For almost a month, a group representing farmers across India is not in their fields but on the streets, around the country’s national capital Delhi, to fight for their ‘survival’.
India’s BJP-led government has recently passed three agricultural laws, which the government claims will help improve agriculture. Three agricultural laws, according to the government, will help bring private investment into the agricultural sector, help farmers sell their products to anyone they want and APMC ‘loosen the grip of mandis’.
However, the protesting farmers believe that the laws are meant to ease the MSP regime, which will result in lower crop prices. The farmers are opposed to many other reforms that propose to bring legislation.
On the other hand, the central government is of the opinion that farmers are being misled by vested interests and opposition parties. Farmers want all laws to be repealed while the government is trying to find a middle ground through dialogue.
India has always been considered an agricultural country. A rich and resourceful land made it possible for Indians to adopt farming. But poor planning, population-related factors, and the government’s focus on other industrial sectors make farming ugly. In the 1960s, the Green Revolution helped make farming attractive again, especially to farmers in the northern region.
However, despite farmers having a strong political base, the sector saw a decrease in income and its contribution to GDP fell from 54% in the 1950s to around 16% now as GDP in other areas with a limited workforce contributed to An increase was observed.
Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was the Prime Minister of India for a short period between 1979 and 1980, is considered one of the biggest peasant leaders. During his time as PM and as Minister of Agriculture, he brought a number of farmer-friendly initiatives and schemes that benefited farmers. In his honor, his birthday, which falls on 23 December, was chosen to celebrate Farmers ‘Day or Farmers’ Day. Singh was born in 1902 in Meerut. He was from a peasant family and believed in the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ given by former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri.
India is now self-sufficient with the help of increased food production. However, the government’s efforts to promote privatization have worried farmers in the country who have been struggling with low incomes for years, resulting in poverty and suicides.
However, the protesting farmers believe that the laws are meant to ease the MSP regime, which will result in lower crop prices. The farmers are opposed to many other reforms that propose to bring legislation.