The decision by Modi to jettison Farm Laws 2020 came as a surprise as he rarely backs down. It makes eminent sense from several perspectives when viewed through the lens of political expediency, however. There is no reason to put the cart before the horse in this confrontation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the last year that they will now repeal the centre’s three controversial farm laws. Farmers have protested against these legislations for over a year. Guru Nanak Dev Parkash Utsav marked the day on which the announcement was made. Whether people are for or against a government, their voice matters a lot in a democratic system. Agriculture and the lives of farmers both require positive changes, and no one can deny that.
Eye on Small Farmers & Western Uttar Pradesh
Lakhimpur Kheri in West Uttar Pradesh, at Avadh’s entrance point, was a flashpoint for agrarian concerns about contentious farm laws being proposed by the centre. Following the Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy, protests in west UP that began with efforts to encourage the state government to increase the state advisory price or SAP for sugarcane growers also tangled with the subject of agrarian distress across the state.
In villages, BJP could not have ignored the broader resonances. Small and marginal farmers, who have formed the backbone of the BJP’s support since 2014, were equally upset by the government’s refusal to guarantee the minimum support price and not leave them exposed to market fluctuations.
The RSS and BJP were primarily influenced by the feedback they received from ground zero in UP. They made this major decision, the second significant one after the disputatious land acquisition amendments were blocked in 2015. While visiting central UP recently, I came across BJP workers in at least three villages, gathering feedback from farmers, all of whom were pradhans.
Therefore, it was strategically timed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce today that the centre would revoke the three “reform”-oriented laws. These issues include the refusal by the centre to give legal status to MSP, setting up more mandis in their villages so that they are less dependent on the free market, increasing the supply of fertilizer, and addressing the problem of strays or “lawaris pashu”.
Farmers, tiny and marginal peasants, complained that farmers’ land yields were not significant enough to justify carrying it to open markets in the towns or hiring tractors or tempos to transport it. Their demand was for the government to establish more “mandis”, prescribe the MSP, and make it punishable to violate it. It believed it could deal with the fallout as long as the farm laws affected a section of the peasantry in west UP.
Jats were largely BJP supporters since 1989, barring occasional swings towards the opposition, so this notion was misplaced. However, the BJP expected that the caste divide between the Jats and the OBC peasantry, and the latter’s alleged preference for the BJP, would restore the balance of power.
Nothing can be viewed in isolation in the socially dynamic UP, with Chaudhary Jayant Singh’s RLD rising to prominence due to Rakesh Tikait’s endorsement. Since the RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal) is most likely to align with the Samajwadi Party (SP) after emerging as the alternate pole in UP, the BKU spokesperson was an essential factor the BJP couldn’t ignore. Despite sometimes coming across as uninspired and reactive to the BJP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav recognized an electoral goldmine in the agricultural issues and continually brought them up.
BJP would have suffered a lot if the laws hadn’t been revoked? As well as a slew of welfare measures, Hindutva (the Ram temple) and PM Modi’s “charisma,” it was plagued by agrarian issues.
The electoral trajectory might have changed the SP’s campaign gained enough traction to focus on livelihood concerns rather than Modi and ideology. Farmers never considered the BJP as a party that supported them in UP. It can no longer ignore this sector that holds up Uttar Pradesh’s economy, as evidenced by the bench strength of those who won from villages with agricultural roots.
Bring Guaranteed MSP Act to Boost Farm Incom
Now may be the time to end the stalemate. Farmers and the government last spoke on January 22 of this year. In the meantime, nothing has changed except for posturing from both sides, which is hardly productive. Agricultural stakeholders are of primary importance.
The time is now for the Guaranteed MSP Act to repeal and replace these three farm laws. It only takes intention to make it work! After abolishing the three laws, we need a law that guarantees a minimum support price (MSP). It will be a law geared toward the future. There are systemic problems facing farmers. Consequently, they also need to concentrate on finding solutions.
For nearly 86 per cent of the country’s total farmers, the restoration of assured minimum income is a matter of life or death. Despite 75 years of Independence, these farmers have always been used as a tool by political parties, most of whom are throwing their weight behind the current farmers’ movement but have not managed to empower farmers. In the 1960s, millions of people died from food-related complications due to a food crisis. Despite the country’s alarming hunger crisis, their sweat and blood saved the country.
Revival of assured minimum income is a matter of life and death for small and marginal farmers, who account for nearly 86 per cent of the country’s total farmer population. The farmers have been used as a tool by political parties, many of whom are throwing their weight behind the current farmers’ movement but have not been able to empower farmers even after 75 years of Independence! As a nation, we have not yet forgotten the food crisis of the 1960s when millions died due to hunger-related complications. Their blood and sweat took the country out of the jaws of the alarming hunger problem.
Farmers and farm workers yielded bumper crops of wheat and rice thanks to the Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh. A vicious cycle of debt has ensnared most farmers in the Belt of Green Revolution. In a real sense, they will be celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav when they receive the cushion of guaranteed MSP, which will assist them in becoming debt-free in the coming years.
As long as farmers are burdened with debt, will the chain of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, and Maharashtra break? Even after five decades of the Green Revolution, has the financial condition of small farmers in India improved? Farmers are asking themselves these questions when it comes to looking for hope in the dark.
The farmer is most concerned with not getting paid for their crops. There are 23 crops for which the government announces MSPs annually, but they cannot procure them at these prices as they are not legally binding for agencies or buyers. The farmer’s price for a bumper crop in a season of bumper crops does not even cover the cost of transportation. A report released by the OECD-ICRIER estimates farmers have lost Rs 45 lakh crore due to not paying their input costs between 2000-01 and 2016-17.
MSP covers only 23 of the country’s 100 crops. Moreover, government procurement at MSP is not available in most states, except for two to three crops in three to four states. Six per cent of farmers in the country receive MSP on three or four crops, to which 85 per cent belong to Punjabi and Haryana farmers whose government sources wheat and paddy.
The maize sowing season in Punjab is nearly over, except for some semi-hilly patches in Pathankot and Hoshiarpur. As a result, farmers have been forced to sell their maize at less than the government-approved MSP of Rs 1,870 per quintal during the current Kharif season. PM Modi stated in 2017 that government steps are being taken to increase agricultural income by 2022.
Farmers need to know what steps have been taken so far to double their income. Farmers also need to suggest ways to prevent farming from becoming a loss-making venture. Identifying core measures that we must take to increase farm income must be the task of the government and farmers together at this time.
To end the farmers’ agitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated the central government will repeal the three farm laws during the upcoming winter session of Parliament. A committee will also be set up to consider guaranteed MSP for all agricultural products. It is essential to the future of agriculture because it provides a living wage for farmers.
Article Proofread and Edited by Shreedatri Banerjee
