The Farmers Vs the State

 

 

 

The Farmers Vs the State

The Indian Government got three farm Bills passed last September, in great haste during the corona pandemic, without consulting the stake holders and following the due legislative process.  The Bills were not even referred to the parliamentary standing committee, as per the practice, for scrutiny. They were passed in a din in Rajya Sabha, where the ruling coalition does not have majority, rejecting the opposition demand for a division.

The government claims the farm laws are the agricultural reforms intended to benefit the farmers.  However, the farmers have a different take. The farmers’ unions believe  these laws will open the sale and marketing of agricultural products outside the notified APMC Mandis ,preventing the state governments from collecting a market fee, cess or levy for trade,  making the farmers vulnerable, eventually leading to dismantling the Mandi system, and leaving them  high and dry. There is no limit for hoarding the farm products.  If the Mandi system is dismantled, the farmers will not get the MSP for their crops, leaving the small and marginal farms at the mercy of Corporates.  According to the 2016  Agricultural Census, 86 percent land holdings are the small and marginal holdings of less than five acres.

Ever since the government promulgated the three ordinances in June 2020, and the farms Bills were made public in August, the farmers from several states have been protesting against the Bills. And the farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, are on agitation from November 26^th at the borders of Singhu,Tikri and Ghazipur- the outskirts of Delhi. The farmers’ leaders, representing some 40 farmers unions, and the government held eleven rounds of talks between 14 October 2020 and 22 January 2021; which failed to end the deadlock. The government offered to hold back the farm laws for 18 months. The farmers demand the repeal of the farm laws and the guarantee of MSP for their crops.  They fear that without the MSP, they would be exploited by the Corporates and the small and marginal farmers would lose their livelihood.

On January 26, 2021, the farmers carried a tractor rally marching into Delhi. However, some miscreants crossed the prescribed route and sneaked into the Red Fort area and even hosting a Sikh religious flag on the ramparts of Red Fort. This despicable act undermined the sanctity of the Republic Day. The police could have prevented the miscreants reaching the Red Fort- a highly secured zone.  An impartial inquiry should be conducted to ascertain the facts and the people responsible punished.

But the farmers’ agitation which has been going on for more than 70 days should not be discredited due to this incident. Their protest was otherwise peaceful for so long.  At the Singhu border some armed goons posing as “locals” assaulted the farmers and tried to break their protest. Subsequently, the farmers protest sites were turned into fortresses. The NDTV reported this horrible shocking news(2/2): the roads dug out; electricity  and water cut off; water tanks not allowed, no water to drink and cook; ‘langers’ not operating; thirteen layers of barricades; barbed concertina wires and iron spikes installed; internet and farmers twitter accounts  suspended; and no access  to  toilets. The protest sites looked like military garrisons; even enemy war zones never seen like this.  All this is aimed at crushing the farmers’ protest. It sounds the government is taking revenge on the farmers, as if they are the enemy. And some 6000 paramilitary forces are deployed to guard the sites to prevent anyone, including the media reporters, reaching the farmers.  This is not how the citizens are treated in a democracy.

This fortification of the sites has invited international backlash, with many celebrities extending support to the farmers.  The pop singer Rihana, with more than 101 million followers, tweeting:  “Why aren’t we talking about this? Farmers protest”, followed by the celebrity environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who inspires millions of people across the world, including the young people in India, tweeting: “We stand in solidarity with the Farmers Protests in India” And many other international celebrities spoke in support of the farmers.  Instead of ignoring these non state actors, the Ministry of External Affairs had issued an unusual statement calling these tweets as part of international conspiracy “aimed at waging social, cultural and economic war against India.”  This is very strange. How could anyone stop others reacting to what is happening in India? Delhi Police even filed an FIR against the Power Point Toolkit stating “the intention of the creators of the toolkit appears to be to create disharmony among various social religious and cultural groups and encourage disaffection and ill-will against the Government of India”- a strong reaction that is ill-conceived and immature.  In fact, after the FIR, Greta Thunberg retweeted: “I still stand with farmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hatred, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that.” It has boomeranged, internationalized the farmers’ agitation, with more and more people coming out in support of the farmers protest.

If the government is willing to hold the farm laws in abeyance for 18 months, why not repeal them to accommodate the farmers demand and win back their trust and goodwill. Since the agriculture is a States’ subject, let the States pass their own laws, keeping in mind what is good to them, In any case, these Bills can be reintroduced in Parliament later, after consulting the stake holders-the agitating farmers-and the opposition, and get them passed with consensus. It would be a serious mistake to assume the farmers would be tired of the tactics adopted by the government, and give up the agitation. The massive crowds at the Kisan 'Mahapanchayats’, held in several Indian States, are an indication of the farmers’ agitation gaining momentum.

It is important that the government realized the international solidarity the framers movement has gained, eroding India’s soft power and image as a vibrant democracy. The most effective way the Indian State could respond is by strengthening its democratic framework and commitment to liberty and the right to dissent in principle and practice.  According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, India had slipped to 53 position in the 2020 Democracy Index, compared to 27th ranking in 2014. Out of 167 countries, the Democracy Index classified 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes and 57 as authoritarian regimes, with India  classified as a "flawed democracy”.

And invoking the sedition law, on the basis of flimsy, unauthenticated and politically motivated complaints by rival political activists and vested interests, and arresting writers and journalists, has done irreparable damage to the reputation and credibility of India as a democracy. The suppression of individual rights can embarrass even totalitarian States like China and authoritarian regimes. The Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution reads: "All citizens shall have the right-(a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peacefully and without arms; (c) to form associations and union…”  And the Article 19(2) states: “Nothing… prevent the State from making any law in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right… in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State…. public order, decency or morality or incitement to an offence.”  The words “reasonable restrictions” are willfully misread and misinterpreted to stifle the citizens’ right to criticise the government and public functionaries, making a mockery of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. Who defines “reasonable restrictions”? How is the sedition law invoked to arrest a person expressing dissenting opinion?  Where is the threat to sovereignty and integrity of the country, if a person expresses a contrary opinion in an open democratic society?

By misinterpreting the words ”reasonable restrictions” the right to life and personal liberty is deprived to a large number of law abiding citizens. The courts cannot ignore the suffering inflicted by the ill-informed police on the citizens.  It is high time High Courts and Supreme Court discharged their constitutional obligation of protecting citizens from high handed arm twisting tactics of the authorities. The so called “reasonable restrictions” cannot be arbitrarily invoked to suppress the dissent -essence of democracy. In 1973, the Constitutional bench of Supreme Court in Himmat Lal K Shah case held that “the State can only impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order… the State cannot impose unreasonable restrictions. It must be kept in mind that the Article13 protects citizens against state action.” The Courts must free the citizens gripped by the fear of authorities somehow implicating them, if they dare to speak against the authorities. .

In a response to the MEA statement, the spokesman of the US State Department said: "Unhindered access to information, including the internet is fundamental to the freedom of expression...We recognize that peaceful protests are a hallmark of any thriving democracy...We encourage that any differences between the parties be resolved through dialogue.” 

The Government of India must resume the dialogue with the protesting farmers and resolve the crisis. If they are humiliated, insulted and discredited, the situation may get aggravated, reaching a point of no return, leading to unforeseeable consequences. A democratic State should not be seen fighting a battle against its own people, and becoming an instrument of oppression. .And history is testimony that brute force of the State never succeeded in crushing a spirited people, fighting for a cause.