Farmers Movement Archive

What have the farmers done to be treated this way?

Show some sensitivityWater cannons, tear gas, rapid action force and what not. The way our government is treating them is simply unacceptable. Even the promulgation of the farm Bills during the pandemic was not appropriate. An ordinance is meant for most urgent matters when parliament is not in session. What was the urgency? The government must recognise the depth of the sentiments of farmers, reach out sensitively and find a mechanism to assure farmers that their incomes will be protected.Shailja ThakurTackle the issue mindfullyFarmers have reached Delhi to get themselves heard over farm laws. One thing is clear that much of the opposition really is just one of the three laws. There is immense support from ruling and opposition parties that’s why farmers are protesting, blocking road and rail network. They are protesting at Singhu border for they can ee a threat to wheat and rice procurement as that is their staple food. This is for the first time the laws have been drafted to benefit farmers but it seems that there is no coordination between the farmers and the government. Every round of talk is a fail till now so all they can do is to hold these Bills for a few months. In the meantime, they can convince the farmers by meeting and having a dialogue — time for the government to step up and tackle the issue, mindfully.Shashi KiranShould’ve seen it comingThe farmers of the country especially from northern states are distressed over the three Bills enacted by the Centre to bring some major agricultural reforms in the country. The farmers are agitated and are strongly protesting and demanding their rollback. But since the Centre appears to be adamant, there is unprecedented conflict between both, culminating of late into ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement which has now become a national headline. The Centre has failed to tackle the whole situation since the very beginning and appears to have underestimated the organisational strength of the farmers who are greatly apprehensive about the regime of MSP and role of capitalists among other factors. Notwithstanding a few unfortunate and harsh skirmishes with marching farmers in Haryana, ongoing agitation at Delhi’s border is quite focused and peaceful without tilting towards any particular community, region and state which needs to be reciprocated by the Centre through constant and honest dialogue with the farmers. The movement may be supported by some opportunistic political parties but it certainly is not a political one as also collaborated by none other than Home Minister himself. One fails to understand how a measure presumed to be beneficial for a section of the society can be enforced against its own will. This is not only illogical but undemocratic also. Keeping in view all these facts and circumstances, the Centre should immediately set the process of revoking the controversial legislation but continue having meaningful and effective dialogue with farmers. Anyhow, the regime of MSP needs to be universal and widened through legal sanctity with strict enforcement thereof at national level.Jagdish ChanderCan dialogue do the trick?The callous attitude and the dictatorial approach of the Centre are responsible for the situation to go haywire. The three contentious farm laws passed reek of a great conspiracy to make the agriculturally-rich states Punjab and Haryana a mere beggar. I strongly believe the current regime at dispensation could have handled the whole situation much better, had they taken the farmers into confidence before bringing in the agricultural laws. The deadlock between the farmers and central government has spelled doom for the economy of our nation as for around two months the trains could not run to and fro from Punjab. Recently, the treatment handed to the peacefully protesting peasants speaks volumes of the fears and insecurities of our impatient public representatives. It seems as if the national government has not taken the farmers seriously and not heeding to their demands of total rollback of the malicious laws has led to an impasse. Now that the farmers have reached Delhi to intensify their protests, the union ministers should lend an ear to their cries without giving any political tinge. The people from all walks of life are standing firmly with the farming community and this may lead to great mayhem, which the central rulers won’t be able to control if the necessary steps are not adopted immediately. The need of the hour is to create a space for a healthy and fruitful dialogue to end the 2-month old stir for the welfare of all.Simranjeet Singh SainiGovt has taken farmers for grantedThe indomitable and dignified farmers of Punjab have always raised their voice when the governments turned a deaf ear to their miseries; the most prominent such movement before the present highly spirited agitation was 'pagrhi sambhal jatta', in 1907. The only messiah for them so far has been Sir Chhotu Ram, who was Revenue Minister of Punjab, during the British rule. If a minister could help the farmers during the alien rule to tide over their miseries, then how tragic it is that after the Independence the indifferent attitude of the successive regimes has made the living of the farmers pitiable. When the virus was speedily ascending, the regime took certain obscure decisions and proclaimed that it was turning a calamity into an opportunity. In this mindset, during the turbulent period, the government hurriedly promulgated the three laws. Since then, the voices have been raised against these laws but nobody heeded the simmering discontent of the farmers. This made the farmers and their unions and associations to stand against these at the national level. Call of 'Bharat band' and indefinite sit-ins proved ineffective. The State was also made to legislate on these laws. They had given a call for the march to New Delhi on 26th and 27th of November. A few days before that, the government again cleverly and deceitfully sent a notice for meeting on December 3. The farmers have remained calm, peaceful, willing to yield their ground to some extent, but they remained resolute throughout. The government had taken the farmers for granted, as it had done in the recent past in the case of mass migration of labourers during the abrupt lockdown, and during the demonetisation.Hardish SandhuTime for PM to think deeplyOur Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has certainly got into the habit of taking blind decisions. Had the Centre consulted farm unions before passing the new laws, the ongoing protests, where large numbers of farmers are daily having a hard time, would not have taken place. Why is he always worried about benefiting the corporates? Many years ago, PM had also exploited Sikh farmers in Gujarat by forcing them to sell their land to the corporates, who eventually built factories on their land as also reported by some media houses. He is now experimenting with the same model with farmers of Punjab. In other words, he pretends a lot to be a PM who best thinks of the common public but the reality is something else. When farmers are feeling threatened with new laws, why can't he scrap them? As leader he should make everything as simple as possible and not complex, with which common man continues to suffer. What an irony that he did not have any empathy for the farming community too. It also makes me wonder what logic 'Mann Ki Baat' programmes holds when he rarely wants to listen to the concerned community before rolling out any new laws. But if he shall, there's still time for him to think deep about his blind decisions usually announced in the middle of the night, or else he may prove very grave for our nation.Rameshinder Singh SandhuHigh time farmers’ demands are heardIndeed, it is a double-edged sword. Farmers and the Union government, both are in an illusion. The government evaluated the power of farmers on a wrong note. People from the administration need to address this responsibly. And the Centre needs more mediators to solve this issue. At the end, I just want to add that we don't need to judge either of them. Let the government and farmers sit on a table and discuss what is right. India is a democracy, no?Aayush SharmaQUESTIONHow can the city roads bemade safe for commuters and pedestrians?Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to jalandhardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (December 10).

The Tribune

2020-12-07