NEW DELHI: The ongoing farmers protest over reforms in the agriculture sector has been one of the key challenges before the Modi government during its second term.
The farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western parts of Uttar Pradesh have been protesting against the three new laws that have been passed by Parliament as part of agri reforms.
As the government completes two years in office, it has made it very clear that it is in no mood to backtrack on farm reforms. This despite the fact that it has lost allies, both in Punjab and Haryana, the two epicentres of the protest.
The protests against the Modi government have continued for nearly ten months now and are among the longest since it first came to power in 2014.
There appears to be no immediate end in sight to the agitation that has also created a sharp political divide.
On September 20 last year, Prime Minister Modi hailed the passage of the three Farm Bills and called it as a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture. The PM said that the bills would empower millions of farmers.
But the farmers are not convinced.
They are sceptical about the possibility of corporate dominance through the new laws. They also want a law that guarantees Minimum Support Price (MSP)for their produce. The concept of MSP has been a part of Indian agriculture since ages.
Several opposition parties have backed the protest by farmers, who initially tried to keep the politicians away. However, with the government in no mood to budge, the protesters have gradually welcomed the support by the opposition parties.
The farmers agitation made bad optics for the Modi government, that has been under pressure for ignoring the ‘annadatas’. Several international celebrities lent their voice to the farmers, a move which made headlines nationally and internationally.
On January 26, hundreds of farmers marched into the national capital on their tractors. They unleashed violence and clashed with the cops.
The government held several rounds of discussions with the farmers to resolve the impasse. But with the farmers adamant on complete repeal of the three laws, the negotiations broke down and are yet to start again.
Even the intervention of the Supreme Court failed to help. The top court stayed the implementation of the laws and constituted a panel to find a way out. The government also agreed to put the laws on hold for 18 months.
But all these efforts failed to yield any result as the farmers persisted with their demand to scrap the laws.
The agitation which picked huge momentum last year, gradually lost its steam.
Disunity among unions, the onset of Covid have been some of the factors that have made it difficult to keep the momentum going.
However, with the Covid numbers on the decline, the farmers are now gearing up for another round of confrontation with the government.
They have warned the government of an agitation much bigger than last year.
12 political parties have already issued a statement in support of the farmers and have asked the government to engage in dialogue.
But it is unlikely that the Modi government will easily give in to their ‘unreasonable’ demands.
The farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western parts of Uttar Pradesh have been protesting against the three new laws that have been passed by Parliament as part of agri reforms.
As the government completes two years in office, it has made it very clear that it is in no mood to backtrack on farm reforms. This despite the fact that it has lost allies, both in Punjab and Haryana, the two epicentres of the protest.
The protests against the Modi government have continued for nearly ten months now and are among the longest since it first came to power in 2014.
There appears to be no immediate end in sight to the agitation that has also created a sharp political divide.
On September 20 last year, Prime Minister Modi hailed the passage of the three Farm Bills and called it as a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture. The PM said that the bills would empower millions of farmers.
But the farmers are not convinced.
They are sceptical about the possibility of corporate dominance through the new laws. They also want a law that guarantees Minimum Support Price (MSP)for their produce. The concept of MSP has been a part of Indian agriculture since ages.
Several opposition parties have backed the protest by farmers, who initially tried to keep the politicians away. However, with the government in no mood to budge, the protesters have gradually welcomed the support by the opposition parties.
The farmers agitation made bad optics for the Modi government, that has been under pressure for ignoring the ‘annadatas’. Several international celebrities lent their voice to the farmers, a move which made headlines nationally and internationally.
On January 26, hundreds of farmers marched into the national capital on their tractors. They unleashed violence and clashed with the cops.
The government held several rounds of discussions with the farmers to resolve the impasse. But with the farmers adamant on complete repeal of the three laws, the negotiations broke down and are yet to start again.
Even the intervention of the Supreme Court failed to help. The top court stayed the implementation of the laws and constituted a panel to find a way out. The government also agreed to put the laws on hold for 18 months.
But all these efforts failed to yield any result as the farmers persisted with their demand to scrap the laws.
The agitation which picked huge momentum last year, gradually lost its steam.
Disunity among unions, the onset of Covid have been some of the factors that have made it difficult to keep the momentum going.
However, with the Covid numbers on the decline, the farmers are now gearing up for another round of confrontation with the government.
They have warned the government of an agitation much bigger than last year.
12 political parties have already issued a statement in support of the farmers and have asked the government to engage in dialogue.
But it is unlikely that the Modi government will easily give in to their ‘unreasonable’ demands.
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