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For three weeks, they have blocked roads to the Indian capital, New Delhi.
They have traveled several hundred kilometers. Some on foot, others by truck.
On the way they sleep, eat and wash.
Peasants in India are furious with the country’s prime minister. And they have no plans to give up until they get away with it.
They defy the police and burn photographs of the prime minister. Why are Indian farmers so angry?
It is as far as the sun can penetrate through the thick layer of polluted fog in the Indian capital. It is winter and the end of a year that has claimed more than 144,000 lives from the corona pandemic in India. Almost ten million people are infected.
This has not stopped tens of thousands of Indian farmers from gathering on the outskirts of New Delhi. Many of them wear colored turbans. Protesters have challenged roadblocks, tear gas and water cannons. They have food and gas to last for several weeks and have no plans to give up.
At least not before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agrees to their demands:
New agricultural laws passed in September must be abolished completely. Commitments are irrelevant.
What is it about the new laws that arouses so much anger?
Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have traveled hundreds of miles to demonstrate against three new agricultural laws, which they believe will be exploited by large companies at the expense of small farmers. Photo: Altaf Qadri, AP / NTB
1. What do the new laws imply?
For decades, the Indian government has been responsible for regulating the buying and selling of agricultural products. This has happened through farmers selling their produce at auction, where the state agricultural committee has set the guidelines. The state sets a minimum price for the goods, in addition to deciding which buyers have access to the market.
New agricultural laws passed in September eliminate this scheme. Instead, farmers have the opportunity to set their own prices and sell them directly to private companies. The state will no longer be an intermediary. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes it will benefit farmers.
“The aim of these reforms is to make farmers more prosperous,” the prime minister said during a meeting in New Delhi on December 12.
Farmers in India do not share the same opinion. They believe that the new laws will give large companies the opportunity to lower the prices of agricultural products. It will threaten farmers’ incomes and the security that comes with guaranteed prices, they fear. At least 30 unions are protesting the law, according to Al Jazeera.
– Modi wants to sell our land to companies, says Kaljeet Singh, 31, who has traveled 310 kilometers from Punjab state to New Delhi to participate in the demonstrations.
A farmer shaves his head near the Delhi border. It is a symbol of opposition to the new agricultural laws adopted by the Indian government. Photo: Altaf Qadri, AP / NTB
2. Who protests?
It is mainly farmers from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, states at the center of Indian grain production, who have traveled to New Delhi to demonstrate against the new laws. Here they have set up makeshift camps, where they sleep, eat and wash.
The aim is to enter the city center, but so far the protesters have been detained by the police and have to remain on the outskirts.
The stakes are high for Indian farmers. More than half of the workforce in India works in the agricultural sector, according to the last Indian census of 2011. Many of them depend entirely on agriculture to have food on the table and a roof over their heads.
India’s agricultural sector employs more than half of the country’s population. On the border with New Delhi, tens of thousands of farmers are now demonstrating against the new agricultural laws. Photo: Adnan Abidi, Reuters / NTB
Additionally, agriculture accounts for 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. An average farmer in India still makes no more than Rs 10,329 a month, according to an analysis by the Hindustan Times. This corresponds to around 1,200 Norwegian crowns.
In recent decades, income from agriculture has stagnated and the sector has been in dire need of investment and modernization. Thousands of indebted farmers have taken their own lives in recent years, writes Al Jazeera.
However, farmers have little faith that the new laws will be a salvation for them. In it, they have the support of various teams.
Several of the opposition parties in India have voiced strong opposition to the new laws, which they believe are against the interests of marginalized small farmers. In addition, people from all over the world have come to demonstrations in solidarity with Indian farmers.
Along the roads leading to New Delhi, protesters have set up makeshift camps. They have no plans to relocate until the Indian government gives in to their demands. Photo: Altaf Qadri, AP / NTB
3. How does the government respond?
So far, all attempts at negotiation between the Indian government and the peasants have failed. On December 9, the government presented a proposal for several changes to the new laws, including guaranteeing a minimum price for agricultural products.
This is one of the protesters’ demands. However, they reject the proposal. The only thing they will agree to is a complete repeal of the new laws.
– This is not close to what we have demanded. It is an insult to us, says Jagmohan Singh, leader of the farmers, to Al Jazeera.
Therefore, the negotiations are blocked. India’s Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said the government is ready to discuss the legislation as soon as farmers respond to the new changes, writes The Times of India.
That doesn’t seem to be the case at first. On Monday, farmers’ unions called nationwide demonstrations and threatened to block even more roads into New Delhi. At the same time, the farmers went on a hunger strike that lasted throughout the day.
The protesting farmers in New Delhi come mainly from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
