Worrisome figures of farmers being injured and taken to the hospital emerged on February 15. As the farmers enter the third day of being denied the right to move freely and protest peacefully at the Haryana-Punjab borders, it has been reported that at least 100 farmers have been injured due to the relentless tear gas and rubber pellets being fired by the Haryana Police. As per a report of the Wire, even the journalists covering the farmers protest have not been spared and have faced injuries.
Heart-breaking videos and visuals of protesting farmers bleeding due to injuries caused by rubber bullets have surfaced on social media through various accounts.
ये किसान भाई का नहीं भारत माता का सीना छलनी करने का काम किया जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/slqAnlQpdp
— Sadaf Jafar (@sadafjafar) February 14, 2024
As per a report of Tribune, the Punjab Government has put on alert all government hospitals in and around Shambu and also deputed medical teams and ambulances at the protest site to help the injured farmers. The government of Punjab also announced that it would bear treatment expenses of injured persons. Meanwhile, a report of the Wire provided that the Delhi Police, falling under the control of the union government, has placed an order for more than 30,000 tear gas shells to replenish its stock to be able to prevent the farmers from entering the national capital as part of its ongoing ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest.
It is also essential to note that while the attack on the protesting farmers is ongoing, a meeting between the farmer leaders and union ministers in Chandigarh began at 5 pm. It is essential to note that this is the third round of talks taking place between Piyush Goyal (Food Minister), Arjun Munda (Union Agriculture Minister) and Nityanand Rai (Minister of State for Home Affairs) and the farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jarnail Singh. The previous two rounds of dialogue between the union and the farmers, held on February 8 and 12, had remained inconclusive.
While the State is not backing down and is continuously attacking the protesting farmers and preventing them from reaching Delhi, the farmers too are braving through all these attacks. In dealing with these repressive and excessive tactics of the state government, the farmers have come up with their own unique protections and safeguards.
Hundreds of women protesters also reached Shambhu and were seen helping prepare langar for farmers. A protesting farmer provided to the media that they are organising a ‘langar’ at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border, where goggles will be distributed among protesting farmers to help them protect from the tear gas shelling by the security forces.
VIDEO | A ‘langar’ has been organised at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border where goggles are being distributed among protesting farmers, to help them protect from the tear gas shelling by the security forces. pic.twitter.com/mCgx67Dj0w
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 14, 2024
Yesterday, on February 14, in attempts to deal with the drones throwing tear gas at the protestors, the farmers could be seen flying kites.
As per the report of the Hindu, Gagandeep Singh, a farmer protesting at the site, stated how they brought kites to the site to celebrate the festival of Basant Panchami, and ended up bringing the drone down. He said “We brought the kites to celebrate the festival, but then the drones came. Accidentally, the string of the kite got entangled with the fans of the drone, making it difficult for it to fly. We tried to pull it down, but it pulled back and fell on the other side of the barricades.”
किसान सरकारी ड्रोन का मुकाबला अपनी पतंगो से कर रहे है। देखिए कैसे ड्रोन को उल्टे पाँव लौटना पड़ा।
सरकार डाल-डाल तो किसान पात-पात।#FarmersProtest2024 pic.twitter.com/IA9Ni3OdfW
— Mahesh Choudhary (@mahesh999555) February 14, 2024
Protestors could be seen wearing paddings to protect themselves from the rubber pellets being fired at them
पुलिस के आंसू गैस के गोलों से बचने के लिए किसान नौजवानों की तैयारी pic.twitter.com/ZLzvgaxD6t
— Garvit Garg (@garvitgarg15) February 14, 2024
Some farmers were seen applying a thick layer of toothpaste while others took to a mix of multani mitti (mud pack) and water to ease the burning sensation caused by tear gas. Some of them even brought along paddy winnowing fans to change the direction of the smoke emanating from the tear gas shells. Other farmers resorted to tying wet clothes over their faces.
Solidarity protest at toll plazas, ‘rail roko’ protest in Punjab
A four-hour rail roko protest was also organised today by farmer unions Bhartiya Kisan Union Ugrahan and Bhartiya Kisan Union Dakaunda to protesting against the Haryana government’s actions on the protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The said rail roko protest was held at 15 locations in Punjab between 12 noon to 4 pm and disrupting several rail services as per the report of Indian Express. The IE report detailed that in view of the protest, Ferozepur railway division reported 3 cancellations, 6 diversions, 5 short terminations, and 5 short originations, affecting several routes.
हरियाणा पंजाब बॉर्डर पर डटे हुए किसानों के समर्थन में आज पंजाब में रेल रोको प्रदर्शन किया गया। pic.twitter.com/uWWvROfpNo
— Garvit Garg (@garvitgarg15) February 15, 2024
As per the report, this joint protest was aimed to press the government to meet farmers’ demands. BKU Ugrahan President Joginder Singh Ugrahan emphasized unity despite ideological differences, urging the government to address farmers’ concerns promptly. BKU Dakaunda President Manjit Singh Dhaner expressed solidarity, condemning the Haryana government’s treatment of farmers.
Simultaneously, protests were also organised by SKM in solidarity with the protesting farmers at 39 toll plazas in Punjab which featured dharnas from 11 am to 1 pm. Dr. Darshan Pal, member of NCC of SKM, stated that general traffic remained unaffected, and tolls were made free for commuters during the protest. As per the IE report, Dr. Pal criticized the use of force against unarmed farmers and called for the government to implement accepted demands.
In addition to this, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni (Bhartiya Kisan Union) has announced extension of support to the protesting farmers, and announced the new plans for the agitation. As per his statement to media reporters, Charuni has stated that three new decisions have been taken by the farmers in terms of their agitation, which are to make Haryana toll plazas ‘free’ for 3 hours on February 16, hold a tractor parade in every tehsil of the state on February 17, and organise a joint meeting of all farmers’ organisations on February 18.
#WATCH | On farmers’ protest, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni says, ” Three decisions were taken today, first one is, we will keep Haryana toll free for 3 hours tomorrow, from 12pm-3pm…day after tomorrow, there will be a tractor parade in every Tehsil, from 12 pm…on 18th… pic.twitter.com/2Ye0NzMguE
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024
Not all authorities support the excessive use of force by Haryana Police
It is also essential to note that the excessive use of tear gas and rubber pellets by the Haryana police is not sitting well. As per a report of the Tribune, Patiala DC Showkat Ahmad Parray wrote to his Ambala counterpart objecting to drones carrying tear gas shells operating deep inside the territory of Patiala. His letter read, “Tear gas shelling using drones deep inside the territory of the district where police and administration teams are deputed is creating chaos. As such, I request you to immediately stop the use of drones.”
As per a report of the Telegraph, BJP leader Brijendra Singh, Member of Parliament from Hisar has also spoken in favour of the protesting farmers. Justifying the agitation, Hisar said that they have a right to protest against the non-implementation of the MSP regime that was promised after the last agitation.
“Who will not support the farmers who are struggling to get their income increased?” he said while talking to reporters as per the Telegraph report. He also expressed hope that the talks between the farmers’ representatives and government functionaries will succeed in resolving the issue.
It is possible to bring a law on MSP- Economist Dr Madhura Swaminathan
In an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Dr Madhura Swaminathan, the daughter of Dr MS Swaminathan, firmly with the disagreed the contention, being spread and encouraged by many mainstream media houses, that a law on minimum support price (MSP) cannot be brought in as it may impact India fiscally. Rather, Dr Swaminathan clearly stated that “many economists are going to argue that this is going to be too expensive, like they did in the past in regards to universal food subsidy. We have to ask ourselves the question regarding this is- what does this mean? As you must know, India has one of the lowest Tax to GDP ratio. So, I think to put forth a statement, as many neo-liberal economists do, that you either spend in agricultural research or irrigation or MSP in view of the limited ‘kitty’ for agriculture and for farmers is a wrong way of posing the situation. So I don’t agree with the idea that MSP is not viable.”
She also shares how she was a part of a high-powered committee formed during the governance of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee which had, for the first time, submitted the proposal of a statutory MSP.
In the interview, she also termed the current excessive state actions being taken against the protesting farmers as “distressing” as it is these cultivators who perform the key role in providing food security to the country. She urged for the governments to negotiate with the farmers and address the concerns being raised by them as no nation can maintain their sovereignty without farmers.
When asked by Rajdeep on her opinion on some people, even from within the union government, terming the protesting farmers as anti-nations and Khalistanis, Dr Swaminathan emphasised that there is a justified reason behind the protest being held by the farmers. According to her, it is essential that the union government attends the emerging problems associated with climate change and its effect on agriculture while providing farmers with a sustainable income and ensuring profits. She stated, “one could say that it is perhaps the absence of policies that improve farmer incomes that have finally resulted in mass protests of this kind. We have to address the root causes of the problem of inadequate incomes of farmers.”
She further provided that the agricultural sector of India is not static and various union governments of India have been unable to give it the required attention. Elaborating upon the same, Dr Swaminathan says that these issues cannot just be addressed by negotiations, rather it necessitates for the union government to form a strategy that “serves farmers, and saves farming.”
The interview can be viewed here:
#FarmersProtest2024 | Economist Dr Madhura Swaminathan, daughter of Dr MS Swaminathan, says “farmers are protesting for a reason, various govts have not addressed their problems, firmly disagrees that MSP guarantee is not viable”. Listen in. #NewsToday | @SardesaiRajdeep pic.twitter.com/LCFGvoEfMG
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 14, 2024
The aforementioned opinion of Dr Swaminathan set straight the record regarding bringing in a law on providing MSP to farmers. Her views are similar to the opinion put forth by Journalist Harish Damodaran in his article for the Indian Express, wherein he has deeply explained the what a guaranteeing MSP will cost the government. The marketed surplus of a crop is essentially the total production minus the amount retained by the farmers for self-consumption and meeting other needs. Through his article, Damodaran has projected the cost of providing a legal guarantee on the marketed surplus of the crops for which an MSP is announced to be Rs 5 lakh crore. He has further explained how the actual cost is likely to be even lower than Rs 5 lakh crore owing to two reasons- firstly, the government will also be selling the material that they will buy directly from the farmers at the MSP, and secondly, the government will not be required to buy all the marketed surplus as by just buying a fourth of it will ensure that the market price will be lifted above the MSP level in case of most crops, as provided by Damodaran. Thus, as clarified by Dr Swaminathan and Damodaran, a legal guarantee on MSPs is doable and fiscally possible, and the fear being spread of the Indian economy plunging into bankruptcy is unfounded.
Related:
Farmers’ Protest: Physical repression, prohibitory orders, Delhi entry blocked – Déjà Vu?