Newsman: Farmer’s protests in Indian continue for months now despite layers of nails and barbed wire, concrete barricades with the presence of hundreds of police and security personnel. In New Delhi, protesters occupied highways and camped, set up makeshift tent as they are barred to entering the city. For many this is a matter of life or death. Tents have been home to thousands of farmers for months since more than two month now. Although the Supreme Court put three contentious farm orders on hold last month and ordered the formation of a four-member mediation committee to help the parties negotiate, rounds of talks have failed to make any headway. Farmers’ leaders have rejected any court-appointed mediation committee. Meanwhile, the camps have created a headache for nearby commuters and trucks bringing food into Delhi — people who would have traveled on the expressway at Ghazipur are forced to take different routes, sometimes doubling their travel time. Now, the traffic has been replaced by an almost 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) stretch of supply stores, a medical department and a library.
In a statement issued this week, the Indian government said that the protests “must be seen in the context of India’s democratic ethos and polity, and the ongoing efforts of the government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse,” and that certain measures, such as the temporary internet block, were “undertaken to prevent further violence.”
But farmers are showing no interest in backing down. Farmers say the new laws aimed at bringing more market freedom to the industry will make it easier for corporations to exploit agricultural workers — and leave them struggling to meet the minimum price that they were guaranteed for certain crops under the previous rules.
All they have just one aim: to get the three new farming laws passed in September last year repealed. Farmers say the laws will hurt their income and devastate their livelihoods, but the government says they are needed to modernize the country’s agricultural industry. That dispute has galvanized some of the biggest protests seen since Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 as Prime Minister of India.
In November, farmers infuriated by new agricultural reforms drove in tractor conveys from around India to set up multiple blockades at the city’s borders.it’s not the first time that large protests have rocked the country. In 2019, India’s parliament passed a controversial bill that gave Indian citizenship to immigrants from three neighboring countries, but not if they are Muslim, prompting mass demonstrations.
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for 58% of India’s 1.3 billion populations .Prime minister Modi has not said why he choose to introduce these measures during the pandemic, which has caused India to suffer its first recession in decades.
Protester’s camp at Ghazipur on the border between Delhi and the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh is one of three major temporary settlements on the outskirts of the capital. Almost everyone here is from neighboring Uttar Pradesh, but farmers at other camps have come from states including Haryana and Punjab — the latter is known as the “bread basket of India” due to its large food production industry.
Around 10,000 people — mainly men, both young and old — are stationed at Ghazipur alone, according to camp leaders, although the number fluctuates from day-to-day as farmers split their time between their homes and the camp. Many have family members minding their farms, allowing them to stay in the capital for long stretches.
The farmers face challenges — the cold winter temperatures, clashes with police and security forces, and restrictions on their internet access, among others. Despite that, farmers say they have no plans to leave until the government overturns the laws. By night, the farmers who choose to stay asleep in
