Day 262

Toll 565

Tiranga

Given all that happened on January 26th, the near spontaneous outburst of emotion on part of farmers, their desire to celebrate the Republic Day in Delhi and how the government created distraction, tried to use the events to smear the farmers, August 15 is obviously another important day on the calendar.

For months now, farmers have been opposing BJP programs in Haryana. Arrests have happened in Tohana, Hisar, Sirsa, Ambala and farmers have prevailed upon authorities to free their protestors – once even through an extreme hunger strike until death. The slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan is anyway on the lips of all farmers.

Knowing this, the Haryana BJP tried a tactic with Independence Day coming up – Tiranga Yatra. The Yatra was to take place on tractors in all districts of Haryana. The BJP reckoned that since farmers are opposing them, they will oppose the Tiranga Yatra as well. That is how BJP sought to malign the farmers once again in the name of the nation – dub them anti-national.

However, the farmers saw through the game. They decided not to oppose the Tiranga Yatra. They argued that the Tiranga/Tri-colour belongs as much to them as to the BJP. It is a different matter that BJP actually insults the Tiranga, is hell-bent on selling off the country, and the farmers intend to save the country. The BJP’s Tiranga Yatra failed, last heard going rate was Rs 2000 to participate in it for one day. Neither farmers, not villagers from Haryana bought into that.

Now the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has decided not to oppose any August 15 celebration by the BJP. In fact, until August 15, SKM will not disturb any program that fronts the Tri-colour.

Now when the government has barricaded the Red Fort with cemented shipping containers to create a perception of assault by farmers, even hidden the Red Fort from certain angles, the SKM has decided not to enter Delhi at all. The farmers will carry out their own celebrations and at village, block and tehsil carry out marches all over India under the banner Kisan Mazdoor Azadi Sangram March – Farmer Labour Freedom Struggle March. After all, this is a second call for independence, this time from crony capitalists and compromised governments.

Wish you a Happy Independence Day!

Day 261

Toll 565

Spain

No doubt the farmers protest is one of the largest non-violent, constant resistance to neo-liberalism and crony capitalism. However, the Indian farmers are not alone in their woes and resistance.

Earlier this year, in the face of immense protests by farmers, Spain promised a new law which guarantees that retailers cannot sell food below the below the cost of production. This is somewhat like the Minimum Support Price (C2 + 50%) the Indian farmers are demanding.

However, that law alone did not end the protests. The farmers continue to protest for reduction in electricity rates, against trade barriers such as Russian veto, Brexit, Trump’s tariff olives, unfair commercial practices, for better regulation for control of wildfire and so on. They are also raising the issues of aid cut from Europe.

While popular opinion is expenditure on arms and ammunition run economies and strengthen nations, the biggest hit the United States has faced in 2018-19 is, owing to US policies, China refusing to buy its agricultural produce – a loss of $1.3 billion in just that year. This has led to increased farmer suicide and insolvencies in the United States of America.

Saving pennies to lose pounds? Does that sound familiar? Or are we still not paying attention?

Day 258

Toll 564+

Patiala Labour Protest

Right from when the farmers protest began, there have been questions about the participation of labour in the protest. Given exigencies of survival, the need to earn daily wage, it is impossible for labour to be constantly present at the protest.

While land is the major theme of the Delhi protests, the landless do not have the same stake in land as farmers. Then there are the internal dynamics between farmers and labour – especially labour rates for paddy plantation on which this year the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, Kirti Kisan Union, BKU Ekta Ugraha and other unions extended full support and issued statements.

Yet, on the issue of Essential Commodities, upon the threat of corporate farming, the labour has extended support to the farmers protest. Over the last many weeks, seven labour unions in Panjab, have been rallying their people to come together and articulate all their concerns. The culmination of their efforts has resulted in the three day labour rally in Patiala – August 9, 10, and 11. BKU Ekta Ugrahan is arranging langar, doctors from Medical Practitioners Association Panjab is providing free health services.

The location is important given the multiple betrayal of the labour causes by the incumbent Congress government in Panjab. Patiala is CM Amarinder Singh’s home turf. That is why tomorrow August 11 the labour unions will march to Moti Mahal, the CM’s residence.

The labour is articulating the following concerns:

- Labour Codes: changes passed by the Central government last year, not yet implemented. The protest is against further privatisation of lands, resources, electricity.

- MNREGA: 17 lakh families in Panjab have MNREGA cards, but less than 7 thousand families got 100 days work. 2900 village panchayats out of around 13,000 did not offer a single day’s work. Around 56 per cent Labour did not get work for even a single day.

- Land to landless: though in effect, non-implementation of Land Ceiling Act has deprived land to landless. Long pending demand for 1250 square feet residential plots.

- Suicides: micro-finance companies loot labour and cause suicides, what is action against them? 17 per cent famers have lost land and are drowning under debt, committing suicides. Will government provide compensation and jobs to all families (labour and farmer) where the head of the family commits suicide owing to debt?

- PDS for all: right to food should be across the board, to anyone who cannot afford food.

On August 30, considering 31.9 per cent Dalit population in Panjab, CM Amarinder Singh is organising a rally to address the labour. The labour asks:

- 2017 promises: what happened to loan waiver, drug eradication, employment to youth promised last time? Once elected, the government conveniently forgot the labour/Dalits.

- CM/Deputy CM: in the run up to 2022 assembly elections BJP and Akalis are promising Dalit CM and Deputy CMs. Labour asks, we already have 34 MLAs, has that bettered our lot? Forget CMs and Dy CM, we have already have a Dalit President, has that bettered our lot?

With a clear view of their demands, the labour pledge support to the farmers protest. May other states too learn from this mobilization and their labour come out and articulate their demands. Mazdoor Kisan Ekta Zindabad!

Condolence: Last night, Mata Gurtej Kaur from village Bhundar, district Bathinda gave her life at the Patiala Mazdoor Morcha.

Kisan Sansad – Day 13th

Today, on the 79th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, the Kisan Sansad will be run by women. Befittingly, the women will today discuss and vote on a No Confidence motion against the government. Quit India ye government of people, by brokers, for the corporates!

Today will also be the final day of the Kisan Sansad. In the last two weeks, the farmers have displayed immense discipline and despite all odds carried out the Sansad with decorum and dignity. In these times of erosion of democratic values, they have presented a model of how parliaments must function. Now it is up to the country to emulate the model, pressure the political parties.

File Picture by Randeep S Mdk: Mahinder Kaur ji, popularly known as the grandmother of the farmers protest.

Day 256

Toll 563+

Wall

Last evening, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, publicly expressed his dismay towards Samyukt Kisan Morcha and pointed at ‘selective discrimination against him and no action against other leaders who were making similar comments (as him)’. However, he has also stated that he will abide by decisions taken at SKM meetings and that he doesn’t intend to ‘weaken the movement’.

Earlier SKM had suspended Chaduni for a fortnight for expressing his thoughts that farmers should pro-actively participate in elections and desire to start a ‘Mission Panjab’ platform. Chaduni’s recent statement has led to speculation on what could come next. Would SKM split, what would be the repercussions?

Frankly, no one knows. What we know is Chaduni’s union was instrumental in farmers reaching Delhi’s borders, Chaduni keeps bringing more and more farmers to the protests (recently the eighth convoy of farmers led by him reached Singhu), farmers have held on for over eight months, right now the Kisan Sansad is going very well, farmers have had major wins in Haryana against police and administration including a hunger strike through which they managed to free wrongly imprisoned farmers, given upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, west UP and even Lucknow have become active and most of all the government is worried.

The farmers movement is a great rush of energy, a huge river with multiple tributaries, dammed on Delhi’s borders. A dam that hasn’t opened in last six months – no talks with the government. I feel it is natural that the energies of the many unions and groups will clash with each other, just like water finds its ways to move around.

However, given the various unions and groups non-hierarchical arrangements with each other but alignment on the core issues, the resistance to the government will carry on. Whatever lapdog media says, it would be premature to speculate any waning of energies or costly splits in the protest. Let us stay focussed but also urge SKM to introspect and avoid disenchantment within the ranks.

The government is so worried about the farmers protest that in view of the coming August 15, the Prime Minister’s address, it has blockaded the Red Fort – which is now just a public memorial building in private hands – with a wall of shipping containers. The image is intensely ironic for the farmers are actually protesting for self-reliance – atam nirbharta – in food for the country and the government, beholden to corporates, wants to use these shipping containers to import and export food and impoverish the country.

Day 254

Toll 563+

Kisan Sansad – Day 12

The Kisan Sansad will continue to discuss Minimum Support Price today. Here are a two questions farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal raised this morning on MSP. If you can answer them, good on you. I can’t. I am struggling to answer.

1. All goods in the country are marked Maximum Retail Price. Why is very limited farmers’ produce offered Minimum Support Price? Why is one Maximum and another Minimum, that too grossly violated?

2. The cost of genuinely implementing MSP on all 23 crops, according to the C2 + 50% formula (see August 4th post) is Rs 1.28 lakh crore. The current cost of importing oil seeds, lentils, other foods is Rs 1.70 lakh crore. Which figure is smaller?

How can government – that strangely claims to be broke in spite of earning Rs 2.13 lakh crore in 2019-20 on petroleum taxes alone – save money?

Meanwhile, a 1000 farmers from Tamil Nadu reached Singhu yesterday and some of them will participate in the Kisan Sansad. In Telangana, 500 adivasis undertook a 70-kilometre and 5-day-long protest from Aswaraopeta to Kothagudem, asking for stopping of eviction of adivasi farmers from podu land, for granting rights over forest produce and for the legal right of MSP.

Day 253

Toll 563

Kisan Sansad – Day 11

The Kisan Sansad continued discussing Minimum Support Price today. Expert agriculture economists joined the Kisan Sansad.

Prof. RS Ghuman
Dr. Sucha Singh Gill
Mr. Devinder Sharma

How often does that happen in the main Parliament? All that the government, in a minority in Rajya Sabha, does these days is tear apart democratic conventions by using voice votes to turn Bills into Laws.

Day 252

Toll 556+

Kisan Sansad – Day 10

Today the Kisan Sansad will discuss the demand they have presented to the government: legalise Minimum Support Price for 23 crops all over the country. The demand for MSP is old, the demand for fair price for produce and labour, is as old as civilisation. The matter of MSP is the difference between what farmers demand and what the government offers.

National Commission for Farmers headed by agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan in 2007 had recommended MSP to be based on total input costs + 50 percent income. In 2014, the BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto had promised that to farmers. But BJP is a party of treacherous brokers.

In 2018, then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, dealt a sleight of hand. He announced MSPs would henceforth be fixed at 1½ times of the production costs for crops as a “pre-determined principle” without assessment of real field-based costs but on estimates.

Government says, ‘A2’ covers all paid-out costs directly incurred by the farmer — in cash and kind — on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, hired labour, leased-in land, fuel, irrigation, etc. ‘A2+FL’ includes A2 plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour. Farmers say, ‘C2’ factors in rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets, on top of A2+FL.

The reason for C2 is 85 per cent farmers are small and marginal. Many among them take land on rent to farm. Since A2+FL does not consider rent, after rent deduction, these farmers are making loses on crops. Even otherwise, for farmers who own land, A2+FL is based on estimates and averages, not really ground realities, so they too make losses.

Farmers demand C2 + 50 per cent on 23 crops, government offers A2+FL + 50 per cent on limited crops.

See picture below, genteel society, obedient to government society, can come to the Bangalore-Chennai national highway to pick up tomatoes that Kolar farmers have thrown next to the road. The farmers aren’t getting prices that even cover transportation of vegetables and leave some profit for them. They have just dumped the produce.

Meanwhile, as the government uses brute majority in Lok Sabha, continues passing Bills with zero discussion, amid Opposition voices to probe Pegasus spyware, something is changing on the ground: we all know about the Kawad yatra undertaken by hundreds of thousands every year. In 2019, 3 crore youth participated and brought Ganga Jal from Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to offer at local temples. This year, owing to COVID19 fears while Uttarakhand government has prohibited the yatra, facing elections Uttar Pradesh has allowed it. Talk of votes at the cost of lives.

However, this year, several thousands of Haryanvi youth did not participate in Kawad. Instead they carried their ‘gaon ki mitti – soil from their villages’ to the protest sites.

Dear Friends,

a few days back, Gagandeep Lohian from Parvasi Television, Canada, interviewed me on the ongoing Kisan Sansad.

Here are my views. Panjabi, 18.06 minutes.