Farmers Movement Archive

Amid song & dance, farmers hope to reap benefits of toil

NEW DELHI: Around 377 days ago, Kashmira Singh set up a tent at Singhu border intending to sit in protest demanding the repeal of three central agricultural laws. On Wednesday, the 67-year-old was all smiles as the farm leaders announced satisfaction at the government’s proposals on resolving the issues raised by the agitating farmers. Kashmira wants to return home to Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, but he isn’t in a big hurry and will wait as the protest leaders come to a final decision. “We will soon pull up our tents and drive our tractors back, but people will remember that we protested for them,” said Kashmira. “This protest site will be vacated, but it will remain a landmark for a peaceful protest. We remained unprovoked even when there was mischief afoot and derogatory references to us.” The farmer pointed out the local residents were “all scared when we arrived in big numbers, but months later they came out to celebrate Diwali with us”. On Wednesday, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha leaders declared the draft proposal given by the Centre was ‘satisfactory’, but they decided to take final call on ending the protest only on Thursday. Sweets were distributed, some typically danced in Punjabi style and farmers exchanged triumphant badhaiyans. Gurnam Singh Chaduni, one of the five in the SKM negotiating committee, said, “The government’s earlier draft was unacceptable. But the Centre moved two steps forward and offered us fresh proposals. We are now mostly in agreement with the government regarding our demands.” He cautiously added that the “agitation isn’t yet suspended” though. Most of the farmers were happy at having achieved what they came seeking to Singhu. “This shows nothing is impossible if we unite for a just cause," said Jaswant Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib. The protesters felt that a national debate has been triggered on agriculture, farmers and purchase of grains by the government at a designated price. Some, however, remained sceptical of how things would proceed now. “The protest has almost ended, yet our old problems are yet to be resolved,” said Karnal Singh Jethana, 65, another farmer from Fatehgarh Sahib. “Many of our brothers gave their lives, but the main issue of a guarantee minimum support price for crops other than wheat and rice remains undecided.” Most of the campaigners are, however, happy to take home the victory against a tough government and they felt the Centre needed some time to resolve the MSP problem. “It’s the matter of trust,” conceded Harpreet Singh of Jalandhar. “We understand that guaranteeing the MSP cannot be notified overnight. The government will take some time. The only question is whether the Centre does it with some degree of swiftness. We hope the process is time-bound and that they don’t break our trust. But then what option do we have apart from trusting them?

The Times of India

2021-12-09

Delhi