The world’s biggest democracy is having one its biggest protests.

Hundreds of thousands of India’s farmers have spent the last three weeks marching on the country’s capital New Delhi, to protest the government’s three new agriculture bills. And yesterday, to mark the United Nations Human Rights Day, on 10th December 2020, British Sikhs demonstrated their support for Punjabi farmers at a mass protest involving over 100 cars driving outside the Indian Consulate in Birmingham.  

The bills, bought in by India’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP, will change the way Indian farmers do business, which is particularly significant because half of India’s population are farmers. Together, the bills will give India’s farmers access to the free market for the first time in decades.

They will allow private buyers to be able to store and therefore hoard large quantities of essential produce for sale in the future, something only government players could do before. Secondly, farmers will be able to engage in contracts with private buyers and therefore adjust their produce to meet specific demands. And finally, farmers will be able to sell their goods directly to physical and online supermarkets and businesses that deal with agricultural goods, at market price, instead of in government regulated markets with fixed prices.

Prime Minister Modi is introducing these measures because the government regulated markets are run by large farmland owners and traders who act as middle men in arranging the sales, storage and transportation of produce, and, take huge amounts of commission. The new bills aim to give farmers more freedom and therefore better pricing and improved financial prospects. But farmers are concerned that the free markets will take advantage of the farmers and exploit them.

The government have promised to keep the regulated markets and fixed prices alive but farmers worry that it won’t be able to stand up to the free market, resulting in a formation of, and rise in, large farmer corporations which will push out individual farmers. For many, coming from improvised, rural homes, education hasn’t been an option. And considered as low-skilled workers with little to no English, finding new work in one of the world’s most populated countries, will be an endless strife.

But India’s farmers have been struggling for decades and many thousands have moved to cities in search of work in labour-heavy industries like construction, whilst sending money back home to families in villages, where living costs are considerably lower. So it’s obvious the current laws aren’t working for farmers but clearly they don’t think the new laws will work either. As in most other countries, India’s farmers need a solution that mixes the free market with government help.

Unfortunately, police have clashed with the protestors, most of whom are Sikh and have come from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, using tear gas and water cannons to stop them, particularly at the border between Delhi and neighbouring state, Haryana. Camps have now been set up at the border between Delhi and Haryana and the plight has ignited fury from the Indian and in particular Punjabi, diaspora. The rally in Birmingham was “held in solidarity with Punjabi farmers who are protesting against the Modi Government’s Agricultural Bills, and to condemn the violent repression of the peaceful protest by the Indian authorities,” the organisers said.

The organisers are Sikhs For Justice, an international group campaigning to hold the first ever non-governmental referendum on the question of secession of Punjab from India. Many factions across the world have been calling for formation of an independent country in Punjab known as Khalistan, for years now. However this is an extremely contentious issue for both Punjabis in India and abroad. Dupinderjit Singh, UK Coordinator for Sikhs for Justice, said: “The farmers of Punjab have the democratic right to peacefully protest against the Indian Government’s damaging Agricultural Bills. However, we want to make it clear that this abuse is not exclusive to Sikh farmers, but rather, it is commonly experienced by all Sikhs across India.  

With many coming from a lineage of farming, the issue of the bills is particularly important for Punjabis but it doesn’t just impact them; it affects farmers all across the country. In fact, India has the highest rate of farmer suicides in the world. In 2018, farmers from Tamil Nadu wore the skulls of farmers who had committed suicide whilst marching in Delhi. This year, in some cases where Tamil Nadu farmers have been stopped by the police from attending protests in Delhi, they have been showing their support by having sit-ins in which they throw paper planes with their demands written on them. But the tragic numbers of farmer suicides was not always believed. In fact Prince Charles’ statement that thousands of farmers in India were committing suicide due to genetically modified crops was heavily criticised as fear-mongering.

But in 2008, it was proved to be true. Millions of the country’s farmers were promised bountiful harvests and matching profits if they replaced their traditional seeds with genetically modified seeds. So they borrowed far beyond their means in order to buy these seeds but when they failed, they were left with unsurmountable debt and no income. Also, unlike traditional seeds, genetically modified seeds that fail one year cannot be replanted the next year, which means many farmers have been forced to buy more altered seeds.

On the other hand genetically modified cotton seeds have led to a boom in cotton production in India. Ironically, many of the farmers who were driven to suicide, used the insecticide they were promised they would no longer need with the altered crop, to kill themselves. Sadly, its a slow and tragically painful death. In a bid to help, Prince Charles had set up the Bhumi Vardaan Foundation, to promote organic Indian crop.

Since then there has much debate over the legality and morality of the deal struck between the biotechnological companies, like Monsanto, a market leader, who provided the seeds and the government at the time who were desperate to alleviate the crippling poverty in the country caused by colonial oppression. For example, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, India was granted International Monetary Fund loans in exchange for allowing more access to western companies.

India’s farmers have also consistently struggled with uncertain monsoon rain levels and now, a rising drug problem, again, particularly in Punjab. Many also face losing their land in a country with stringent land laws, which for the poorly educated/uneducated and low-skilled workers, has felt like a death threat. Today, whilst the male farmers protest in the country’s capital, many of their wives have taken to working on the land.

There hasn’t been much response from international leaders so far, save for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who, in a statement on Tuesday 30th November, to celebrate the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, called the protests a "concerning" situation whilst noting that “Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest”. The message has incised India. On social media, support has been fierce with many noting that the farmer protests even affect local British people because goods like turmeric, which are used in products like turmeric latte, are supplied by Indian farmers.

References:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-55157574

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54930384

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-55213644

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54233080

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55152462

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082559/The-GM-genocide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html