Over 400 academics want laws repealed
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 4
A large number of scholars under the banner of the Academician for Farmers on Thursday expressed concern over the suffering of protesters in Delhi and demanded that the three laws be abandoned without any further delay.
More than 400 scholars, in a joint statement, said farming as a profession was at the heart of civilisation. “A major positive feature of India’s farming communities is that a large number of farmers own land from which they derive their livelihood. In fact, farming is the activity on which the livelihood of 50 to 60% of Indians depends.”
Dr Arvind from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, said the three laws were aimed at bringing in fundamental changes in the way farming would be done in the country and they pose a major threat to the community across India.
The academicians said the proposed “commodity market model” for farming was not viable for India for several reasons. In particular, the small and middle farmers will be hit hard in this process, as they are the ones with little or no wherewithal to collaborate with the corporate sector.
The scholars demanded that the government should launch a nationwide debate starting at the village level, involving stakeholders from all sections of society, before framing the laws and policies that would help the farming community and other marginalised sections.
