{"id":9506,"date":"2021-02-18T23:19:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T22:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/resources\/\/resources\/fairfood.nl\/resources\/?p=9506"},"modified":"2021-06-08T12:12:02","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T10:12:02","slug":"4-things-about-the-indian-farmers-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fairfood.org\/en\/resources\/4-things-about-the-indian-farmers-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"4 things you should know about the Indian farmers protests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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4 things you should know about the Indian farmers protests<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Indian<\/strong> farmers<\/strong> have been protesting against law reforms for three months straight. They fear the reforms will allow the market to fall into the hands of big corp, leaving the farmers with zero power and an even lower price. Fairfood<\/strong> is watching the Indian farmers protests closely and lists 4 things you should understand about these protests.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who cares about fair food, ought to watch the farmers protest in India very closely. On one hand, a \u201cfree market\u201d sounds like something we should want: farmers in a position to negotiate a good price. But denying an assured price already proved to impact farmers negatively, even in high-income countries. \u201cIf the markets were so good, and despite receiving monumental subsidies, I see no reason why American farmers should be saddled with a record-high debt of $425 billion in July 2020\u201d, journalist Devinder<\/strong> Sharma wrote in an article<\/a> for Fairfood,<\/strong> “With suicides in rural areas being 45% higher than in urban areas. Rural communities have been left devastated, and there is a kind of eerie silence that greets you.\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after five rounds of talks with the Modi Government, no solution to the continuing siege of Delhi seems to have been found. While the biggest farmers’ protest of the world unfolds and seems to be carrying on for months to come, we invite you to pay attention to 4 important facts about the protests, that will definitely end up in history books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The many faces of a single protest <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A few hundred meters from the police barricades, a massive 2 kilometer makeshift town was built for the almost 10 thousand farmers that have set up camp in Delhi. The settlement includes a medical department, a school for children<\/a>, a library<\/a> and, of course, a kitchen that feeds whoever is visiting – including police officers, who are often spotted grabbing a bite<\/a>. Supply “stores” were also improvised with donations from supporters, where shampoo and even free period pads are distributed<\/a>. The face of the protest may be that of bearded farmers in tourbants, female farmers are also present, along with entire families, including young and college-going children. “My father is able to support my education only through farming. If this is lost, we will be left with nothing. That’s why I’m here”, the student Raman Gill told BBC<\/a>. “Initially many of my friends made fun of us for joining this movement. Now they tell us how proud they are. It feels nice that they understand why we are here.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/jdhillonA\/status\/1361368959363076097?s=20\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The impressive organisationational level is also reflected in the “leaderless strategy”. Leaders of the 31 protesting unions have avoided the formation of a single power centre by taking turns to participate in talks with the government. In other times, many of these groups would be disagreeing, but this time around the focus is on the collective fight. \u201cNo union leader should feel that because he is heading a smaller union he does not have the same say as the head of a larger union,\u201d Gurmeet Singh, vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), told The Print<\/a>. \u201cIn this kind of leadership everybody matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Terrorism: how can farmers be the enemy<\/em>?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Right wing supporters call the movement separatist and accuse farmers of wanting to divide the country. Behind that lie several ideological debates and internal conflicts based on religion, the cast systems and nationalist narratives that lead the right wing to refer to farmers as “terrorists”. Which, of course, inflamed more supportive expressions stronger, including from foreigners such as the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau<\/strong>, activist Greta<\/strong> Thumberg<\/strong> and, of course, Rihanna<\/strong>, that ended up experiencing the anger of Modi’s crowd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protests are fairly common in India, the world’s largest democracy. In 2019, large crowds rocked the country after the approval of a controversial bill that gave Indian citizenship to immigrants from three neighbouring countries, but not if they are Muslim. However, the current protests are a particular challenge for Modi’s Government. Agriculture accounts as the direct or indirect source of livelihood for 58% of India’s 1.3 billion population<\/a>, making farming<\/em> not only the main economic activity of the country, but farmers<\/em> the biggest voter block. What makes particularly incomprehensible that parts of society can see them as an enemy<\/em>. Aren’t they the backbone of Indians’ society after all? Although the Prime Minister swears he’s trying to support and transform the agri-sector, as long as they remain angry it could cost Modi a significant chunk of votes at the next general election in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are farmers not terrorists\u201d.#FarmersProtests<\/a> #FarmersDilliChalo<\/a>#FarmersBill2020<\/a>#FarmerProtests2020<\/a> #farmers<\/a> #Delhi<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oEgNkoEQGX<\/a><\/p>— aflatoon jatt (@aflatoonjatt) December 2, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>