In
a huge relief for the whole of India, the Government and the farming community
the year-long Farmers’ Movement has come to an end today after the Joint
Farmers Front leaders announced in Delhi that the Government had accepted all
their demands that prominently included the promulgation of a law guarantying
Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for their crops and the withdrawal of all charges
against the agitating farmers. The leaders described this as a historic victory
against an arrogant government further saying that their peaceful movement was
unprecedented in India as well as in the world. The farmers would start leaving
the Delhi borders from the 11th of this month, after the state funeral
tomorrow of the CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat who died in a tragic chopper crash
yesterday, with a victory march to their respective home states, they added. The
leaders also said that the Joint Farmers Front which was formed with the
constituents of all farm unions across the country to steer the movement would
be kept active to monitor the steps taken by the government in the coming weeks
and there will a review meeting on 15th January 2022 for this
purpose.
Most
of the farmers of the country, the food-givers, fought for the repeal of the
three Farm Laws and a guaranteed MSP, and after more than 11 rounds of talks
with the Government of India the Prime Minister had to bow down to their
demands announcing the repeal of the laws on November 19, 2021, with the ongoing winter session of the
Parliament having already effected the same without any debate as the
opposition political parties have been fighting too on behalf of the farmers
for the same objective. The farmers spent days and nights on the grounds
bordering the capital of Delhi for more than a year defying the challenges of
all the four seasons and the pandemic. In the process they lost around 750
farmers languishing and perishing in the camps. There have been various protest
demonstrations, road-rail blockades, protest and tractor marches throughout the
year. The final historic victory proves that the food-givers of any country
cannot be ignored for long and cannot be left unhappy and agitating—be it for
the ‘roti’ or for the elections or for whatever.
We
extend our hearty welcome for their decision and stand with them, as always,
for the future. Now, the ball is in the Government’s court and it’d be
interesting to watch what follows next. The Government knows fully well that
they cannot go back on their promises and can never afford one more movement by
the community upon whom the economy of the country depends to a large extent. The
Government must take all the steps now to reduce and then eliminate fully the
trust deficit that has been building up in the hearts of the farmers against the
government thanks to various dubious actions taken by the latter during the
period to derail the movement. It is good time now to go for the much-needed
agricultural reforms in a positive and proactive frame of mind taking all
stakeholders on board.
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