CHANDIGARH: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella platform of various farmers’ unions, on Thursday, February 9, announced that it would hold a ‘Kisan Mahapanchyat’ outside the Parliament in Delhi on March 20.

The organisation of farmers’ unions also stated that the ‘Mahapanchayat’ will be held to press for a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) and further called the 2023 Budget “anti-farmer.”

The SKM’s  demands include withdrawal of cases against farmers, Rs 5,000 monthly pension for farmers, debt waiver, the sacking of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, and compensation for those who died during the farmers’ stir among others.

Senior SKM leader Dr Darshan Pal after the meeting of the farmers’ unions at Kurukshetra in Haryana told The New Indian Express that the body has decided to hold ‘Kisan Mahapanchyat’ in Delhi on March 20 and they will seek permission for it to be held at the Ram Lila ground and if not given permission then they will hold it at Jantar Mantar.

Showing a distinct and broader commitment to equality and non-discrimination, the recent meeting also reportedly passed a resolution demanding the dismissal of Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh was accused of sexual assault by a woman coach.

“This March 20, 2023 ‘Mahapanchayat’ will be dedicated to Bhagat Singh Rajguru and Sukhdev. We will reiterate various demands, including a legal guarantee for the minimum support price. This ‘Mahapanchayat’ will be against anti- farmer budget and other pending issues including legal guarantee of MSP procurement of all crops, loan waiver, pension for farmers and agricultural workers, demanding a pro-farmer policy for insurance claims of the damaged crops, withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 and dismissal of MoS Ajay Mishra Teni for his role in Lakhimpur Kheri incident,’’ said Singh.

Singh has described the recently declared annual budget as “anti-farmer” and “anti-agriculture” due to the drastic cuts in all allocations pertaining to farmers, rural development, education, health, food for work rural programme (MNREGA) apart from subsidy cuts in fertilizers, food security etc. “The next course of action for a pan-India farmers movement will be decided in another meeting of SKM,” he said.

The farmers’ movement that captured the imagination of the people and drew support from wider walks of like through 2020-2021, has since been articulating several nuggets that reveal a wholistic alternate political orientation.

November 2022

Three months ago, in Manesar in Haryanathe Bellsonica Mazdoor Union held a Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat from 10 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gurgaon District Collectors office, protesting the anti-people policies of Modi government and elaborated on the ‘pro-capitalist designs of the rulers.’At the time, as reported by Sabrangindia, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan who had been present with other peasant organisation leaders at the meeting along with workers organisations from Gurgaon and Uttarakhand also supported the collective demands.

A few days before that, in Uttarakhand, theInqilabi Mazdoor Kendra also made a considerable contribution, through ideological-political campaigning and the Intercare Workers in preparation staged a mini-maha panchayat at which cloth Mazdooor Union workers, Intercare workers from Uttarakhand, Hitachi Contract workers, and Kisan workers also participated.Bellsonica Union secretary Ajit Singh, speaking to the media at the time, explained the objectives of the Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat and narrated the goal of the four labour laws instated by Narendra Modi and why it was essential to get them scrapped.

A month before that, on October 22, 2022, last year, farmers under the banner of Samuyukta Kisan Morcha as a part of the 11 day dharna against land takeover in Azamgarh for airport construction, held a peoples’ parliament in Hariram in Khiriya bag. Over a thousand persons participated.Organisations participating were Samyukta Kisan Morcha,Kisan Sangrami Parishad, Kisan Sangram Samiti,Jai Kisan Andolan,and Bhumia Bachao.The event highlighted the strategy of the ruling BJP party in allowing every endeavour of the corporates to grab land and endorsing the International policy of United States of America in agricultural production. Speakers had also analysed on how the 3 bill which had been passed earlier, had stripped the farming community of any bargaining power and the foundation of any democratic aspirations. They explained how all over India such a strategy was being extended, in denying farmers of land rights in favour of a a pro-corporate model of agriculture. It was asserted how the farmers had no expectations of the ruling party bringing the criminals involved in running over the framers to the book, but would still intensify the struggle at any cost.

February 2023

Coming back to the February 9, 2023, recent national-level meeting held at Jat Dharamshala in Kurukshetra was presided by Yudhvir Singh, Dr Sunilam and Raja Ram Singh who also finalised the rules and regulations for the affiliation of various constituents with the platform and its structural composition in order to consolidate and expand the umbrella organization that successfully spearheaded a year-long struggle against three farm laws.

Detailed ‘rules and regulations’ of the Morcha’s day-to-day programme activities were finalised. A coordination committee of 31 members will be formed and representatives from farmers’ unions at the district level and all India level will be taken. There will also be a general body of the Morcha and rotational secretariat to ensure the participation of everyone,” he said.

Two years and five months ago, in September 2021, the Kisan Mahapanchayat held in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) on the eve of the state polls made a significant calls for harmony between all religions and castes. The leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait says “Allahu Akbar”, crowd responded with “Har Har Mahadev” as sign of unity.

Tikait, a mass leader among farmers had even addressed a gathering where, referring to his father Mahendra Singh Tikait, who is revered in the farming community of the area, had raised both these chants together to encourage unity of farmers. He added that politicians “will divide, we [farmers] will unite people.” 

Related:

Mazdoor Kisan Maha Panchayat staged by Besonika Mazdoor Union in Manesar 

Samyukta Kisan Morcha stages Peoples panchayat in Hariram

Kisan Mahapanchayat calls for harmony, right-wing adds communal twist

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Farmer umbrella body Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) continued their Mission Uttar Pradesh campaign on March 1, 2022 to decry the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) failure to deliver on promises made to and assurances given to farmers.

At a press conference in Azamgarh, SKM leaders appealed to the public to give the ruling regime a “vote ki chot” for fooling farmers. In December 2021, the Centre promised to organise a Minimum Support Price (MSP) committee, withdrawal of FIRs against protesting farmers, provide compensation to farmers among other things, even as it withdrew teh three contentious farm laws that had sparked a historic nation-wide, year-long protest by the farming community. Farmers agreed to vacate Delhi borders on the condition that these promises will be delivered upon within the next month.

Farmers also had other complaints such as failed procurement assurances, and the martyrdom of over 750 farmers during the nationwide protests, as well as failure to act swiftly to bring justice to those killed in Lakhimpur Kheri.

When the BJP failed farmers yet again, they launched a campaign to ‘punish’ the party in all state Assembly Elections. Particularly in UP, SKM talked about fake promises of subsidised electricity, doubling farmers’ incomes, procurement with interest to sugarcane farmers, move to solve the problem of stray cattle, etc. At an earlier conference in Prayagraj, farmer leaders claimed they received an enthusiastic response to their campaign from the agrarian community.

The numbers tell a story

Data sourced from the Election Commission of India’s Voter Turnout app reports enthusiastic voter turnout in farmer dominated areas. Typically a high voter turnout is associated with a wave of anti-incumbency, when people take to voting booths in large numbers to vote out incompetent leaders. For example, the voter turnout was 61.04 percent in 2017 when the BJP government came to power and defeated the Samajwadi Party.

Overall, the app says that the first phase recorded 62.43 percent voter turnout, the second phase recorded 64.66 percent turnout, the third phase recorded 62.28 percent voter turnout, the fourth phase reported 62.76 percent turnout and the fifth phase reported 58.52 percent voter turnout.

According to the SKM, the recent peasant struggle has awakened many farmers to the real issues in the country. To put this claim to the test, there is a need to look at voting behaviour in these community areas during the five phases that have concluded so far.

Phase 1

As many as 623 candidates hoped for a favourable turnout from the 2.27 crore eligible voters in the 58 constituencies of this phase on February 10. These regions were in the districts of Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Of these, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Baghpat are the farmer dominated districts that reported a minimum of 65 percent voter turnout. Meerut reported 64.67 percent voter turnout, Baghtpat had a 64.98 percent voter turnout, Muzaffarnagar reported 66.74 percent voter turnout and Shamli had an overall voter turnout of 70.17 percent.

Of the latter, the Kairana constituency reported a whopping 75 percent voter turnout. The other two constituencies, Shamli and Thana Bhawan reported 67.58 percent and 67.86 percent respectively.

During this phase, SabrangIndia spoke to some Jat farmers in Shamli district. At the time, they expressed a loss of confidence in the ruling BJP after it faltered on its promises of sugarcane procurement, electricity and irrigation. A voter also talked about the persisting issue of stray cattle destroying crops – a problem that had become a state-hazard over time.

In fact, The Hindu reports that stray cattle became a menace after the 2017 elections when the BJP-led government came to power. Cattle markets, curbs in transportation of cattle, shutting down of illegal slaughter houses and cow conservation policies have allowed the proliferation of the species, resulting in a major financial loss for farmers. Over the years, SabrangIndia also reported persisting cases wherein people – often Muslims – merely transporting cattle were attacked for attacking “gau maata”.

Aside from Shamli, Muzaffarnagar’s Khatauli constituency reported the highest voter turnout so far at 69.59 percent. Baghpat also reported the highest turnout so far in Baghpat town with 67.78 percent voter, while Meerut’s Kithore constituency reported the highest turnout so far of 69.46 percent in the district.

Phase 2

On February 14, elections began along the sugarcane belt. Most of the nine districts in this phase reported higher than 60 percent voter turnout with the exception of Budaun and Shahjahanpur. 586 candidates appealed to an electorate of 2 crore people, majorly dominated by farmers.

The highest voter turnout was in the Amroha district that reported 72.27 percent voter turnout, even more than Shamli in the previous phase. Each of the four constituencies reported a turnout of 70 percent or more. Amroha was closely followed by Saharanpur district with 71. 34 percent voter turnout.

Prior to the second phase, a farmer Mohammad Wakar had told SabrangIndia how all parties, barring BJP, sent Muslim candidates to the Muslim-dominated region. This, according to him, causes a divide in votes that inevitably benefits the BJP. However, the pressing concerns regarding communalism are left wholly unaddressed.

Similarly, Moradabad too enjoys a large Muslim population. However, the people do not think that the government can help with livelihood. According to local farmer Ashkar Ahmad, only 40 percent of the people in his region understood the larger issues, and many farmers hesitated to join the farmer protests. They feared the police would arrest them. A day after the polling, ECI reported 67.32 percent voter turnout in Moradabad with the lowest turnout in Moradabad town – 60.61 percent.

According to media reports, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Amroha have more than 60 percent sugarcane farmers. These farmers have voiced grievances regarding the lack of procurement of their crops during the farmers struggle near Delhi borders. On February 14, Bareilly reported 62.48 percent voter turnout and Bijnor reported 66.17 percent voter turnout.

Phase 3

On February 20, as many as 16 districts went into election phased including many farmers from the potato belt. During the previous phase, SKM visited Jhansi district – included in this phase – to talk about farmer grievances.

It may be noted that Hathras is the same district where a girl from the Valmiki caste was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed by members of the dominant caste. The incident had shaken the entire country, especially after it was reported that the local police burned the girl’s body without the family’s permission. Protests condemning the police, administration and the accused were observed all over India.

Phase 4

On February 23, nine districts with 624 candidates began voting. This phase was again estimated to be important for farmers because the Kheri and Pilibhit districts in this phase had earlier reported instances of state aggression against farmers supporting the nationwide movement.

On October 3, 2021, Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish allegedly mowed down protesting farmers at Tikonia village. Four farmers and a local journalist died during this attack that was declared “a pre-planned conspiracy” by the Special Investigation team (SIT) looking into the matter later on. According to a local farmer who survived the incident, Kheri peasants condemned the state government for protecting the alleged accused in the case. After Ashish’s bail, the SKM and survivors questioned the rationale in allowing an alleged murderer to be out on bail within four months of the attack.

Moreover, Navreet Singh, the young farmer who died at the ITO in Delhi on January 26, 2021, was a part of the Bilaspur farming community in Kheri. Angered by the state’s attempt to dismiss the death as an accident, local Jat farmers said they will not vote for the ruling regime.

On the day of voting, Kheri reported 67.79 percent turnout with 65.18 percent voter turnout in Lakhimpur Kheri. Pilibhit reported 69. 20 percent voter turnout.

Phase 5

February 27 marked the latest phase of election with 12 districts going for voting. The highest number of voters were reported in Barabanki (68.64 percent voter turnout).

On the day of the third phase, SKM visited Prayagraj (Allahabad) region to talk about the real worries of Prayagraj and Kaushambi farmers such as stray cattle, inflated electricity bills and halted connections, increased gas prices and mining controversies. Development projects along the Yamuna river had put Kol and other Adivasi communities’ livelihoods at risk.

These communities in Shankargarh, Koraon and Mirzapur say that most of the gram sabha land was given to the forest department. Members should have received pattas to mine gravel and convert it into agricultural land. Further, they should have received ‘Scheduled Tribe’ status. Instead, there were reports of illegal trade in urea recently. Despite this, the SKM said that the government performed well in paddy procurement compared to past years. Though farmers had to pay a bribe of ₹ 200 to ₹ 500 per quintal before giving their thumb impression at purchase centres and receiving cheques.

In another district, Bahraich, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to solve the stray cattle issue but did not explain how. Farmers called him out on this and appealed to the people not to vote for the party. On Sunday, Bahraich reported 59.73 percent vote turnout whereas Prayagraj reported 54 percent voter turnout.  

After the fifth phase farmers visited, Gorakhpur, Basti, Azamgarh and will continue all the way to Varanasi to continue their appeal to citizens, not to vote for BJP. The next polling phase will be on March 3.

Related:

Assembly elections: Over 67 percent voter turnout in Haridwar, Saharanpur
UP Assembly Elections: Over 57 percent turnout in Phase 1
SKM urges citizens and farmers to punish BJP with ‘vote ki chot’
Western UP: Are Jat farmers losing faith in the BJP?
SKM focuses on Jhansi, asks what has the regime done to alleviate suffering in the drought-prone region?
Lakhimpur Kheri case: Farmers remain enraged by Mishra’s bail 

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Turning attention towards indigenous farmers in the East, farmers umbrella body Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on February 26, 2022 decried state oppression against Adivasi peasantry in West Bengal and Odisha.

“The SKM expresses deep concern at police repression against farmers in Birbhum in West Bengal and Dhinkia in Odisha. These farmers have been protesting against land acquisition for coal mining and industry, respectively, without due process,” said SKM leader Darshan Pal in a press release.

Earlier on February 22, leaders issued a statement condemning the police repression in Deocha-Panchami-Harinsingha-Dewanganj area of Birbhum in West Bengal. The next day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced in a press conference that farmers and cattle-small ruminant keepers will not be ousted from their farm, pasture lands. Further, Birbhum farmers will receive land-for-land. The move can resolve the issue, provided the government proposal follows a clearly laid down process as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. However, so far, details of the land-for-land announcement are not available in the public domain.

Still, farmer leaders voiced concern for activists and local farmers arrested on February 20 and February 21 for holding peaceful protests. They continue to remain in jail while the police drag their feet on producing relevant documents before the court.

“SKM condemns this highhandedness of the police and urges Banerjee to personally direct the administration to set free the arrested persons and withdraw all cases against them so that an atmosphere conducive to peaceful discussion and possible resolution is created,” said SKM.

Members resolved to send a fact-finding team, led by activist Medha Patkar and other senior leaders to coordinate with the state government, interact and hold public hearings in the project area and recommend steps to resolve the issues.

Meanwhile in Odisha…

Tensions continue in Jagatsinghpur district. State police have been positioned along Dhinkia and its surrounding villages since December 4, 2021. Still, residents stand firm on their decision not to let the JSW Utkal Steel Ltd continue with its development projects in the area.

On February 16, the Odisha High Court formed a five-member committee to visit Dhinkia and assess the current situation. The need for this was pressing especially after the brutal lathi-charge in January that injured 200 persons, mostly women and girls. On February 19, a committee visited the village assisted by a local social activist. Gathered villagers gave their deposition but they were attacked by miscreants. Four people sustained serious injuries. At the time, the High Court Committee members as well as the police were present at the spot but did not provide any protection. Meanwhile, villagers alleged the attackers were goons hired by JSW.

“The Odisha government has given a free hand to the district administration and the police are responsible for mindless police violence as witnessed in many incidents, the worst being the brutal lathi charge of January 14,” said the SKM.

While many people were arrested in previous incidents, still many others are in hiding as the police set up its camp inside the village, said farmers. Farmer leaders called this a siege on villages for the coercive acquisition of land for the state sponsored project. Farmers said all of this violated laws and due processes related to forest rights and land acquisition. SKM’s Odisha unit wrote about these concerns in appeals to both the Governor and the Chief Minister.

“Yet, the state government is putting all its resources in support of JSW. An MoU between JSW and the Odisha government, if it has been signed, is not available to the general public,” said SKM.

Prior to the JSW project, Dhinkia villagers rallied against and finally succeeded in stopping South Korean company POSCO from entering their area after 12 years of protests. Still, the land was put into a Land Bank and then given to the JSW when it should have been returned the 2700 acres of acquired land back to the people. To add to local grievances, Adivasi farmers have alleged that their betel vine plots were destroyed over the last two months by the district administration. They demanded compensation.

SKM that led a 13-month long national struggle and continues to voice farmer grievances voiced solidarity with West Bengal and Odisha adivasi farmers and upheld their right to dissent.

“While we condemn the lack of transparency with people and the use of force and coercion to bring in steel and mining companies, we wish to reiterate that industrialization cannot happen at the cost of the peasantry – landed and landless – in India’s predominantly rural agrarian economy. Fertile agricultural land is not for profit-making corporations,” said the SKM.

Related:

Birbhum: Adivasis opposing coal mining project get support from SKM
SKM urges citizens and farmers to punish BJP with ‘vote ki chot’
JSW destroying forest without permit: Dhinkia villagers
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The news of Lakhimpur Kheri-accused Ashish Mishra getting bail shocked many farmers in India, especially in Uttar Pradesh where the first phase of Assembly elections began on the same day. Farmer leaders condemned the judgement as a political move to influence Assembly elections in UP and other states. However, according to Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Ashish Mittal, the resolve of western UP’s farming community has indeed left the ruling regime in an uncertain position.

The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre, the farmers struggle and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) performance in the last five years left many farmers disillusioned. Mittal said that Jat farmers, especially, were disappointed with the government that failed on most of its 2017 performances. “No party manifesto has assured a legal guarantee to MSP [Minimum Support Price] as per the Swaminathan commission formula. Although the Samajwadi Party [SP] promised MSP for potatoes, tomatoes and onions,” said Mittal.

As mentioned, the SP does mention MSP at C2 + 50 percent but it does not provide a legal guarantee. Similarly the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) appeals to sugarcane farmers and talks about public distribution of potatoes and other rations.

Still, the anger against BJP is palpable in the Jat community that has widely supported the farmers struggle as well as Dalit groups in UP. Intead of the dispute about mandir-masjid and other communal matters, UP’s peasantry is worried about issues like unemployment and adequate prices for crops. This mentality is likely to vary between western and eastern UP with the former side being relatively more prosperous in its agriculture activities.

However, accounts from Shamli district tell a different story. Farmer and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) member Ompal Malik said that Jat farmers there had lost confidence in the BJP after it failed to procure sugarcane from farmers and faltered on its promises on electricity and irrigation. “Before the BJP-government electricity was around ₹ 400. Now, under the BJP administration, electricity is around ₹ 700,” he said.

As per the party’s 2022 manifesto called the ‘Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra’, farmers have been assured free electricity for irrigation if the state government retains power for the next five years. However, Kairana farmer Ravinder Malik told SabrangIndia that even this is undesirable for farmers. “We would prefer it if the government subsidised electricity for six months of farming rather than making it free altogether,” he said, asking, “Also, even though, both Haryana and UP have the same ruling party, the electricity rates are different. Why not make it uniform?”

While he agreed that the BJP government has made some good decisions over the years, Malik said the main contention of sugarcane farmers was regarding the meagre increase for ₹ 25 for a quintal of cane in five years. Additionally, there was also the problem of stray animals that has become a state-wide hazard but remains wholly ignored by the Yogi-government.

Leaders said that the Jat community greatly favoured the BJP until 2017 but lost confidence after the Lakhimpur Kheri attack on October 3, 2021. One such Jat farmer from Rampur district’s Bilaspur region was particularly critical of the BJP. Gurjeet Singh Kotia condemned the state government for protecting the alleged accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri attack. He said that aside from failed procurement assurances, farmers were angered by the treatment of the three contentious farm laws despite nation-wide protests and the martyrdom of more than 750 farmers. Particularly, the death of Navreet Singh at the ITO in Delhi on January 26, 2021 greatly affected the community. “Few know that Navreet was part of the Bilaspur community here. Obviously, when a son dies, the entire family will be angry. It’s for this reason that more people are leaning towards SP and other parties. No Jat will vote for BJP,” he said.

While the Jats expressed their anger towards the ruling regime, Muslim farmers wondered which party will address their additional concerns about education, security, health and livelihood. Moradabad farmer Ashkar Ahmad said that most farmers in his region – that enjoys a large Muslim population – do not think that the government can help with livelihood. He lamented how politicians and party candidates were using religion, caste and local familial relations to get votes. Due to this, Ahmad said that only 40 percent of the people in his region understood the larger issues and politics although he did not suffer any Hindu-Muslim discrimination within the farming community. “Even in the field, when I was dropping off the cane crop, I and other farmers were discussing how to preserve the Nehru-Indra legacy in this election,” he said.

However, farmers in his area hesitate to join farmer protests for fear of getting arrested by the police. As such, Ahmad agreed that the communal influence remains even in cities like Moradabad where people do not have a hand-to-mouth existence. Similarly, Amroha’s Mohammad Wakar said said that all parties used the communal divide to their advantage. For example, he said that barring BJP, all parties sent Muslim candidates in their area that has a large Muslim community. This causes a divide in votes that inevitably benefits the BJP. “No party has any unique stand on communalism,” said Wakar.

He said that the issue of Muslim education in particularly ignored in his region. Some time ago, Wakar said a nearby village Rampur established a university that allowed many Muslim folk to send their children there for further studies. However, once the BJP gained more influence, it filed many cases against the institution and closed down its library. This is one of the reasons, said Wakar, why people in the farming community were leaning towards other alliances like the SP-RLD coalition.

Related:

UP Assembly Elections: Over 57 percent turnout in Phase 1
Lakhimpur Kheri case: Ashish Mishra gets bail!
SKM denounces BJP manifesto
Punish BJP! SKM’s resolve for Mission UP

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“BJP’s election manifesto is a bundle of lies,” said Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders on February 9, 2022 during press conferences in Moradabad and Bareilly. Members appealed to citizens to “punish the anti-farmer” party.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto ‘Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra’ as early as January 2022. In it, the party claimed that 86 lakh state farmers enjoyed a loan waiver of ₹36,000 cr and 2.5 crore farmers got an annual fiscal assistance of ₹6,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi – making UP the number one performer in this field.

However, SKM leaders Hannan Mollah, Yogendra Yadav, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Rakesh Tikait, Shivkumar Sharma (Kakka) and Dr Sunilam attending the farmer meetings criticised the BJP for misleading the people. “The promises made by the BJP in the election manifesto to farmers were also made during the 2017 elections but they were not implemented. Farmers neither got the MSP, nor did their income double,” said Mollah.

In the latest manifesto, the BJP said that it will ensure that sugarcane farmers are paid their dues within 14 days. For late payment, it promised to pay the farmers with an interest by charging sugar mills accordingly. To this, the SKM pointed out that the party made the exact same promise in its 2017 manifesto. Yet, sugarcane farmers still await the balance of ₹ 20 cr for 2017-18 and as much as ₹ 3,752 cr for 2020-21.

“Despite the Allahabad High Court’s March 2017 order, farmers have not been paid the interest of ₹ 8,700 cr due to delay in payment in the last ten years,” said SKM.

In the Sankalp Patra, the BJP has made varying promises for procurement of paddy, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, onions among other crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP). Again, farmers said that this is a promise picked out from the 2017 manifesto that the party forgot when it came into power. In fact, the SKM claimed that during the last five years, less than a third of the paddy production was procured by the government. In the case of wheat, the government procured less than one bag of wheat out of every six bags produced.

For the 2022 elections, the ruling regime promised to start the Mukhya Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana with a cost of ₹5,000 cr, providing grants for the construction of borewells, tubewells, ponds and tanks for all small and marginal farmers.

This same Yojana was to be implemented five years ago with a corpus of ₹ 20,000 cr. It is yet to be established. In the same way, 10 lakh UP farmers were promised free pump sets under the UDAY scheme but so far only 6,068 energy efficient pumps have been installed. Even though these promises from previous elections are yet to be completed, the BJP reiterated the provision of solar pumps under the Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana. The promise of six food processing parks was also reused in a similar manner. The provision of free electricity supply for irrigation also came from the 2017 manifesto.

“In the last five years, there was not enough electricity. The electricity rates of Uttar Pradesh are the highest in India,” said the SKM. Elaborating, it said the Yogi-government has increased the rate of rural metered electricity from ₹ 1 per unit to ₹ 2 per unit for tubewells since 2017. There was also an unexpected increase in the fixed charge from ₹ 30 to ₹ 70. Additionally, for unmetered connections increased from ₹ 100 to ₹ 170.

The SKM also asked farmers to recall the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre wherein four farmers and one local journalist were allegedly mowed down and killed by Union Minister Ajajy Mishra’s son Ashish. It also talked about how the BJP-led government backtracked from their promises made to Delhi-border farmers on December 9, 2021. To condemn this, India’s farmers even observed VIshwasghat Diwas on January 31.

Following that, as many as 57 UP farmer organizations resolved to start Mission UP. Leaders will visit multiple villages, distributing pamphlets and holding street meetings, to ask voters not to invest their confidence in the “anti-farmer” BJP.

“Those farmers who had to sell their crops at half the price of MSP and saved their crops from stray animals by staying awake all night will definitely vote against the BJP to teach it a lesson,” said the SKM.

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Over the last few weeks, farmers protesting at Delhi borders have reported regular harassment from miscreants demanding that the protest sites near the national capital be vacated. Most recently, on June 30, 2021 morning a bunch of goons arrived at the farmer protest site from NH-9 bearing BJP flags and disrupted the area.

According to farmers union Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), these alleged BJP-RSS goons verbally abused farmers and threatened to remove them from the area. Leaders said they have been trying to instigate protesting farmers at Ghazipur Border for days. On Wednesday, the group of people went to the Uttar Pradesh gate protest site on the pretext of welcoming a BJP leader Amit Valmiki.

“They raised slogans against protesting farmers and called them traitors, anti-national, etc. The men also pelted stones onto the stage. There was absolutely no justification to welcoming the BJP leader at this location. It was done only to instigate a clash with farmers, police in tow, in a time-testing BJP-RSS tactic,” said the SKM.

The accused were armed with lathis and sharp weapons, they headed towards the stage. Peasants near the stage protested by waving black flags. Following this, farmers including elder persons were allegedly beaten up in the presence of police. Farmer Praveen Malik even broke his wrist.

Member of SKM legal team, Vasu Kukreja said that farmers also had to hold a dharna outside Kaushambi police station before officials agreed to file their complaint. Farmers condemned the police for their inaction even though police were present at the event.

When SabrangIndia contacted the police station regarding the details of the event, the concerned official said, “He cannot talk on call.” Nonetheless, an FIR was registered against the goons for rioting, causing hurt, abusing and attempting to provoke peaceful protesters. SKM demanded that officials who allowed the events to transpire the way they did, hardly 50 meters from the stage, should be identified and punished.

Earlier, farmers faced a repression of a different kind on June 17, when the SKM was accused of causing a local suicide. Terming it as a defamation campaign, farmer leaders like Balbir Singh Rajewal said that accused farmers were in fact trying to save the deceased by transporting the individual to the hospital.

“As part of the continuous efforts to defame and slander the ongoing farmers’ movement, an unfortunate case of suicide [was] used by the Haryana government, its political agents and their troll army,” said the SKM.

At the time, a person was already arrested but the related FIR also insinuated that protesting farmers hurt the deceased. Farmers appealed to the public not to be taken in by another attempt to slander the farmers’ struggle.

Even before this incident, farmers talked about the suspension of farmers’ Twitter account ‘Tractor to Twitter’ (@Tractor2twitr) on June 12. The farmers’ union condemned the attempt to muzzle their freedom of expression and promised legal support in a suit, seeking a permanent injunction against Tractor 2 Twitter and its founders. The group’s tweet messages are alleged to be defamatory by a national media house, which filed a case on May 31, 2021 in the Delhi High Court of Delhi. On June 13, twitter accounts of the Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU-Ugrahan) also faced temporary restriction.

“Internet blackouts have been executed at the protest sites. Twitter handles of many supporters have been suspended too. Media houses that stand in support of the government are also attempting the same, even though it is expected that the media, supposedly a pillar of our democracy, will uphold such freedoms,” said farmer leaders in a press statement.

India’s farmers and peasant population has been out on the streets since November 26, 2020 demanding that the three farm laws forcibly passed by the central government – the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services Act, the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act – be withdrawn. Further they have also demanded a legal guarantee to Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a withdrawal of the Electricity Bill 2020.

More farmers continue to approach Singhu and Tikri borders. Nearby residents provide farmers with food and clothes to continue the struggle. In other parts of the country, farmers agitate for different basic issues. For example, Punjab farmers demand regular electricity supply, Uttar Pradesh farmers want payments due to them for wheat and sugarcane sales, Telangana jowar farmers demand basic compensation.

Every protest site across the world – backed by various people’s organisations – asserted that they will not end the struggle until the laws are withdrawn and farmers’ demands are met.

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The post SKM files FIR against BJP goons for disrupting Ghazipur protest site appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Farmers on March 20, 2021 strongly condemned the recommendation to implement the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 in the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution’s report.

“We strongly condemn and oppose this move of the committee. In talks with the government and on other platforms, [we] repeatedly explained that these three laws are harmful and are about to exploit farmers and common citizens,” said the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) while appealing to the committee to withdraw the recommendation.

It said that the new Act made a “wholly anti-poor recommendation” that food should be removed from the Essential Commodities list. Farmer leaders said that the law allowed unlimited private hoarding and black marketing and warned that it will end the Public Distribution System (PDS.) In doing so, government procurement of food grains will be rendered superfluous, affecting 75 crore beneficiaries.

“It is entirely disgraceful that many parties which have been claiming support to farmers agitation for repeal of three farm laws have voted for the implementation of the Act. This exposes a wider consensus amongst these parties on these laws,” said SKM leaders.

Meanwhile, the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said in its annual report that “anti-national and anti-social forces” have created a deadlock between the BJP-led government and farmers in the agitation related to agricultural laws. Decrying this statement, farmers asserted that the movement has been peaceful and farmers have participated in every dialogue with the government. SKM leader Darshan Pal said that such a thinking serves as an insult to the farmers.

On the other hand, recent government provisions regarding wheat procurement were withdrawn following huge opposition from farmers. Instead, the same system (which was followed in 2020-21) will continue to operate. Similarly, SKM claimed to be gathering huge support for the Bharat Bandh on March 26. Farmers said that Bharat Bandh will observe a complete bandh and all programs except emergency services will remain closed even inside Delhi.

As for mahapanchayats, farmers and workers in Patna gathered outside the City Gate Public Library to demand the repeal of all three agricultural laws, passing of a resolution against it from Bihar Legislative Assembly, legal status to MSP, re-enactment of the APMC Act, and benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana to landless and sharecroppers.

In Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh, farmers raised the issue of farmer suicides and demanded financial and social assistance to concerned families. For the same, a Kisan Majdoor mahapanchayat will be organised in Varanasi district on March 22.

Meanwhile, Telangana farmers in Khanapur region of Nirmal district also held a rally to voice farmers’ demands and to stop the eviction of tribals and other peasants from podu lands, issuance of land right certificates in accordance with the Forest Rights Act 2006.

While such activities are carried out at the district-level, senior SKM leaders will participate in the Mitti Satyagraha Yatra headed towards Delhi borders’ protest sites. The soil collected from all over India will be dedicated to the martyrs of the movement.

Another umbrella organisation in Karnataka called the Samyukta Horata, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and the Hasiru Sene called for a mahapanchayat in Shivamogga district. This large gathering will be attended not only by farmers but all those who are in support and solidarity of the ongoing struggle. Then on March 22 state farmers will march towards the Vidhan Sabha in Bengaluru.

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The post Farmers condemn parliamentary committee’s recommendation to implement ECAA 2020 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Farmers organisation Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) have announced the schedule for nationwide mahapanchayats starting with Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

According to an SKM press release, Bilari city in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district and PDM College near Bahadurgarh bypass in Haryana will observe mass gatherings on February 12. Later, Rajasthan will undertake mahapanchayats at Raisingh Nagar in Sri Ganganagar district, Hanumangarh district, and Sikar district on February 18, February 19 and February 23 respectively.

These meetings will discuss the three farm laws opposed by farmers. The SKM condemned these policies and “anti-farmer” statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India having previously passed many laws that were not demanded by people.

“The Prime Minister has proved that these laws have not been demanded by farmers. Opposite to it, the government is not serious on fair and genuine demand of Karja Mukti, Pura Daam [Loan Waiver, Full Price,]” they said.

Earlier, farmer leaders spoke during a massive rally in Jagraon city of Punjab wherein farmers and other citizens showed huge participation. Farmers also held panchayat on Shambhu border.

At the Singhu border, leaders expressed their views on the implementation of the upcoming programs and denounced the Haryana government’s proposal to install CCTV on “Tikri morcha.”

“Kisan Mahapanchayats will be organised all over the country in the coming days. The teams of the SKM are planning the programs of the state-wise Mahapanchayats. SKM will not take back the protest until the repeal of three farm laws and legal recognition to MSP,” said farmer leader Darshan Pal.

Mahapanchayats have become a huge reactionary success to the allegedly government-incited violence of January 26. Each meeting is attended by tens of thousands of farmers, from all religions and castes and genders.

According to All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) President Ashok Dhawale this shows how the farmers’ struggle is having an impact in loosening long-standing social barriers. As an example he talked about the mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar on January 29 that witnessed an attendance of one lakh people. The group included Hindus as well as Muslim despite the region’s saddening history of Muslim attacks incited by the BJP-RSS.

Veteran farmer leader Ghulam Mohammad Jola then said, “Out of one lakh farmers present at the Mahapanchayat, at least 30,000 were Muslims. They felt that they are farmers first and Muslims later.”

Accordingly, farmer leader Naresh Tikait in his speech apologized for letting Muslim brothers down in 2013 and also for voting for the BJP and against RLD chief Ajit Singh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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The post Mahapanchayats in UP, Rajasthan and Haryana from Feb 12 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Punjab had its first mahapanchayat at the Grain Market in Jagraon city of Ludhiana district on February 11, 2021. According to The Tribune, 25,000 to 30,000 people gathered for the event to listen to speeches of farmer leaders.

Different people arrived in the area via tractor trollies, cars, SUVs, buses and trucks where the police had stepped up security, as per NDTV reports.

Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders Manjit Dhaner, Kulwant Singh Sandhu and Harinder Singh Lakhowal spoke on-stage and vowed to struggle peacefully till the Modi government agreed to withdraw the three farm laws rejected by farmers. Dhaner further thanked Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU) Rakesh Tikait for rejuvenating farmers’ struggle.

“It is no longer a fight of only farmers but has now become a mass agitation. In the ongoing agitation, 99 percent people are standing by farmers but unfortunately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen to side with corporate houses,” he told The Tribune.

Meanwhile, Lakhowal ridiculed the Centre’s claim of open dialogue on farm Acts because “all doors had been slammed shut in the form of barricades erected on borders, with nails and iron rods fixed on roads, and denial of basic amenities to protesters.”

BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) President Joginder Singh Ugrahan asked protesters to prepare for a long drawn-out battle that extends beyond the national regime. BY saying so, he called the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the IMF and the Word Bank the real culprits responsible for the new economic policies .

Ugrahan said the laws would force more than 80 per cent farmers, especially those with small holdings, to lose their land to corporates and big business houses.

At the same time, leaders also warned against political hijackers who can manipulate the struggle for their own agenda. They reminded farmers that the agitation was started by India’s peasantry and will remain so to fight corporates.

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The post At least 25,000 people gather for Punjab’s first Mahapanchayat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

National and state highways across India will be blockaded between 12 PM and 3 PM on February 6, 2021, as per reports from various parts of the country on February 5 to protest the anti-people laws of the central government.

On the call of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) farmers all over India will block highways to decry the severe repression of farmers along Delhi borders by way of cement barricading, stoppage of electricity and water supplies and internet shutdown.

The nationwide chakka jam (blocking roads) will end with honking of horns at 3 PM. However, leaders have said that Delhi and NCR will not be a part of the chakka jam event.

Instead, All India Students’ Association N. Sai Balaji said that various people’s organisations and farmers groups have received a combined call to gather for a public meeting at Shaheed Park, at ITO, Delhi to express solidarity with farmers.

While Kolkata will witness farmers protest from 2PM to 3 PM at Dharmatala, Esplanade crossing and other districts. Only state and national highways will be blocked.

Meanwhile, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Finance Secretary P. Krishnaprasad said that Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have prepared for widespread protests on Saturday. Specifically, Kerala farmers will observe panchayat-level demonstrations in nearly 1,000 regions of the state instead of road blockades.

However, Karnataka’s Joint Struggle of Farmers, Daliths and Workers coalition group Coordinator Bhat said that farmers and workers together will observe chakka jams in 30 out of all 31 districts.

“We can’t observe a chakka jam in urban Bengaluru but nearby roads and national highways will be closed. We hope to continue the statewide protests for at least an hour,” he said.

A stage has been prepared at the capital city outskirts, said Patriotic Youth Movement’s (PYM) Bengaluru Convener Ravi, from where people will block state highways.

Much like Karnataka, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Tamil Nadu Convener K. Balakrishnan said that at least one taluka in every district will observe “road roko” protests for at least half an hour to an hour.

“It will not be possible to observe three-hour-long protests especially in Tambaram, Chennai and similar parts of the state. The police won’t allow the traffic jam,” said Balakrishnan.

He said that police would most definitely arrest protesters. Nonetheless, farmers said they were resolved for arrest. The Convener also sent letters to regional political parties for further support.

Further, Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) Co-Founder Navin said that from Telangana Hyderabad capital city, Suryapet, Warangal,Jangaon, Mehboobabad, Nirmal and four other districts also confirmed participation in the chakka jam. In Andhra Pradesh, roads will be blockaded in Visakhapatnam, Kurnool, Ananthapura, Kadappa, Guntur, Vijayawada and Anakapalle districts. Participants will observe the protests between the stated time period.

On the other hand, the AIKS and the All India Democratic Women’s Association have prepared for chakka jams across India for three hours on Saturday afternoon.

AIDWA State Secretary Prachi said women villagers from Dahanu and Vikramgad will participate in the event in large numbers.

Similarly, Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana member Sunita from Talasari district said farmers in the areas had received police permission to observe road blockades for all three hours. “Until the three laws are repealed, we will continue our support with Delhi farmers,” she said.

In Punjab, people’s widespread support for the movement continues. Water Supply and Sanitation Contract Workers’ Union (WSSCWU) President Varinder Singh said workers would join farmers’ protests from wherever possible, carrying their flags and placards.

Similarly, AISA General Secretary Sandeep Saurabh said that student members in the rest of the country will also join nearby farmers’ protests with placards. Regarding the recent incident of international support to the farmers’ movement, he said, “When the Capitol Hill incident happened, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was unfortunate. But when lakhs of farmers protest and people come to express solidarity, you hinder people. This shows that India’s sovereignty is under threat,” he said.

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