Two years after ending a nationwide protest movement, farmers in India have revived their action. They want the government to protect them from market irregularities by offering a minimum base price for their produce. The demonstrations come as India votes in its six-week-long general elections.

Delhi

Indian farmers have launched a fresh wave of protests, reviving their action two years after ending a nationwide protest movement. They are demanding the government offer a minimum base price for their produce to protect them from market irregularities. These demonstrations are taking place as India conducts its six-week-long general elections.

Farmers have been staging protests on the border of the northern states of Punjab and Haryana for weeks. The protests began near a railway station at a crossing after security forces disrupted their initial march toward the capital, New Delhi, in February. The demands from the farmers’ unions include higher fixed prices for their crops to shield them from market fluctuations and the cancellation of their loans as previously promised by the government. Despite several rounds of discussions, no resolution has been reached.

The state of Punjab, a major wheat producer in India, has been severely affected. Farmers, like 29-year-old Amarjeet Singh, are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet as the government-offered minimum prices do not cover production costs. This has led them to seek additional sources of income. Singh, for instance, drives a school van to support his family. The farmers argue that the government’s minimum guarantee price, which currently only applies to wheat and rice, discourages the cultivation of other potentially profitable crops due to poor market support.

The backdrop of these protests is India’s ongoing general election, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are seeking a third term. The government has been accused of stifling the protests and keeping them contained to Punjab, which casts its votes in the final phase of the election. In 2020, a nationwide farmer movement against new agricultural laws resulted in the government revoking those laws a year later. This movement highlights the continuing struggle of farmers against government policies, exacerbated by unfulfilled electoral promises such as the doubling of farmers' incomes, a cornerstone of Modi’s 2013-2014 campaign that has since been abandoned.

India, where approximately 250 million people, or about 45% of its workforce, are employed in agriculture, is witnessing these protests as political parties vie for votes. Farmers, a significant voting bloc, promise to intensify their protests, seeking fulfillment of their demands.



Indian farmers declare fresh protests ahead of elections

For weeks now, these farmers have staged a protest on the border of the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. They have camped at this crossing near a railway station after security forces disrupted their initial march towards capital New Delhi in February. Farmers' unions are demanding higher fixed prices for their crops to shield them from market fluctuations. They also want their loans cancelled as promised by the government. But several rounds of talks have failed to find a resolution. They have not fulfilled our demand and have done nothing to secure our rights. So farmers are continuously protesting to press for these demands. The state of Punjab is among the largest producers of wheat in India. But farmers say profits are decreasing with the minimum price offered by the government not keeping up with production costs. That's forcing farmers like 29-year-old Amarjeet Singh to find an additional source of income. He drives a school van to provide for his family of seven. He says a minimum guarantee price only for wheat and rice discourages farmers from cultivating other profit-making crops. We can sow sugarcane, maize, but we don't get minimum support price in the market. We have to sell it as a throwaway price in the market. Our hard work goes to waste. India is in the middle of its six-week-long general election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are seeking a third term. The government is accused of stifling the protests and containing them to Punjab, which votes in the seventh and final phase of the election on June 1. In 2020, hundreds of thousands of farmers led a year-long nationwide movement against new agricultural laws. It forced the government to revoke the laws a year later. Among the many electoral promises of the Modi campaign in 2013-2014 was a doubling of farmers' incomes in five years. Now no one talks about it. Doubling of farmers' incomes is not mentioned. Why? Because farmers' incomes have not increased at all. Farmers form a large and influential voting bloc in the country. According to government data, about 250 million people work in agriculture in India, accounting for about 45% of its workforce. As political parties woo voters, farmers are back on the streets and promise to intensify their protests. Mikul Soomsharif, Al Jazeera.

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