Thousands of farmers converged in the capital on Thursday, in a united march to Delhi’s Ram Lila Maida in protest. The march is a part of a two-day farmers’ rally to demand redressal for the issues they face in the midst of India’s worsening agrarian crisis. The crisis has led to 3,00,000 farmer suicides since 1998.
Several protests have taken place in the past few years, and nearly all focus on the same demands.
They are demanding the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Committee report, increased minimum support price and a special Parliament session to address the agrarian crisis. The farmers also want the special parliament session to discuss two important bills – the Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill and the Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill.
The Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill demands an immediate loan waiver to indebted farmers and to provide continuous relief to those farmers who are in distress due to indebtedness.
The second bill, the Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill wants to provide farmers a guaranteed minimum support price return.
It says that the prices farmers get for their commodities do not cover their input costs or help them meet their basic needs. It adds that inadequate returns on their investment has led to tens of thousands of farmer suicides every year.
But didn’t the govt already assure farmers that they’d be given one and a half times their cost of production in the form of Minimum Support Price? They promised to do this in the 2018 Budget session in Parliament. Swaraj India’s leader Yogendra Yadav, who was also at the march, explained what the problem was.
The govt has changed the definition of Minimum Support Price, allowing them to freely decide what amount to give out based on their convenience. To make matters worse, the farmers are not even getting the smaller amounts that they’ve been promised.Yogendra Yadav, Leader, Swaraj India
The farmers belong to 200 groups from across India are represented by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee. This includes farmers from Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and many other parts of India. And it’s not JUST farmers who’ve taken to the streets for the cause. The young and old have come together this time to support the farmers march.
The Ideal Youth for Revolutionary Changes was one such group which has been staging street plays to raise awareness about important issues. A group of army veterans also joined in the march at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan carrying placards that said, “A soldier is a farmer’s son before joining the army. Forgive their debt.”
The Delhi government had prepared to receive the kisan march, making provisions well in advance.
Police said they’d made elaborate security arrangements across Delhi ahead of the rally. Volunteers were spread across Delhi to provide the farmers with food, water and medical assistance. Overnight camps were set up at several areas with doctors deployed at Ramlila Maidan to provide for medical emergencies.
On 29 November, the farmers will walk from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street and demand a joint Session of Parliament to discuss the agrarian crisis in India. Will the farmers voices be heard, or will the cries of over 3,00,000 dead farmers fall on deaf ears once again?
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