The farmers have demanded an end to “police persecution” of people in Dhanivri, Palghar district, whose houses were demolished for constructing the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway without adequate compensation and were subsequently arrested. The farmers also want the two people who protested the construction of an oil refinery in Ratnagiri district to be released.

The farmers have alleged that the state government broke its promise that the police would not harass people for land acquisition and that an amicable decision would be reached. They have also demanded the transfer of land titles of temple trusts to tenants. Maharashtra has 6 lakh acres acquired under the Hyderabad Atiyat Inquiries Act, 1952. Other demands include fair and remunerative prices for milk, soybean, sugarcane and cotton farmers.

AIKS president Ashok Dhawale told Newsclick that the farmers were “compelled to resume the march because the state government has not responded to their demand for compensation for crops damaged by untimely rains and hailstorms”.

“The police have not stopped their brutal ways in dealing with protesters who have lost their livelihood. In the last two years, excessive and unseasonal rains destroyed crops in Maharashtra. The state government announced compensation for farmers but never provided it,” he said.

“Repeated assurances were given to vest forest, temple, Inaam, Waqf and pasture land for housing to peasants and agricultural workers, many of whom are tilling such lands for several generations. However, the police and forest department were misused to beat up poor peasants and drive them out of their land and houses,” Dhawale alleged.

Deepak Lipan, a cotton farmer based in Parbhani district, Marathwada, said that milk farmers had been “cheated on the pretext of fat volume by cooperative diaries and corporate milk producers”.

“If the cost of producing a litre of milk is Rs 25, we only get Rs 20. The same milk is sold at higher prices in cities. If a company is earning big profits, why cannot farmers get a fair return?” asks Lipan, all set to participate in the march.

“The prices of inputs like fodder and medicines for animals are increasing. However, milk prices are either stagnant or dropping. It’s complete loot. That’s why thousands of farmers have decided to march to Loni to make revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil listen to our demands,” he added.

Citing his example, Lipan said, “While prices of inputs like seeds, fertilisers, herbicides and labour have increased, cotton prices are stagnant. I sold cotton at Rs 7,000 per quintal in 2012 whereas one DAP fertiliser bag cost Rs 500. Today, cotton is sold at the same rate but DAP fertiliser costs Rs 1,700.”

His four acres yielded 30 quintals of cotton that was sold for Rs 2,10,000. “I spent about a lakh on labour, seeds, diesel, etc. What did I get? If I calculate the labour put in by me, my wife, mother and two children, it’s a complete loss. The children lose out on studies as well.”

When asked about the state government’s cold response to farmers’ problems, Lipan said that only a struggle, not silence,  would give results. “Farmers got a Rs 350 subsidy on onions after we fought for months. Therefore, we shall fight till the last drop of blood.”

Another farmer, Bhagwan Bhojane, told Newsclick that sugarcane farmers have been waiting for their payments even after five months of the crushing season. “Sugar mills never let the prices of sugarcane increase. The average price is Rs 2,300-Rs 2,600. However, the input costs are always higher and there is no protection against crop damage,” he said.

“I grew sugarcane on five acres. It is impossible to run my household on agriculture alone. My brothers work in MGNREGA and other construction sites to run their households,” he added.

Professor R Ramkumar, School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai), who would participate in the march, said that “economics cannot be seen in isolation from ground realities. “Having theoretical understanding is certainly a very important part of academics but you cannot have a nuanced view of agriculture and problems of agrarian society if you miss farmers’ movements like this,” he told Newsclick.

“Extreme weather conditions, including untimely rains and price crashes, have badly hit farmers. The problem of extreme weather conditions could have been easily dealt with if the Centre and state governments had designed a comprehensive insurance scheme. Private companies aiming to get maximum premium and pay minimum compensation run such schemes,” Ramkumar rued.

He added that the El Niño phenomenon has resulted in both excess rains and droughts. “A good insurance scheme could have resolved the issues if all factors were calculated. Unfortunately, crop insurance programmes have excluded crores of farmers. For example, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana beneficiaries have consistently decreased. The fact that the government compensated farmers after their protest in Maharashtra is an admission of failure,” he said.

Cash crops are linked with international markets and can fall within days. “In this situation, the government should have ideally restricted imports and provided MSP. Secondly, input costs, like diesel, electricity, seeds and fertilisers, have increased whereas crop prices are largely stagnant. So, their farmers’ incomes have been squeezed,” Raamkumar explained.

Giving the example of milk farmers, Ramakumar said that milk prices crashed from Rs 35 per litre to Rs 17 per litre during the pandemic. “Farmers have been asking the government to ask large private diaries to increase the procurement prices or provide some help. But the government has failed on both fronts. Moreover, the milk sector is being corporatised with large companies taking over procurement, marketing and sales of milk products. So, farmers are not getting prices that they deserve.”

Ramakumar maintained that the demand to distribute six lakh acres among landless farmers for housing and agriculture is politically feasible. “Land reforms not only mean distribution of vast tracts of land from big landlords to peasants but also Bhoodan and Devasthan land, amounting to lakhs of hectares. However, the government is under pressure from landlords and corporate entities. Companies are eying this precious land for agro-industries for cheaper rates.”

Courtesy: Newsclick

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They allege that in his two year tenure JNU has known no peace, effective implementation of reservation policy has been violated, safety of women students has been compromised, students and faculty members have been harassed and tormented. “And worst of all, there has been a physical disappearance of one student from the campus in broad daylight and about whom we have not heard for the last year and a half, leading many to the painful conclusion that he may no longer be alive,” they said explaining the reason behind the march. 

Dissatisfaction with the university’s management has been brewing at JNU ever since the student protest of February 2016 when dissenting students were targeted by the state with alleged complicity of right leaning members of the University administration. The disappearance of Najeeb after an altercation with ABVP goons as well as a series of unpopular administrative decisions that appeared to target disadvantaged or dissenting students, lead to growing discontent among not just students but also teachers. The immediate trigger though, appears to be the lax manner in which Prof Atul Johri, who had been accused of sexual harassment and intimidation by atleast 9 young female students of JNU, had been let off with little more than a slap on the wrist. This is especially troubling in light of GS CASH being scrapped leaving female students vulnerable.

The JNUTA has several demands, including the rescinding of notifications replacing chairpersons who were against mandatory attendance. The teachers’ organisation is also seeking the rescinding of an executive council decision on the establishment of a committee to take action against individual teachers, according to JNUTA president Sonajharia Minz. The JNUTA had earlier organised a three-day ‘satyagraha’ movement on the institution’s campus to vocalise these demands. The move to grant autonomy to the university is also being perceived as privatisation in disguise and therefore against the interests of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

18 former members of JNU’s faculty have also released a letter in support of “the current struggle of the teachers and students to maintain the democratic ethos of JNU which has made it an outstanding institution.” The letter outlines the signatories’ regarding issues at JNU, including “the reduction in student intake and blatant violation of laws on reservation for deprived sections; the rampant interference in the selection of new faculty;” as well as “the victimization of student representatives; and the dismissing of massive protests by teachers and students as the mere handiwork of a handful of persons”. It may be read in full here. Signatories to the letter also include historian Romila Thapar, Sunanda Sen, Harbhans Mukhia, Prabhat Patnaik and Zoya Hasan among others.
 

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They reached Bhiwandi, Maharashtra today under the leadership of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and will reach Mumbai on Sunday.
 
Enough is enough
 
Though Indian farmers have faced a series of crises including large number of pesticide deaths and suicides reported from regions like Vidarbha owing to serious debt crisis and competitive international markets, they have intensified their protests since last year. Policies like demonetization exposed the fissures in agriculture even further as the markets, produce and sales remained impacted for many months with no healing in sight.
 
“Enough is enough. Our patience has ended now. We have been seeking the same demands from last year. But the government is not interested in listening to us. We are not going to give up till the government listens to us. We are going to gherao the Assembly indefinitely” said Ashok Dhawle, leader of the Kisan Sabha.
 
Our rights are inter-twined
 
However, the farmers are not only demanding farmers’ rights. That apart they are also concerned about rights of Adivasis. A farmer participating in the rally said, “The Forest Act came into being in 2005. But Adivasis haven’t got land rights. Even today, lakhs of farmers till their traditional lands in the middle of forests. These are their ancestral lands. But they have still not got ownership rights. Why should they keep suffering despite a legislation to their rescue?”
 
This gives a holistic approach to the issues of farmers and Adivasis which are inherently linked to the questions of land ownership, issues of markets opening up to global competitors with least support from Indian government and a sustainable method of irrigation. Not only this, farmers also suffer when it comes to the Minimum Support Prices. For a long time now, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report without much intervention from the government.
 
Shankar Waghere, who belongs to the Koli Mahadev community, came from Nalegaon village in Dindori taluka of Nashik and joined the rally from there. He walked 28 kilometres by foot to join the rally. Waghere expresses, “The production cost for an acre is 12,000 rupees. If the rains are good, we get 15 quintals of rice [per acre],” he says. “The current [market] rate is 10 rupees a kilo [Rs. 1,000 per quintal]. How will we sustain? When I got to know of the march, I decided I will participate, come what may.” Waghere is talking about rice cultivation here.
 
 
Though the government announced a loan waiver last year following the unprecedented upsurge by farmers, it did not stick to its own words.
 
A Monday unlike any other
 
The long march, apart from farmers of Maharashtra namely Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh , consists of adivasis from many interior regions of the state. They reached Nashik on March 6 and have covered nearly 150 kilometres in five days.
 
They will enter Mumbai this Sunday through Mulund check Naka and take a halt at Ghatkopar. Monday morning will see them marching towards the State Assembly, which is currently in session. Thereafter they plan to ghearo the assembly.

After a long day of walking, some farmers sing and dance at night; others like Waghere are exhausted; soon, everyone rests for the night under the open sky. Credit: Shrirang Swarge/People’s Archive of Rural India
 

 After a long day of walking, some farmers sing and dance at night; others like Waghere are exhausted; soon, everyone rests for the night under the open sky. Credit: Shrirang Swarge/People’s Archive of Rural India

Thousands of farmers started the morcha from CBS Chowk in Nashik on March 6, to highlight their demands,
which the government has repeatedly ignored Source : Pari network

Photo credit: Alka Dhupkar Mumbai Mirror Facebook post

https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/rajasthan-kisan-struggle-intensifies-leaders-remain-arrested-demands-unfulfilled
https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/2018-union-budget-really-pro-farmer-budget
 

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