The waves of farmer’s agitations across the country are beyond anything that has been seen since ’80s. India being an agrarian society with around 70% of its people depending directly or indirectly upon agriculture has started showing a clear indication of discontent as neoliberal policy reforms made their situation extremely vulnerable.
The agrarian crisis that picked up the pace from the late ’90s had its origin in the combination of trade liberalisation exposing cultivators to highly subsidised volatile global market prices and continued reduction in public expenditure for agriculture resulting in extreme distress migration and suicide of more than 3 lakh.
What is new this time is that we are witnessing a phase of transformation where farmers are taking the route to protest instead of suicides. Cultivators are angry upset and desperate at the same time and perhaps in recent memory facing an existential crisis which is reflected in the involvement in a series of protests. The spectacular Mumbai long march in late 2017, ‘Kisan Sansad’ and huge conglomeration of workers and peasants in the national capital, ‘Kisan Mukti March’ as well as local protests in various parts have rekindled the hope of millions towards organised movements.
NDA prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had promised to double farm income which after being elected was consciously not looked upon. The average farm income have declined drastically and worst, it has taken the most anti-farmer policies ranging from tabling land acquisition bills, crop loans, enforcing debt repayments from already distressed cultivators. Another milestone of election manifesto was the implementation of ‘Swaminathan Commission’ which was never discussed along the 4 years tenure.
The most significant development that is evident from the recent political reading is that the nation is not responding to the prevailing discourse of fanatism and jumlas. These endorsed acts of hooliganism are not appealing to the people anymore like it did before. Instead, huge mobilisation of people demanding basic necessities emerged. The continuous struggle of peasants and workers have paved course of transformation of priorities.
The left political forces especially the mass organisation’s like All India ‘Kisan Sabha’ and CPIM in particular with barely significant base in recent elections have for the first time in recent memory succeeded meeting the agenda. The previous government s have ignored the basic demands but not for long and the marginalised people are making their presence felt even as those in power continue to remain mute.
Farmers dance, thank CM Kamal Nath for waiving off farm loans
The policies of Narendra Modi government which has pushed the rural economy to the extreme extent possible resulting in the wrath of farmers nationwide can be assessed
The economic questions of ‘roti, kapda, makan’ were taken up by the various mass organisation’s of left and a continuous mass struggle has achieved to create an alternative discourse to the religious narrative of Hindutvaa politics. The shift of narrative is clearly reflected in the recent polls and the left is the undoubtedly responsible for the dramatic shift of political discourse.
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