Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ stir testing law enforcers to the hilt

Farmers have been agitating at Delhi’s borders for the past more than two months. After the Republic Day anarchy, it was assumed that the kisan leaders would lose their credibility and the movement would gradually peter out. But this has not happened. Farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait’s call has re-energised the agitators of western Uttar Pradesh and they have rallied round him. Khaps of Haryana and the Jat Mahapanchayat in western UP have urged the farmers to join the agitation and strengthen it. They have responded promptly to the calls. There seems to be no end in sight to the protracted agitation.This agitation and the surrounding events and circumstances contain lessons and warnings for the law enforcement officers. First, it was an error of judgement on the part of the Delhi Police to allow the protesters to take out a tractor rally on the occasion of Republic Day. The police should not have given permission, and instead, asked the organisers to choose some other day as the Republic Day parade is a momentous national event and the Delhi police officers and personnel remain busy in working out the elaborate security arrangements, not only for the VIPs but also for the spectators who come to witness the parade. On this day, police resources are stretched to the limit.Nonetheless, the police gave them permission to hold the tractor rally after stipulating a number of conditions regarding the timeline and routes. With my long years of experience in policing, I have often seen that these conditions are usually honoured in the breach and that’s precisely what happened. Some goons and hotheads stormed the Red Fort, unleashing violence and vandalism. It is difficult to buy the argument offered by the police that there would have been greater violence if permission had been denied.Second, there were intelligence reports that some rabid elements might storm the Red Fort. In the light of such alarming reports, security arrangements in and around the monument should have been beefed up and the strength of the police and the CISF suitably augmented to effectively tackle the situation.The Delhi Police should be applauded for displaying patience and discipline under grave provocation. About 360 police personnel were injured, including women officers, who were attacked with swords and sticks. Yet, they did not lose their cool or open fire as any disproportionate use of force by the police would have aggravated the explosive situation, causing serious injuries as well as loss of lives.During the riots that took place in London and Birmingham in 2011, the London Police did not use force against the rioters on the spot, but later, on the basis of CCTV footage and video clippings, identified and arrested them and got them convicted. The courts also disposed of the cases expeditiously and sentenced the lawbreakers to various terms of imprisonment. This should be the template for the Delhi Police.However, there are also instances when settlement has been reached and cases against the accused persons withdrawn by the State as a gesture of reconciliation. Some of the farmer leaders have already said that before the commencement of further negotiations, the arrested persons should be released so that the talks can be held in a conducive atmosphere. But such a move can demoralise the police force.Following the use of tractors as battering rams by some farmers, the Delhi Police have undertaken elaborate measures to fortify the borders. They have now put up multilayered barricades and concertina wires and fixed nails on the roads to prevent any onrush of agitators inside the national capital. Now Delhi looks like a fortress under siege.But these measures have invited both national and international criticism. Criticising the snapping of Internet services at the protesting sites, the US administration has said that unhindered access to information, including the Internet, is fundamental to freedom of expression and is the hallmark of a thriving democracy. International celebrities like Rihanna and Greta Thunberg have tweeted support for the farmers.If the present stalemate continues, the human rights activists are likely to approach courts as they feel elaborate barricading measures at the protest sites infringes upon fundamental rights, such as right to life.The ‘Kettling’ tactics of crowd control were adopted by the London Metropolitan Police during the G20 summit in London to keep the demonstrators confined to a place so that they could not spill over and create disturbance elsewhere. It was approved by the courts only if ‘necessary and reasonable’.An indefinite continuance of the barricading arrangements may invite the judiciary’s intervention.The continuing agitation has sharpened the divide between Jats and non-Jats in Haryana and western UP and deepened the alienation of the Sikh farmers in Punjab. If the farmers return empty-handed after this prolonged stir, there would be anger and disillusionment, which could be exploited by radical groups and their mentors in Pakistan.Hence, the ongoing dispute has to be resolved through further discussions and negotiations as speedily as possible. In this context, I am reminded of the famous address of Edmund Burke in the British Parliament on Reconciliation with America, wherein he said, “If conciliation fails, force remains, but if force fails, nothing remains.”

The Tribune

2021-02-09