Will repeal of laws be enough?

Gurbachan Jagat

A consultative mechanism has to be evolved to ensure that farmers do not have to sell their produce below certain benchmarks. His product is perishable and needs a ready buyer. It can be damaged by rain, hail, drought, temperature, pollution. In this era of climate change, these factors become even more complex for a fragile crop. Govts all over the developed world realise this and subsidise and protect farmers. It is the quality and quantity of the produce that literally distinguishes a developed nation from a poor one

The land of the five rivers has seen much turbulence over the ages — many conquerors have passed through it. People have suffered but prospered despite them. They have learnt from them, they have overcome them. This is the land of Nanak, whose philosophy has shaped the soul of this land and its people. Guru Nanak, after his many travels, spent the last 17 years of his life tilling his land. Among other sections of society, it is the peasantry today who perhaps are one of the best custodians of his message. They have proved it multiple times in their devotion to ‘langar’ and ‘sewa’, which they have selflessly provided continuously, and whenever a dire situation has arisen, they have been at the forefront.

The peasantry, moulded by Nanak’s philosophy of ‘Naam Japo, Kirt Karo, Vand Chhako’, has been at the heart of this country’s Green Revolution and food independence. It has also been the stoic defender of our borders as most of the Army regiments are composed of the sons of these same peasants. For, they are nature’s children, toughened by the elements yet compassionate, as taught by their Gurus, by the Bhakti movement, by the philosophy of Kabir, Farid and Bulle Shah. At no stage did they turn violent, even though their own state branded them as terrorists. The Sikh Regiment, the Jat Regiment, the Punjab Regiment and numerous other formations are composed mainly of rural stock. Tragically, when Lakhimpur Kheri happened, the media reflected this ironically by juxtaposing the eulogy they carried for the soldiers martyred in Kashmir and the farmers murdered in Lakhimpur.

More than 500 years ago, Babur invaded India (as usual from the north-west) and inflicted untold misery upon the people. His sacking and slaughter of Saidpur (modern-day Eminabad, near Gujranwala) was a human tragedy of untold proportions. It was Guru Nanak who raised his voice against him and he writes about it in ‘Babur Vani’. As a result of this protest, he was imprisoned and later released. But, the bugle had been sounded for peaceful protests, as can be seen from the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev and Guru Teg Bahadur. It is the philosophy of Nanak which expounded a simple yet powerful message that awakened the people of the land and inspired the following lines by Iqbal in his ‘kalam’ on Nanak: ‘Phir uthi akhir sada touheed ki Punjab se; Hind ko ek Mard-e-Kamil ne jagaya kahawab se’ .

Continuing the tradition, the present agitation of the farmers of Punjab, Haryana and UP with contributions from some other states also has remained peaceful and focused over such a long period of time. In spite of the multi-hued composition of the protesters, there has been no breakdown of law and order or instances of violence, except for one or two which were the handiwork of agent provocateurs. It was altogether a celebration of brotherhood and all families of farmers of this region were involved in making it a success. The challenges of logistics were huge, viz food, shelter, clothing, transport, water, sanitary problems, etc. Provisions had to be made for hundreds of thousands of people. The leadership was excellent and hands-on and was a collective of all the unions of the region. The leadership kept the farmers well-informed from various public platforms and did not strike any bargain behind their back. Everybody was taken into confidence while arriving at decisions.

The values given to us are that all humans are born equal, women are equal to men and that rituals should be eschewed. Then, of course, there are the important concepts of ‘sangat and pangat’, that is to sit together in equality in rows and share a meal. These principles led to the conduct of the protest. People lived together, ate together and women made equal contribution in the ‘langar’, on the stage, in dispensaries, etc, and even led the protests as its vanguard.

After almost a year of the agitation, the government has thought it fit to respond in the form of the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding the repeal of these three farm laws on Gurpurb. It was accompanied by an admission that the government was unable to convince a small section of farmers regarding the importance of the farm laws. Not a word was said about the other demands like MSP, withdrawal of cases, compensation for the deceased farmers, justice in the Lakhimpur case, etc. In fact, there was not even a mention of the 700 farmers who died at the borders of Delhi or on the way to and from Delhi. In fact, the Minister of State (Home), whose vehicle was used in the commission of crime, should have been questioned and his statement recorded because the use of his vehicle makes him an accessory to the commission of crime.

Coming back to the demands of farmers, I quote from an article in The Tribune, dated November 22, written by a distinguished food and agricultural specialist of the region, Devinder Sharma: “The proposed market reforms in agriculture have failed across countries and continents. From the US to Australia, from Chile to the Philippines, markets have only added to the prevailing agrarian distress. In the US, Canada and elsewhere, markets have only increased farm distress and succeeded in pushing small farmers out of agriculture and turned them into major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. To believe that the same markets would perform a miracle in India was a fallacy… In 2018, the US Department of Agriculture had worked out that the farmers’ share in every dollar of end consumer price had dropped to just 8 cents, pushing them increasingly towards extinction.” This is not the formulation of a farmer leader or sympathiser. This is the considered analysis of a specialist who has proven himself over decades. Even otherwise, the fear of the farmers was that these laws and subsequent rules would lead to crony corporatisation of agriculture. The abolition of the Zamindari system was done to remove the hegemony of a few feudal lords. These laws threatened the farmers to transit from landowners to landless labourers, which would have put the clock back. With the economy being what it is, the farmers would have joined the millions of unemployed, thus adding to drug addicts and crime.

Will a simple repeal of laws be enough? A mechanism has to be evolved in consultation with farmer unions to ensure that the farmers do not have to sell their produce below certain benchmarks. There are too many variables to be countered if the farmer is left to the mercy of nature and market forces. His product is perishable and needs a ready buyer. His product can be damaged by rain, hail, drought, temperature, pollution, to name a few factors. In this era of climate change, these factors become even more complex for a fragile crop. Governments all over the developed world realise this and subsidise and protect their farmers, for there is something quintessential that they realise — the farmer provides the food on which humanity survives and thrives. It is the quality and quantity of this produce that literally distinguishes a developed nation from a poor one. Besides, it provides employment for millions who would otherwise rot in urban ghettos. The vast variety of crops grown in India needs to be protected; we have a rich heritage of diversity and organic produce. Any further agriculture reforms or rules made under these Acts should be done so in consultation with the farm unions and keeping regional diversity in mind. Even the other demands of the farmers, as enunciated by them during the course of this agitation, should be discussed to arrive at just solutions.

As we emerge from the pandemic, there are forces of change which have been unleashed by this catastrophic event, coupled with the era of climate change we live in. These forces of change can be felt in the vibrations running through the global financial system and the resultant inflation. Prices of commodities are sky-rocketing, making India’s self-reliance even more important. This financial turbulence has political ramifications. Our agriculture, linked to rural India and the peasantry, is the backbone of this nation, providing us not only with food sufficiency but also giving to us the vitality and strength of their children, who in vast numbers join the Army and paramilitary forces and man our borders. It would be a folly to bring chaos to our heartland and deprive us of our strength.

I leave you with Oliver Goldsmith’s words: “But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied… but times are altered: trade’s unfeeling train usurp the land and dispossess the swain.”

— The writer is ex-chairman

of UPSC, former Manipur

Governor and served as J&K DGP

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