead to very caring and careful attitudes, the realization of the importance is actually being interpreted by very[Read More…]
In many countries with varying levels of development, a large number of farmers have been losing their land , sometimes to the extent of even losing their status as independent landowning farmers. Various economic, technological, social, political, legal and other factors are involved, and one is hesitant to generalize or oversimplify a complex situation. Nevertheless this much can be stated[Read More…]
Recently Sant Seechewal, saint and award winning eco-activist of Punjab, visited protesting farmers at Delhi border with the precious gift of a truckload of healthy food. However the message he brought him was even more precious—he called upon them to shift to natural farming and mutually cooperative farming in order to find more reliable and sustainable solutions to their problems.[Read More…]
One of the most widely prevalent beliefs of development discourse is that the number and share of farmers and farmer households in total population must inevitably decline in the course of progress. This is based on historical experience as also the fact that technological change and rising productivity make it possible to produce necessary food and raw materials by a[Read More…]
The category of ‘farmers’ is a hasty one, an entity perceived as homogenous by consumers in urban settings. This erases class, caste, gender and geopolitical differences which exist within the category of ‘farmer’, varying from large scale landholders, moneylenders and middlemen, to small or landless farmers and farm labourers. This is discounting agrarian producers not themselves involved in farming, but[Read More…]
High hopes reposed in the talks between the representatives of farmers’ organizations and the government on January 4 were not fulfilled and the entire issue got postponed to the next round of talks scheduled for January 8. This is very disappointing. Why is the stalemate persisting? The statements made by both sides after this round may help us to understand[Read More…]
The last week too, the mainstream media published a large number of articles and opinion pieces, dismissing the farmers’ protests (2020-21). While arguments have been offered in support of the farm laws, the opposition parties have been slammed for indulging in petty politics. From attacking subsidies on agriculture and MSP (Minimum Support Price) to praising the technology, completion and[Read More…]
As India debates the repeal of three controversial farm laws and critical negotiations for this are scheduled to take place today on January 4, it needs to be asserted that in democracy when a government take a decision to repeal unpopular laws, its true respect and honor among people are likely to increase, not decrease. However this is true only[Read More…]
With fresh bouts of farmer protest gaining momentum, currently the Modi government is riding the high Horse of arrogance and the farmers are equally determined to conduct the ‘Ashwameda,’ the Vedic Yag of horse sacrifice. The current farmers protest is much deeper than the repealing of the three farm laws and fixing MSP prices. The bottom line is that the[Read More…]
The last round of talks between farmer and government representatives had ended on a note of partial optimism, with some negotiators from farmers side saying that they expected a clincher agreement in the next round of talks in the new year on January 4 Monday. Even ministers on the government side voiced expressed high hopes of final agreement, one Minister[Read More…]
A girl walks on her house terrace In the transient sunlight in winter Talking to a bird. On the border, an old peasant in the make-shift camp Shivers in the wind’s chill. A cloud climbs down to cover him with a white blanket. The light green of the new-born leaves of a lemon tree Asks the breeze to whistle[Read More…]
The last five weeks of 2020 were dominated by a re-assertion of social movements in India. Can the country build further on this strength in the new year 2021? To answer this question we must look first at the overall situation in the country. The foremost concerns of people appear to be economic ones. A very large number of people[Read More…]
The farmer-government talks on December 30 indicated that some progress on a negotiated settlement is being made. This is good for farming and good for democracy. However even at this advanced stage of negotiations there is no clear reference to two very crucial issues. It will be very useful if at least a reference regarding their importance and a commitment[Read More…]
An appeal of Progressive Organization of People (POP) to the people of India Farmers’ agitation against the three agrarian laws of the Modi government has snow balled into a major political challenge to the regime. When important institutions of the state like the parliament, and the criminal justice system including judiciary have been systematically hollowed out, and opposition political parties[Read More…]
After many distressing developments in the country some good news had to simply emerge during 2020 to end the year on a note of hope and it has finally emerged in the form of a growing unity of farmers and workers. This will strengthen our democracy and increase the ability of people to defend themselves and crucial national interests from[Read More…]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been continuously attacking the opposition regarding the ongoing farmers’ movement at the borders of the capital. He has constantly made accusations that the opposition is misleading the farmers against the three agri-laws to gain its lost political ground. Especially by showing them fear of losing their lands due to the new laws. Modi’s attack is[Read More…]
Draft prepared ahead of round of talks scheduled for December 29, 2020 Note from the editor: In a recent response to an RTI plea filed by Jatin Desai, the central government revealed that it had no record of meetings or discussions with farmer associations ahead of finalizing the three new farm laws. The farmers on protest, however, seem deeply conscientious[Read More…]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the left parties did not implement APMC Act is firmly being refuted by Kerala government and farmer’s union. Prime Minister Narendra Modi while announcing PM-KISAN scheme questioned the opposition parties who have extended their support to the protesting farmers in Delhi but ignored the non-implementation of APMCs in states like Kerala. “The groups who[Read More…]
New hopes of resolving the important issues raised by the farmers emerged on December 26, with both sides agreeing to restart of talks, after stalemate- like conditions had emerged following the breakdown of the earlier round of negotiations. Now this new opportunity of resolving the stand-off should be clinched, with the new year beginning on an optimistic note for the[Read More…]
It is a threat to food security. It has potential to make owners of agriculture land up to five acres, slaves and sub-servants of corporate agricultural contractors. It deprives annadaatas of the State support. Illustration by DOMINIC XAVIER, Courtesy : Rediff.com The majority of population did not understand these simple consequences, so-called educated are refusing to apply their minds, but[Read More…]
As Punjab was selected for early introduction of green revolution and the accompanying investments and subsidies, and the state also receives more remittances from family members who work abroad or have settled there, there has been an exaggerated perception of farm-related prosperity in Punjab, while the reality for many of the small and marginal farmers has been that of[Read More…]
India being an agrarian economy owes its development progress and emergence at global level to the unquestionable devotion, extreme hard work and selfless service of its farming community in making India not only self-sufficient in food grains but also a surplus food grain country. The Indian farmers have hardly ever been involved in demonstrations, protests or major agitations over the[Read More…]
In 1991, when I was 12 years old and in 8th class in my village high school, the Government of India led by the Congress Party launched new economic reform programmes. I vividly remember reading local newspapers, which carried news on the reduction of agricultural subsidies on seeds, fertilisers, electricity and irrigation. It also started dismantling the universal approach to[Read More…]
The farmers’ protests against the three bills that have been passed by the government has now moved far beyond merely being farm bills. Fact of the matter is despite wide ranging support from different parts of the country, it is mainly a protest led and supported by the Sikhs wholeheartedly. Had it not been so, it would have been difficult[Read More…]
Does the multitude signal the birth pangs of change? The coalition of agricultural workers, marginal landholders, oppressed castes led by rich peasantry surrounding Delhi constitutes a counter-power. Coming alive and united in its opposition to the Farm Bills; a pan Indian gathering calling to account the dominant tyranny enthroned in Delhi and Nagpur. Camped on the highways leading to Delhi[Read More…]
“If among the band of robbers, knowledge of robbing is obligatory, is a pious man to accept the obligation? So long as the superstition that men should obey the unjust laws exists, so long the slavery will exist”- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Hind Swaraj, 1909) With the new ‘farm laws’ democratic India’s saga of forced marriages remains in continuity. India remains[Read More…]
Introduction It is rare for any legislation to become the rallying point of such large-scale and prolonged opposition as the three farm laws enacted together this year in India have become. The biggest farmers’ movement of recent times in India has emerged to protest against this ‘kala kanoon’ or black laws as these three laws have been repeatedly labeled by[Read More…]
I am Aniketh Brian Madhok from Kolkata, West Bengal, The Republic of India. I am 17 years old and in the 11th Grade. I would like to take this opportunity to present my work in support of the Farmers’ Agitation which is currently on-going in India as of December 2020. The following are my own SHORT YouTube clips on the[Read More…]
Modi and His Washington Masters in Dismantling of Agricultural Economy and Food Security in India The surge of wealth of Indian billionaires and the Modi led BJP government’s onslaught on poor, marginalised and farmers continue to grow simultaneously as masses face annihilating pandemic of Coronavirus. There is 90 % rise of Indian billionaire’s wealth over last one decade. It is[Read More…]
Ten leading economists of India wrote a letter to the Union government and supported the farmers’ demand to repeal the Farm Acts. The letter dated December 17, 2020 is as follows: To Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. Dear Sir, Sub: Serious concerns from economists regarding the recent Farm Acts, which merit[Read More…]
Statement of POP in solidarity with farmers struggle Last 25 days thousands of Farmers are protesting at the Delhi border along with their wives and children in the coldest winters of Delhi against the anti- farmer laws and the electricity bill enacted by the BJP central government. These laws are(1) the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act,[Read More…]
It would perhaps not be incorrect to say that the overview of the recently passed farm bills is to say that the farmers, rotting in the clutches of the APMCs, will now finally be liberated by the corporates. Seemingly, the farmers in this country will now have wings to fly, out in an open market, exercising choices. But what have[Read More…]
All sections of society — farmers, agricultural labourers, small shopkeepers — must oppose the new farm laws and hold the central government accountable for trying to jeopardise the country’s food security. Farmers across the country are agitating in a single voice for the rollback of the recently enacted farm laws. The new laws have the potential to restructure Indian agriculture[Read More…]
Farmer protests throughout the country have now been going on for quite a while without any ending in the sight. These protests came into force when government introduced 3 new farm bills: Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services; Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill. Government’s rationale behind[Read More…]
The recent death of Baba Ram Singh, who shot himself in protest against the repression of agitating farmers in India, has revealed the true colours of those in power. Singh was associated with the Sikh sect of Nanaksar in Karnal, Haryana. On Wednesday, December 16, he shot himself dead, leaving behind a suicide note explaining the reason behind his action.[Read More…]
To appreciate what is happening to agriculture and farmers in India, we must first understand how the development paradigm has been subverted. Development used to be about breaking with colonial exploitation and radically redefining power structures. Today, neoliberal dogma masquerades as economic theory and the subsequent deregulation of international capital ensures giant transnational conglomerates are able to ride roughshod over[Read More…]
US president Trump dismissed Christopher Krebs, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Reason? Krebs had disputed Trump’s contention that the presidential election had fraudulent ballots and software glitches that changed millions of votes. Krebs spoke his “truth”, which did not match president Trump’s “truth”. Krebs paid the price by losing his job. In our country in recent[Read More…]
K.P. Sasi is a film maker, Cartoonist and a writer SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Dec 15 Tuesday said that a conspiracy is going around Delhi. The PM was speaking at the inauguration of mega energy projects in Kutch, in his home state Gujarat. The PM’s statement came even as the farmers’ agitation across the country entered its 20th day. Five rounds of talks between the government and the farmers[Read More…]
I simply do not have an adjective in the dictionary to sum up the intensity of the farmers resistance in Delhi. History continues to be re-written like an inextinguishable light. It is reminiscent of a protracted war launched by an army against unflinching odds, confronting the enemy in the very belly. Each and every day it is further consolidating. With[Read More…]
In democracies leaders are called upon time and again to resolve protests of people. In fact this is a primary responsibility of democratically elected leaders and the sense of responsibility should be all the greater for leaders who have received enormous respect and trust of people, like a leader like Shri Narendra Modi of India. Time and again people of[Read More…]
Since the beginning of the farmers’ agitation against the three new agri-laws, there has been a series of allegations and counter-allegations between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and opposition parties. The pace and volume of allegations and counter-allegations between the government and the opposition increased significantly after the opposition actively supported the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers’[Read More…]
Instead of listening to the grievances of the farmers and objectively reporting the concerns raised during more than half a month-long farmers’ demonstrations being held around the areas in and around the national capital Delhi, the media is busy maligning them. The pages of newspapers are filled with the negative stories and anti-farmers opinion pieces. The farmers continue to[Read More…]
These kisans are an ungracious lot. What a bunch of ignorant fools! We give them concessions. They say they need rights. We offer Ambani’s bazaar. They prefer mandis. We offer Adani warehouses. They prefer MSP. We pass bills without asking. They pass resolutions that jolt us. We praise Kisans are good for country. They troll us in wedding songs. We[Read More…]
It is inexplicable why the union government is taking so long to resolve an issue which is so simple to resolve . Millions and millions of people including farmers put their faith in wisdom of Narendra Modi in the last general elections; he was without doubt the biggest vote catcher for the BJP and the NDA. This faith is now[Read More…]
Jan Adhikar Mancha supports the ongoing farmers’ movement. Mancha condemns state repression and false propaganda against the movement From the very first day of the call of “Delhi Chalo” programme of the All Indian Kishan Sangarsha Samiti to the observation of International Human Rights day of 10 December, we have been observing the Goebbelsean propaganda of misinformation and disinformation unleashed[Read More…]
The Indian rightist government, intoxicated by its power induced due to number of seats occupied by its party in the Lower House of Parliament which enabled it to form the government without the need for a political alliance, has assumed power to be absolute. Although it has a dummy alliance under the umbrella named as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),[Read More…]
The Modi government is facing one of the strongest oppositions since it came to power. And it is not from its biggest rival Congress. Rather it is from the people that Modi government promised to make the life easy for- the farmers of India. The seeds of this massive protest were laid on 27th September 2020 when the president gave[Read More…]
In the last one decade we are witnessed three major protests in different issues, but the outcome of each protest was the same. The protesters became popular but the issue lost in between the crowd of protesters. The issues are carved to harness more and more crowds irrespective of the issues. The three major protests at least indicate a pattern[Read More…]
Government is on the backfoot with determined farmers, especially from the northern states, protesting peacefully against the Farm Laws. They are joined by farmers and workers countrywide. Whatever the official obfuscations, this is a People’s agitation/ protest against laws which they well understand will do them harm. In present times, barring ritual voting in elections, the will of We the[Read More…]
‘Sarkar ki asli majburi; ambani, adani, jamakhori’ (The Compulsions of the government is Ambani, Adani and hoarding cum corruption). This is the slogan that the protesting farmers are raising these days in the course of their nationwide struggle for their dignity and rights. Though very brief, but this slogan expediently and succinctly captures the issue, the farmers are foregrounding. On[Read More…]
In the context of a massive farmer agitation to protect the agrarian productive mass self-respect and future of their age old occupation, it is important to see whether the ruling Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideology has any scope for developing agriculture as against its pro-business ideology. If one looks at the policy documents of the RSS right from 1925 it’s Cultural[Read More…]
First they came for the corner shops And I did not speak out Because I was not a shopkeeper Then they came for the taxis And I did not speak out Because I was not a taxi driver Next they came for travel agencies And I did not speak out Because I was not a travel agent Then they came[Read More…]
Enlarged farmers’ protests at Delhi that succeeded in mustering active support from adjoining states have forced the Modi government to leave its earlier stand that the Farm Act would bring ‘bonanza’ for the farmers. And in a way of confessing its error, the government has come down with a negotiating proposal for amending the Acts. But by exhibiting trust-deficit in[Read More…]
Today women and men in the farmers’ struggle are standing shoulder to shoulder at the Delhi borders. This movement is a symbol in the history of India—a symbol of freedom, of voices, of ideas, of protests, of slogans, of resolutions. This is not just a farmers’ struggle; it is a joint campaign of all of us, of children, women and[Read More…]
It is not every day that one needs a doctor, a lawyer, a policemen or a priest, but everyday, three times a day, you need a farmer. Farmers are not a homogenous community. There are caste and class differences because, among land-owning farmers, the socio-economic spectrum of farmers is huge. At one end are wealthy, university-educated farmers with large land-holdings,[Read More…]
New farm bill 2020: Why farmers are protesting? Farmers from several Indian states are protesting against three new Agriculture Reforms Acts, that the government says will open up the tightly-controlled agriculture sector to free-market forces. It is claimed that the bills, passed by India’s parliament make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and enter[Read More…]
The most prominent feature of world farming in recent decades has been that of growing corporate control, and this has often been at the expense and interests of farmers. It is important to understand the wide-ranging adverse implications of this corporatization of farming for the sustainability of farming systems, for the welfare of ordinary farmers and for food-security of the[Read More…]
As the farmers protest has grown powerful and looking for a long haul, the BJP as well as its ‘information network’ has gone overboard to discredit them. Whatever things happen at the ground, the social media trolls and disinformation has its impact even if we deny them or mock at them. Travelling in the train from Uttar Pradesh give you[Read More…]
They didn’t raise their voice And we called them under privileged By our own choice Do you eat food? Of course, from when you were born But today you are being unjust With the ones that provide. A doctor, a teacher and even a parent, We need them but not all the time, A farmer, we just cannot do without.[Read More…]
Delhi right now is witnessing an unprecedented outburst of long suppressed agony and muffled voice of the Indian farmers. The protest that started in August 2020 against the three Agricultural Laws bring forth by the NDA government is projecting a shift in its vigor and valor since this November 25th, when the farmers from Punjab and Haryana have decided to[Read More…]
In fact “these people ( the bureaucrats ) have even made the Prime Minister give wrong statements about the Acts,” says leader of BKS. It shows how the State functions and ruling politicians have to toe the line and sell it to the public. It bulldozes any dissent, even if it is from its own camp. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh[Read More…]
1. Armed Forces Veterans are closely following the unfolding situation of the farmer’s peaceful agitation to repeal the three laws passed by Parliament. We are also aware that workers across sectors have supported the demands of farmers, in addition to peacefully raising objections to amended labour laws. 2. The purpose of this statement is to inform protesting farmers that Armed[Read More…]
~ Complete Bandh in some states, huge protests all over India ~ More than 50 Lac people participate in 20,000 places to make Bharat Bandh Successful ~ All Sections of common working class people and white-collar workers join Bandh; city streets and markets deserted ~ Organised and Unorganised Sector workers involved in supporting Bandh; Daily wagers sacrifice to make Bandh[Read More…]
(Report of the Virtual Meet of All India Peoples Front held on 5.12.2020) In order to save the corporate economy undergoing a period of deep economic crisis, the Modi government legislated three anti-farmer acts by passing them in a highly undemocratic manner in Parliament. Similarly, by creating anti-worker Labour Code, all the rights acquired after long struggles have been trampled. Even provision has[Read More…]
There is growing unease at the inexplicable delay on the part of the union government in accepting the well-justified demands of the farmers’ movement. It is by now widely recognized that the three controversial farm laws are not justified and were somehow pushed through with undue hurry. The government representatives have already accepted the need for several amendments and the[Read More…]
AIKSCC APPEALS FOR SUPPORT & SOLIDARITY WITH “BHARAT BANDH” ON DECEMBER 8 – CALLS FOR MASS PROTESTS BY ALL DEMOCRATIC & PROGRESSIVE MASS ORGANISATIONS, TRADE UNIONS, TRADERS, ASSOCIATIONS & GUILDS This is an appeal from All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) to all democratic & progressive mass organisations across India including trade unions, students’ organisations, women’s organisations, teachers’ organisations,[Read More…]
Withdraw the 3 Pro-Corporate, Anti-Farmer Laws: Uphold Farmers Sovereignty Over Agriculture Historic Farmers Resistance is a Struggle to Reclaim Democracy from Fascists National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) expresses its complete solidarity with ongoing farmers’ nation-wide protests and endorses the Bharat Bandh on 8th December. The call has come after several rounds of failed negotiation between the protesting farmers in[Read More…]
Oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws meant to favour the big business and buttress the Centre’s autocracy The UCCRI(M-L) supports the call for a Bharath Bandh on December 8, 2020 given by the various farmers’ organizations to oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws. These farm laws are meant to favour big business houses to enter into production and distribution of[Read More…]
On December 5 the 5th round of talks of farmers’ representatives with the government in Delhi was not successful, but the situation was redeemed somewhat by a statement made by the Union Agriculture Minister at the end of the 5 hour talks. Speaking in a very gentle voice he told media persons that he would like to thank farmer leaders[Read More…]
The peasantry of Punjab belonging to 32 different organisations of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Co-ordination Commitee have literally written a new chapter in history after igniting a spark into a Prairie fire. Arguably in the entire world has a farmers movement hit such a crescendo. There is hardly a adjective in the dictionary that can do justice to the[Read More…]
We, the Core Group members of the Vikalp Sangam, stand in solidarity with the ongoing farmers’ protests for the repeal of the newly enacted farm laws – The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. We[Read More…]
The movement of farmers, with its epicenter on the borders of the capital city but also having manifestations in many parts of the country, has attracted widespread attention. This is clearly a very important movement. It is attracting a large number of farmers and getting strong material and emotional support from several sections of society. However attracting a large number[Read More…]
The farmer is the provider of food (Anndata) to the world, but in today’s system, he often has a craving for grains. People thrive in towns and cities using his earnings, but only disasters come in his share. The crop dries due to droughts. Floods submerge fields. But a big disaster over these two comes when the price of the[Read More…]
You shove us, you beat us, you bury us alive. Yet we, the farmers of this country are reborn like that one resolute corn plant. You cringe, you grin, you plead for our votes and notes. If WE made you win, WE can make you fall too! We’re the fields, we, the crops, then why are we the prisoners of[Read More…]
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties is committed to the defence and promotion of civil liberties in India, irrespective of differences regarding the political and economic institutions that maybe suitable for the country. The aim of the PUCL is clearly to uphold and promote by peaceful means the democratic way of life throughout India. To us it is an article[Read More…]
Ongoing farmer protests that turn into an encirclement of New Delhi, the power-center are no longer confined to the securing of assurance of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat and rice in Punjab and Haryana. They have sharpened the sting against Indian policies of neo-liberalism. These policies have already led to the finance-capital control and privatization of health and education[Read More…]
On Saturday December 5 the Government of India is scheduled to hold the 5th round of talks with protesting farmers’ movements. There are at least 21 compelling reasons why the government should accept the main demand of farmers for repealing the three controversial laws. These reasons relate mainly to the fact that acceptance of this key demand will be good[Read More…]
The Agricultural Trade and Commerce Act, Farmers Price Assurance Act and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act were enacted by the Union Government in October 2020. These laws have triggered nationwide protests, which include huge participation of women farmers. They believe that these laws will make them vulnerable to exploitation by corporations, erode their bargaining power, and weaken government’s MSP system, putting[Read More…]
The ongoing siege of the national capital New Delhi by hundreds of thousands of farmers represents, perhaps, the biggest revolt against ‘Company Raj’ since India’s First War of Independence way back in 1857. While a century and half ago it was the rapacious British East India Company that was the target of the Indian masses this time their ire today[Read More…]
Ever since the Punjab farmers’ agitation has picked up in India, the followers of the currently ruling right wing Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have started labelling the agitators as separatists. Since the famers from Punjab are predominantly Sikhs, Modi’s troll army and some of his apologists in Bollywood have begun attacking them on social media,[Read More…]
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has supported the farmers’ peaceful democratic protest in Delhi and hoped that a solution would be found out. Now, this has ‘hurt’ the sentiments of ‘liberal’ ‘deshbhakts’ and they have started questioning Canada’s locus standi on the issue. A great editor even tweeted how Canada, which is ‘inconsequential’ for world politics matter for India.[Read More…]
An important farmers’ movement has emerged in India around the opposition to the three recent controversial farm legislations which are widely alleged to advance corporate interests at the expense of jeopardizing a fair deal to farmers. This has support of many important farmers’ organizations and in addition sections of other social movements have also extended support to the demand for[Read More…]
The #FarmersProtest has brought into limelight the dangers of ‘corporatisation’ of agriculture which the farmers organisations know but our ‘economists’ sponsored and funded by big companies continue to provide us ‘data’ of the efficacy of the ‘private sector’. The three bills that the farmers are protesting, particularly from Punjab and Haryana will actually bring death knell to the Minimum Support[Read More…]
While the farmers continue to hold demonstrations near the national capital against the recently-enacted Farm Laws that have facilitated the entry of big corporate players in the agricultural sector, several Hindi newspapers are busy demonizing the movement and linking it to the Khalistani terrorists. Several narratives are being constructed by the media to portray the Farmers’ Protests as unruly, violent,[Read More…]
PUDR condemns the Haryana Government and the Police for filing cases against farmers protesting against the three farmers and Electricity Act. As per various news reports, Haryana Police have registered cases at Sadar Ambala PS, Baldev Nagar Ambala PS and Dabwali PS against Bhartiya Kisan Union and other farmers’ organizations for allegedly breaking police checkpoints and entering Haryana during the[Read More…]
After the anti CAA protest at Saheen Bagah in Delhi, the farmers protest is the second protest in Delhi that is currently underway in 2020. Thousands of farmers from Haryana and Punjab have marched towards Delhi to press the central government to repeal the recently enacted farm laws. They are stopped at Haryana Delhi border by the Delhi police using[Read More…]
On 26 November, an estimated 250 million workers from different sectors belonging to 10 central trade unions and hundreds of workers associations struck work in what may be the biggest nationwide strike. It is not coincidental that lakhs of farmers of several states chose the same day to march towards Delhi from all directions, opposed by Police at multiple places.[Read More…]
A revolution is happening in India. As usual, the revolution is not being televised. Tens of thousands of farmers are marching to the national capital New Delhi. After preventing them from entering the city for two days, the government was forced to allow their entry. Most of the mainstream media are either ignoring this revolution or calling the agitating farmers[Read More…]
The police brutality on the farmers protesting against the farm bill passed by the Parliament need to be unconditionally condemned. The farmers are agitating againsnt these bills since they were passed without proper discussion in Parliament. The fear is that the bills will pave the way for corporatisation of agriculture and will leave the farmers atg the mercy of corporate[Read More…]
Adopted by an assembly representing the farmers of India on the occasion of the historic Kisan Mukti March organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee Delhi, 30 November 2018 WE, THE FARMERS OF INDIA, The producers of primary agricultural commodities; Including Women, Dalit, Nomadic and Adivasi farmers; Landowners, Tenants, Sharecroppers, Agricultural Labourers and Plantation Workers; Fishworkers, Milk Producers,[Read More…]
Around 100,000 farmers from across the country converged and marched to the parliament of India in New Delhi demanding a special session to discuss their problems. They were stopped near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital, where their leaders addressed the protesters. The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground since Thursday, began their march to[Read More…]
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Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
