DM Monitoring
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Indian women, including many widows of farmers who were believed to have killed themselves over debt, joined a protest on Wednesday against government reforms that farmers say threaten their livelihoods.
Farmers have been protesting for nearly a month over the reforms, enacted in September, to deregulate the agriculture sector, allowing farmers to sell to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets.
Small farmers fear the changes will mean the end of guaranteed minimum prices for their crops and leave them at the mercy of big retailers.
“If these black laws come, more farmers will go deeper into debt,” said 40-year-old Harshdeep Kaur, a widow from Punjab state, at one protest site on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi. “More mothers and sisters will become widows like me.” Suicide by struggling farmers has been a problem in India for years.
Nearly 10,350 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018 – making up almost 8% of all suicides in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Kaur said her husband committed suicide three years ago after running up debts of 500,000 rupees (nearly $7,000). As she spoke, she held a passport sized photo of him.
The reforms, contained in three laws, loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to assure farmers the changes will bring them new opportunities but few have been convinced. Several rounds of talks between farm union leaders and the government have failed. “We’ll keep protesting,” said Gurbax Singh, a farmer union leader at a north Delhi protest site.
The farmers have gathered at various sites around the capital since late last month, blocking traffic and clashing with police, at least in the early days of their action. Singh said dozens of buses, tractors and cars were being arranged to bring more women from Punjab – the epicentre of the agitation.
The protesters occupied several kilometres of a busy main road in western Delhi with their tractors on Wednesday. At a nearby protest site, old farmers lounged in ramshackle shelters beside medical stalls and makeshift kitchens. Kaur said she and other women were prepared to protest until the laws were repealed. “More women will come,” she said.
Earlier, India is facing a loss of around Rs 35,000 crore per day as economic activities come to a halt with the ongoing protests of farmers against arbitrary reform laws. The protests are giving a big blow to the inter-connected economies of the region including Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has said. The already broken supply-chain and transport disruption, which was recovering post the pandemic-induced lockdown, has come under severe stress.
“Industries such as textiles, auto components, bicycles, sports goods which cater significantly to the export markets will not be able to fulfil their orders, ahead of Christmas, harming our goodwill amongst the global buyers,” ASSOCHAM President, Niranjan Hiranandani said, according to News 18.
The standoff between the Indian government and tens of thousands of farmers who are peacefully protesting against three farming reform bills continues to grow near Delhi. The ‘DelhiChalo’ peaceful protests have sparked others to take place across India and other countries, with a majority of Punjabi and Sikh farmers leading the charge on the ground locally and abroad to raise awareness about the issue, Global News said. The protestors have been met with water cannons on some of the coldest winter days Delhi has experienced, along with tear gas, concrete barricades, and some were even beaten with batons. Despite the agitation from the government, farmers remain strong in their resolve to see the bills repealed in order to protect their future.
The protesting Indian farmers say the reforms threaten their livelihoods, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to withdraw the legislation. The reforms, contained in three laws enacted in September, loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce, Reuters said.
Six rounds of talks between government officials and farmers’ union leaders have failed to resolve one of the most pressing issues facing Modi’s government. The government has said while the reforms can be amended it is determined to liberalise the sector. Farmers last week rejected a government’s proposal to amend the legislation. Farmers from Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana, which border New Delhi, have been at the vanguard of the agitation, and set up protest camps in and around the capital.
“Farmers would step up protests at district headquarters throughout the country,” said Kamal Preet Singh Pannu, a leader of the Sanyukta Kisan Andolan (United Farmers’ Protest), one of 30 groups opposing the reforms, according to Reuters. Farmers from the western state of Rajasthan tried to join the protest on Monday but authorities stopped them from entering New Delhi, Yogendra Yadav, a prominent social activist and farmers’ leader said on Twitter.
