Mandsaur | SabrangIndia

One Year after Mandsaur Killing: A Year of Struggle of Indian Peasantry Against the Anti-farmer Government

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:50:44 +0000

As the protests continue, on August 9 – the anniversary of historic Quit India Movement – AIKS’s campaign of collecting signatures of 10 crore farmers will culminate at district headquarters across the country.

Image Coutesy: Facebook

As the country observes one year of Mandsaur police firing, various farmers’ organisations took to streets across the country to mark their dissent against the Modi government and its anti-farmer policies, and to commemorate the martyr farmers. On June 6, 2017, the BJP-led state government in Madhya Pradesh had gunned down six farmers who were protesting – seeking guaranteed remunerative prices for their agricultural produces and freedom from indebtedness.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the umbrella body consisting about 193 farmers and peasant organisations, observed the first anniversary of the killing of farmers in Mandsaur as Mandsaur Shaheed Kisan Smriti Diwas. A day-long fast was also observed at Takravat village of Mandsaur. AIKSCC also took out a torch rally in Bhopal on the evening of June 4. Following this, on June 5, a commemorative meeting was held with villagers of Buda, in Mandsaur. The AIKSCC also demanded that there should be murder charges against the police personnel responsible for the killing.

AIKSCC – country’s largest platform of farmers’ organisations, which had been created in response to Mandsaur killing – took up issues of farmers in India, has been highlighting the depth of the agrarian crisis, and has campaigned and conducted Yatras to highlight the struggle of farmers and agricultural workers.

The year since Mandsaur killing has witnessed a series of farmers’ protest across the country including Kisan Long March in Maharashtra, Kisan Mukti farmers’ protests in Sikar and other parts of Rajasthan, struggle of Uttar Pradesh farmers and Himachal farmers and Tamil Nadu farmers’ protest in the national capital among others.

Loan waivers for farmers, implementation of Swaminathan committee recommendations including the Minimum Support Price (MSP), right to land, scrapping of forced land acquisition drive conducted in the name of various projects and increase in pension for farmers and agricultural workers were some of the key demands during all these protests.

In July 2017, the national capital witnessed a different kind of protest staged by the farmers from Tamil Nadu. The farmers, who had demonstrated a 41-day protest in Delhi earlier in 2017, returned to Delhi with skulls and bones of the farmers – who had committed suicide – to resume their protest, demanding loan waiver and drought relief package. During the protest, which had been continuing for months, the farmers put mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals and stripped at Raisina Hills to mark their dissent. These series of protests were called off when the state Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami promised to waive off the loans taken from the nationalised banks.

In September 2017, Rajasthan’s Sikar district, which has a profound history of mass movements, had witnessed a massive farmer uprising. Thousands of farmers under the banner of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) occupied the streets and government offices to highlight their long pending demands. Sikar farmers had put forward a charter of demands: more fund allocation for MGNREGA, higher wages and more days of work, pension of Rs 5,000 a month for the farmers and agricultural workers above 60 years, effective crop insurance, protection of crops from stray cattle and wild animals, subsidised electricity and revoke of the cattle trade ban order.

The mass movement, which was led by Amra Ram of AIKS, had garnered massive support from all sections of the society. The BJP-led state government tried its best to disrupt the peaceful protest using the state machinery. But, the magnitude of the protest made the government accept the demands of the farmers.

On November 20-21, 2017, more than 50,000 farmers from different parts of the country had gathered in Delhi for the Kisan Mukti Sansad (Farmers’ Liberation Parliament), putting forward the two key demands: better prices for produce and debt relief. The Sansad had begun with a Mahila Sansad (Women’s Parliament) highlighting the role of women as farmers.

During the Kisan Sansad, two Bills – on remunerative prices and loan waivers – were presented by Hannan Mollah of AIKS and Raju Shetty of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana- for, by and of the farmers.

In the run-up to the Kisan Mukti Sansad, AIKSCC led a Kisan Mukti Yatra covering a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers all over the country. Raising the consciousness over the condition of farmers, AIKSCC reached out to farming and non-farming communities, and tried to build unity between rural and urban India. The first phase of the Yatra, which had been flagged off from Mandsaur, culminated in Delhi by the mid of July 2017, covering six states: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Haryana.

The second phase of Kisan Mukti Yatra covering Southern states Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka had started from Hyderabad on September 16, 2017, and concluded in Bengaluru on September 23, 2017. The third phase – eastern leg – of the Yatra from October 29, 2017, to November 5, 2017, had engaged with the masses from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, South Bihar and West Bengal.

In the final phase of the Yatra – the Northeastern leg of the Yatra – gatherings were conducted in different villages. With a mass gathering at Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati, Assam, on November 12, 2017, in the presence of hundreds of farmers and agricultural workers along with others, the Yatra was concluded. Throughout its long way, the Yatra was embraced by various sections of the society including peasants, agricultural workers, trade unionists, Adivasis, Dalits, students among others, irrespective of urban-rural divide.

The momentum of the Kisan Mukti Yatra and Kisan Sansad further continued and AIKSCC campaigned widely across the nation against the anti-farmer policies of the BJP-led state governments. The government always stood along with the corporates and framed policies, which were wrapped up in nationalism, for them. They also made legislation like the Seed Bill, Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, and Pesticide Management Bill for the sake of the corporates.

On February 22, despite the state government’s crackdowns and arrests, farmers from Rajasthan demonstrated a protest march in Jaipur. After the protests, the farmers had decided to meet PM Modi who had announced a visit to Jhunjhunu on March 8. The state government, however, had imposed section 144 of the IPC, prohibiting an assembly of more than four people in an area, in Sikar district on March 1.

Again, in the first week of March 2018, Maharashtra saw an unparalleled movement. On March 6, thousands of farmers including women and tribals set out on their long march from Nashik under the flagship of AIKS. The long march, which had gained mass momentum as it progressed, and entered Mumbai on March 11 midnight. To avoid causing any inconvenience to the students appearing for board exams on the next day, the farmers walked during the midnight to their final destination – Azad Maidan – to press for their demands. The farmers, who fought for their rights without creating any kind of inconvenience to the Mumbai’s daily routine, got showered with mass solidarity from the middle-class of the city.

Along with their main demands, the farmers demanded MSP for dairy products, implementation of the Forest Rights Act, and end of the forceful land acquisition. In Maharashtra, a section of farmers was evicted from their farming land in the name of various projects including Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and Mumbai-Nagpur expressway etc.

As the farmers, who led their struggle hand in hand with the Ashok Dhawale, JP Gavit, Ajit Nawale and Kisan Gujar – the AIKS leadership – were very determined, the BJP-led state government was forced to accept the demands of the farmers, and they had sought one and half months of time to implement the demands of farmers.

Right after the historic Kisan Long March, thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh gathered in Lucknow as per AIKS’ ‘Lucknow Chalo’ protest call for a ‘Kisan Pratirodh Rally’ with a slogan of “Aatmhatya nahi, sangharsh karenge” (No to Suicide, Unite to Fight). In the protest, the farmers had raised the demands like their counterparts in other states. Apart from those demands, Uttar Pradesh farmers demanded lower prices of electricity and fertilizers.

Again, Himachal Pradesh farmers under the leadership of AIKS encircled the state assembly in Shimla on April 3. One of the main demands, along with the common demands of the farmers, was to stop targeting farmers in the name of eviction. They demanded distribution of the land to the farmers. In the state, 65 per cent of the population is into farming. However, the farming land consists of only 11 per cent of the total land. Thus, many small and marginal farmers have been cultivating their produces on the forest land. But, the government and authorities have been evicting the farmers for encroaching on the forest land.

Though the farmers marked their victory through the Kisan Long March, the state government is yet to implement the promises. Owing to the betrayal of the government, farmers have resumed their protests in Maharashtra, including the recent protest of dairy farmers and protests in Dahanu against the forceful land acquisition.

As the protests continue, on August 9 – the anniversary of historic Quit India Movement – AIKS’s campaign of collecting signatures of 10 crore farmers will culminate at district headquarters across the country as the farmers hand the memorandum over with charter of their demands to District Magistrates, while they ask the BJP to quit India: ‘Bharat Chhodo’. The plight of farmers is likely to continue till BJP quits India.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

The post One Year after Mandsaur Killing: A Year of Struggle of Indian Peasantry Against the Anti-farmer Government appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Anarchy Rules in MP after Police Firing & Torture: People’s Movements

Wed, 14 Jun 2017 06:11:46 +0000

Chalo Mandsaur Call given for July 6 and policy measures for Farmers urged

Image: India Today

Following a call given by Jai Kisan Andonlan of Swaraj Abhiyan, NAPM, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti of MP, Bandhua Mukti Morcha and several farmer organisations, a delegation of their representatives went to visit Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh where 7 farmers were killed in a police firing on 6th of June.

The delegation comprised about 25 representatives from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, besides local farmers and farmer leaders. These included Ms. Medha Patkar, Swami Agnivesh, Dr. Sunilam, Paras Saklecha, Kalpana Parulekar, Avik Saha, Ajit Singh, Balakrishnan and Yogendra Yadav.

What follows are some of the key observations made by this delegation.

Law & Order, Legal & Human Rights – Nightmarish Situation

Democratic Rights & Human Rights at an unbelievable low in MP – Constitution & Laws of India seem not to apply here – has it ceded from the Union of India?
Police & Civil Administration of Ratlam District keep strong surveillance on, illegally stop (from visiting Mandsaur) & arrest activists like Medha Patkar, Swami Agnivesh, Yogendra Yadav & Avik Saha, with lifelong adherence to peace and non-violence, on ground of breach of peace!!
In agitation-free Neemuch District, police illegally prevent Yogendra Yadav, Dr. Sunilam, Avik Saha & Ajit Yadav from interacting with villagers; use sheer brute force to push them out of MP into Rajasthan
Delegation interacts with farmer leaders and activists and finds complete break-down of rule of law; reign of terror as Districts affected by and surrounding locations of farmers agitation cordoned off and jungle law implemented
Independent persons and agencies barred entry while full might of state appears to be influencing & torturing witnesses to the murder of farmers by police, causing disappearance of material evidence and running an extortion racket by intimidation

Probable Background Causes of Present Situation – Deep Rooted & Long Neglected Life & Livelihood Issues of Farmers

Already un-remunerative and further downward spiraling prices of all produce (Report annexed), despite MP reporting highest agricultural growth in the country and winning prizes, seems to have lead to wide spread discontent; State Government’s inaction in this crisis fuelled unrest
Non-fulfillment of ruling BJP’s Manifesto promise of 50% profit above cost price compounded with the slow down of purchasing power of traders in mandis due to demonetisation completed the cycle of despair, disillusionment and discontent
Local reports complained of extreme bureaucracy at mandis & looming threat of disentitlement of rights; e.g. compulsory registration of seller-farmers only through Aadhar, downgrading of ration entitlement under PDS ration if sales above 50 quintals made, 50% payment through bank, which forthwith deducts all loans
Drought of 2 consecutive years have severely depleted the MP farmers and have led to the 4th highest farmers’ suicides in the country in 2015; with added pressure of loan repayment and almost 50% price fall in produce, farmers have reached the end of their tether
Non-payment & whimsical small payments of insurance for crop loss made farmers desperate for redressal of their financial grievances

Killings of Farmers by State of Madhya Pradesh

Since the State has already admitted that firing was done without any formal order and without following due process, the death of farmers in police firing is nothing but murder by machinery of state
The heinous and brutal killing of a farmer by beating and torture in the hands of police, after the gunning down of 5 farmers, is unbelievably shocking & can only be termed state sponsored terrorism
It is sad to note that Madhya Pradesh has learnt no lesson from the findings of the Commissions that investigated the Multai Firing during Congress regime, when 23 farmers were brutally gunned down; Again, there was no dialogue with the protestors before firing; such dialogue could have easily prevented this unnecessary loss of life

We Demand

The State of Madhya Pradesh must immediately ensure remunerative price for all crops grown in Madhya Pradesh in fulfillment of the promise made by BJP in its manifesto (cost + 50%) and also ensure guaranteed purchase of the produce through market stabilization funds and other mechanisms; agriculture is a state subject and Madhya Pradesh, like Karnataka can ensure relief for farmers through agriculture price commission and allied statutory interventions
We demand that farmers of Madhya Pradesh be given a one-time waiver of all loans, which, coupled with remunerative prices, will pull them out of the vicious cycle of debt and death though debt-trap
The State of Madhya Pradesh must immediately, in consultation with farmers organizations (1) appoint an Independent Commission headed by a sitting High Court Judge (2) prepare comprehensive TOR of the Commission to go into all circumstances that lead to the murder of farmers by police firing
The State of Madhya Pradesh must immediately register murder case against all policemen and administrative officers who ordered firing on farmers and executed the order
The State of Madhya Pradesh must immediately withdraw all cases registered against farmers in connection with the Farmers Movement in Madhya Pradesh during 1st to 10th June 2017
The State of Madhya Pradesh must immediately ensure that comprehensive crop insurance is provided for all crops grown in Madhya Pradesh and not just a few crops as presently stipulated under the PMFBY
Opposition parties like the Congress who have extended support to the farmers must establish their credential by ensuring that in the states of Punjab and Karnataka, where they are in power, there is no shooting on and killing of farmers, MSP at cost + 50% is given in terms of the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission and all loans of farmers are waived

Our Position & Next Steps

Swaraj Abhiyan, National Alliance of Peoples Movements, Bandhua Mukti Morcha and the several other farmers organizations that have come together, support all peaceful movement of farmers anywhere in India, that ensures farmers can live a life of dignity and have sustainable livelihoods
In association with several farmers and youth organizations of Madhya Pradesh and other parts of India, on July 6, 2017 we shall hold a Shahid Kisan Mahapanchayat in Madhya Pradesh
At this decisive and historic hour, we call upon all farmers organizations of the country to set aside ideological and personal differences for the larger good of farmers and form a single platform to fights for their rights, starting with being organizers of the Kisan Mahapanchayat
We shall constitute a Peoples’ Tribunal on Police Firing & Torture on Farmers at Mandsaur with a clearly defined TOR; eminent authorities on the subject shall be part of the tribunal
We shall work tirelessly to ensure –

Ghaata Mukt Kheti

Karz Mukt Kisaan

Zahar Mukt Bhojan

Atmahatya Mukt Bharat

The post Anarchy Rules in MP after Police Firing & Torture: People’s Movements appeared first on SabrangIndia.

MP: This is War Against Farmers, says Khedut Samaj Gujarat

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 01:50:39 +0000

It's not just a conspiracy against agriculture but a war against Farmers, says the Khedut Samaj Gujarat. Late last night the central government has rushed over 1,100 paramilitary troops to Madhya Pradesh where intemperate police firing claimed six Farmers lives day before yesterday. There are no signs of the agitation fading out. Maharashtra, Gujarat and MP have seen growing agrarian protests in recent months

The news of police firing on agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh has shocked all of us. In an act of defiance the police, acting on political orders, have unleashed violence against farmers agitating about their perilous condition and neglect by the government of their long-standing demands. Their action has resulted in the death of 6 farmers, as per news reports of various national dailies.

Farmers and farmer organisations across Gujarat express their shock and horror at this brutality of the Madhya Pradesh government and condemn this action in the strongest terms. From condoning the criminal acts of ‘non-state’ actors (vigilantes and mobs who lynch people) to state sanctioned violence was but a small step, waiting to happen.

The pro-capitalist policies of the government are the main cause of farmers’ distress in the country. While land, water, forests and coasts can be diverted for industrial purposes without even the mandatory clearances and NPAs and loans and revenue foregone running into thousands of crores of rupees can be ignored, the farmers’ demands for water for irrigation, electricity, fair and remunerative prices for their produce and loan waiver to tide over lean years are met with bullets.

Declining agriculture export and increasing import of agro-produce and higher rates on agro value addition under GST regime are examples of the Government’s intentions to compel farmers to abandon agriculture and hand over natural resources like water and land to big pro government corporate houses.

There are rising instances of the state machinery increasingly resorting to violence and use of fatal force against farmers, this being the latest instance. This is no longer a conspiracy against farmers and agriculture; it is open war against them by the state through its various arms.

Khedut Samaj-Gujarat condemns the government and police of Madhya Pradesh in the strongest terms. They will continue to stand by the agitating farmers of Madhya Pradesh and all and any other states of India.

The farmers of the 68 villages merged into AUDA, under the leadership of Khedut Samaj-Gujarat, were to take out a vehicle – tractor, car, motorcycle – rally. In view of the atrocity on their fellow farmers in Madhya Pradesh and in solidarity with them and their struggle, this programme was altered to include a 2-minute silence to pay homage to the martyrs in Madhya Pradesh. However, and not surprisingly, permission has been denied, yet again, by the authorities.
We request all the farmers’ organizations and other CBOs and NGOs to organize statewide programmes across India to show solidarity with the farmers.

Day after tomorrow, 9th June, the farmers will hold a day-long demonstration and shraddhanjali sabha for the martyrs of the movement in Madhya Pradesh at all the district collector offices across Gujarat after handing over a memorandum demanding justice for the farmers.

The Khedut Samaj-Gujarat appeals to all people concerned at the deteriorating state of democracy in the country today and the increasing suppression of people’s voice to join these programmes in large numbers.

This is not a political programme or a programme of any particular political party and so people joining are requested to do so without their party’s banners.

The writers are from the Khedut Samaj-Gujarat

The post MP: This is War Against Farmers, says Khedut Samaj Gujarat appeared first on SabrangIndia.