‘These are tanks, not tractors’: Indian farmers protest on the streets

Farmers from the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh started marching towards the capital New Delhi this month with the slogan ‘Delhi Chalo’ and are now staging a sit-in outside Delhi on the Shambhu-Haryana border, dubbed the ‘Farmer Protest’. 2.0′ is also being called.

In 2020, farmers protested and demanded the repeal of three laws, namely the Farmers’ Production and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers’ (Powers and Protection), the Assured Contract Price and Farm Services Act and the Essential Commodities Act. (Arrangement) Act included.

In 2021, the government scrapped these controversial laws, ending the farmers’ protests.

Now in February 2024, the farmers are back on the streets to remind the government of the promises made then.

Narendra Singh from Punjab state is among the protesting farmers who are demanding the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to withdraw the new farm laws, and have staged a demonstration in Shambhu outside Delhi. They have camped on the border of Haryana.

Narendra told Independent Urdu: ‘Three years ago in 2020 we held a protest against three farm laws and after 15 months the government took a unanimous decision to repeal the laws, but today we are here again for this human struggle. have come against the Bharatiya Janata Party government, which claims that these laws are beneficial to farmers. Despite 15 months of protests and the deaths of over 750 farmers, it (the government) is trying to implement these laws again.’

Protesting farmers fear that the law will eliminate the minimum support prices they receive from the government and leave them at the mercy of private corporations.

During the recent protests, when protesters tried to march towards Delhi, they faced obstacles. They faced water spray cannons, tear gas shells and pellets, injuring them and the farmers claim that a 21-year-old man named Shobhakaran Singh was also killed by the police.

Narendra Singh added: ‘The government claims that Jammu and Kashmir is our head and Punjab is our chest and today it is firing on the chest of the country. This fight is not from any other country, here we stand without any weapons, we only carry sticks. When they need votes during the election, they say we are your dear neta (leader) and when they are done with the election, they say, ‘What are you doing in my Angana?’

Hundreds of tractors and trolleys have occupied at least eight kilometers of the Punjab-Haryana border at Shambhu. Farmers blame the ruling BJP for the issue and are set for a long protest, claiming they have six months worth of food.

Narendra said: ‘You can see how many tractors we have, they are spread over seven to eight kilometers and today these tractors are like our tanks. We have food for six months. The government is responsible for this situation. Why we are here on the streets again is all because of the government.’

He explained that farm laws are being imposed to cut the throats of farmers and these laws do not guarantee that they will receive the minimum support price for their crops.

Now in February 2024, Indian farmers are back on the streets to remind the government of the promises made then (Najm Saqib/Independent Urdu).

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Narendra questioned: ‘If India is self-reliant, why is it importing vegetables from abroad when we can grow them here, if we are self-reliant, why are we importing things from China? Why is the government behind the farmers, why is it trying to strangle us? When the king of a country said he was going to repeal the laws and now he came up with the same laws in other ways.’

In 2020, after 15 months of protests, the government again brought in farm laws, forcing farmers to take to the streets again to protest.

Narendra told Independent Urdu: ‘Irrespective of caste, religion, we stood in Delhi for 15 months in support of the repeal of the laws and forced the government to repeal the controversial laws, but after three years the govt. Again it has brought the same laws with different names.’

The Indian government has held four rounds of talks with farmer leaders till February 21, 2024, after which Indian Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda has said in a statement that they are ready for a fifth round to resolve the issues.

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