The farmer’s protests have been retaliating against the contentious farm laws for quite a few months. India has been in the midst of constant protests from the farmers against the farm bills proposed by the Government since November 2020. The protests are withstanding, as the farmers are set to urge an embankment on constructing brick houses at the Singhu Border. But what has turned the tide so drastically that the matter got to the levels where there is an extreme distortion to people’s interests.
The crescendo of these protests that exhibited a state of conflict between the farmers and the government has stretched too far and is becoming more of a topic of discussion in International countries. The ongoing farmers’ protests received a fillip in its resurgence when the late-night host and YouTuber Lilly Singh walked the Grammys red carpet and slated,’ I stand with the farmers.’
Talking in her tweet, she stated that let the comments make the headlines. She went all-in to support the ailing farmer’s protests, which have resolute in gaining their rights across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.
THE PROTEST HAS CROSSED THE 100-DAY MARK
In the history of the protests against the government on distinctive violations, it might not have seen this protest forthcoming. While all the news surrounding the attack on the Red Fort on Republic Days gathered the hype, it is imperative that the government has not only been manipulative with the farmers for so long but has no sign of authority and accountability to listen to the demands of the farmers. However, until now, the persistence of the farmers hasn’t affected a single BJP politician to stand up and be grateful for their efforts towards the Indian economy.
“A farmer sows seeds at the beginning of a farming season with a great deal of hope and then waits for several months before s/he can harvest. A full-grown crop sometimes gets destroyed because of a natural disaster at the time of harvest. However, the farmer does not lose hope. S/he will sow seeds again for the next crop”, explained Rakesh Tikait, when a journalist argued with him regarding the ongoing problems in the farm’s laws. What has kept the farmers going even after facing such hazardous conditions and ill-treatment by the government regime?
The protest instilled the power of patience, perseverance, and hope that the farmers carried along with persistence to fight against the corrupt politician leaders. Although only two subsidiary demands have been enforced by the Central Government so far, it would be unfair to judge the movement on any other propaganda than the demands proposed to the government by the farmer’s unions.
Even though Narendra Modi resorted to the idea of offering a 1.5-year suspension to the implementation of the three laws, it seems very unlikely that the government will comprehend this decision. The government is only allowing this extension to rescind the violations across the State Borders, as they want to follow a timeline a few years ahead like no blatant attack happened in the Year 2020.
FARMERS UNITY A SIGN OF STRENGTH, AND HOW HAS DIFFERENT PUBLIC FIGURES CAME IN BOLSTERING THE FARMER’S PROTESTS
Since the Independence back in 1947, this was the first incident where India has witnessed the farmer’s organizations joining hands to suffer unitedly. What is depicted from the current scenario is that from whichever community we belong to, if we show perseverance and patience within our beliefs, we can withstand any violations from the government. And that’s all we want to prosper in our hindsight.
The leaders of the organizations are discovering their complementarities and learning to work with each other, even though they are all from different political ideologies. This bodes well for the future of farmers in the country. But whether or not they will have a propelling future under the current regime is more concerning than any propaganda right now. To gain the limelight and encourage the farmers’ efforts, various politicians have termed the contributions of the farmers commendable, which has been to absolutely no effect as it hasn’t helped the cause of the agitating farmers.
The farmers already have faced subsequent hardships for four months, but all they expect now is darkness within the night sky. With each passing day, their potential hope is turning into misery as PM Modi, even after holding official talks with them regarding the issue exhibits no signs of encouragement.
The protests instilled a new supporter in Meghalaya’s Governor Satya Pal Malik, who stated that the farmers should not leave the battleground empty-handed, he further stated: “During my last visit, I met both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister and requested them not to use force against the protesting farmers. Don’t fiddle with farmers.”
Well, my overview of this will surely raise some eyebrows.
Although these government leaders are contemplating their support to the farmers, is it all an indication of violent attacks forthcoming in the summer months or just to coerce farmers to put their foot off the peddle and end this debate now. The support has increased the hope of the farmers that something significant is on its way and is going to turn the tide in their favor.
IS ALL THE HYPE AROUND THE PROTESTS DECLINED, OR A CONSPIRACY IS BEING PUT INTO PLACE TO RESCIND THE FARMER’S DEMANDS
Over the past few weeks, the coverage across the farmers’ protests has been down and out as fresh headlines have grabbed the front pages of the newspapers. One thing that we are sure of is that there is no lack of determination or emergency in the farmer’s protests. Frequently, if they want to win this long-standing battle between them and the whole government, then they have to embrace the calm before putting double force in their efforts. Brand Modi Image which was always in Doubt. The image has dented to such an extent, something that other movements did not find easy to achieve.
The unprecedented actions of the government are outlining the connotation of a conspiracy, and it would disintegrate the persistence shown by the farmers until now. The BJP government has alerted the local villagers to launch an attack against the protesting farmers at the borders.
With the government pushing hard to put the barrel down, it’s visually imperative that the conspiracy might be around the corner, and this time around it is going to be blatant than ever. So should the farmers subdue their rights for such an arrogant, and shocking extortion, certainly not?
WHAT HAS THIS PROTEST SIGNIFIED AROUND THE WORLD? AND HOW CAN WE ATTAIN SIGNS OF WISDOM AND COURAGE FROM THE FIERCE FARMERS?
Although the persistence is showing signs of reluctantly agreeing to the proposal of the government, the farmer’s urge is far from over. It is receiving support from tens of thousands of people across the world, including blockbuster celebrities, national leaders, and the lower-income communities, as well.
Despite the initial attacks on Republic Day that weakened the movement due to lack of sentimental value, people around the world have understood the value of constraining the ill-actions of the government which has helped the farmers to spread their voice of opinion swiftly to every slouchy corner of the nation. This protest has brought back the integrity of the Indian farmers into the center of our polity after a very long time.
What the farmer’s struggle has shown us that it has depicted signs of courage and strength against the government which had led to the opening of intense public debates on economic reforms, and also the democracy itself.
The Supreme Court orders that upheld the democratic right of peaceful protest also pegs well for the future citizen movements of the country. While it’s pretty obvious that the farmers of today could not be underestimated and sledded as per the directives of the Government. It is a learning for every sector, every businessman, every community of this who is suffering from the patriarchy of the government should stand up and follow their instincts to fight against the laws.
The farmer’s major grouse affirms that the agricultural laws enforces them to sell their harvest to the congenial buyers in the private markets and have rescinded the role of state-ruling-government controlled wholesale mandis to buy their harvest at the minimum support price, which has affected their income severely.
Karma hits you back, that’s the rule of life, and as long as the government continues to stall their decision it will stab them on their back someday. The Modi Government has been the culprit of many of the dreadful consequences people have faced, and rightly so. But this time around, they played the masterstroke by removing farming from the local state government trajectory into the capitulating hands of the Central Government, which perplexed the situation of farmers in the market, and gave rise to this extensive protest.
