The protests started in states across the nation in September of 2020. As the aggression of these farmers rose, so did their purpose. In early November, the farmers and their unions made their way to India’s capital, New Delhi. 

Farmers from the nearby states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh are organizing on a national level to protest the agricultural policies set forth by the BJP. Farmers and their families have been blocking roads and setting up makeshift camps in New Delhi, according to organizers. Police have put up barriers and dug up roads to prevent protesters from coming into the city center to hold sit-ins. Furthermore, police fired tear gas and water cannons to stop the protesters from entering the city. 

The farmers are protesting a law introduced by the BJP and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The laws, passed in September, will give farmers more autonomy to set their own prices and sell directly to private businesses, such as supermarket chains, says Prime Minister Modi. The move has enraged farmers saying that the law would make it open season for big corporations to exploit the farmers.

For decades, the Indian government has offered guaranteed prices to farmers for certain crops, providing long-term certainty that allows them to make investments for the next crop cycle. Under the previous laws, farmers were to sell their goods in an auction format at their state's Agricultural Produce Market Committee. At these auctions, they were guaranteed at least the government-agreed minimum price. There were restrictions on who could purchase at auctions and the prices were capped for essential commodities. Modi’s new laws would disassemble the committees, allowing farmers to sell their goods to anyone for any price. Farmers would have more freedom to sell to anyone with the farmers’ set prices. However, farmers believe selling directly to big corporations would make it easier for the corporations to undervalue the crops. While farmers would sell crops at upraised prices if the demand is there; conversely, they would also struggle to meet the minimum price at times when there is too much supply in the market.

Agriculture is the prime source of livelihood for 58% of India’s population of 1.3 billion people. As a result, farming is a central political issue, with farmers arguing for years to get the minimum guaranteed prices increased. In 2014, then-candidate Modi promised federally backed minimum wages 50% higher than production costs in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general election manifesto. In 2016, Modi promised to boost the country's agriculture sector with a target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. According to Ashutosh Mishra, the media coordinator of protest organizer All India Kisan Sangharsh Committee — which represents around 200 farming unions — promises made most definitely weren’t kept. 

So how is this relevant to readers in the U.S?? India’s farmers feed more than just their fellow Indians, they also feed people across the world. India is the leading exporter of Basmati rice and produces approximately 68% of the world’s spices. Moreover, the nation leads the global market in milk production as well. 

These laws have the ability to impact your wardrobe — it’s highly likely that quite a few of your articles of clothing were made in India. India is the world's leading producer of cotton, aside from China who narrowly comes in second place, according to the data from the US Department of Agriculture. "Although yields in India are well below the global average, cotton area in India dwarfs that of any other country, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the world total," says the US Department of Agriculture. 

Across the United States, there have been peaceful gatherings in solidarity with these farmers. With Covid safe car rallies being held in New York City and Philadelphia just last December, the passion of the protests can be seen. Ramanpreet Kaur in New York says that her showing up in solidarity is about her "grandparents and parents who have lived through so many hardships and kept the farming culture alive in our families to provide for us." 

Personally, these protests resonate with me and I’m reporting on this issue with a sense of gratitude. As the daughter of immigrant farmers from India, the protests remind me of my parents’ struggle. The struggle of my grandparents that encouraged my parents to see beyond the fields that their parents owned and to dream bigger. As I see these pictures from the protests, where there are elders sleeping on roads as a means of protest, it breaks my heart. To think that those could’ve been my grandparents. Farming has been the source of my family’s livelihood for generations. Even today, when my parents live in the United States, we’re still planting chili peppers, tomatoes, and so much more in our backyard. They may have left India, but India and their passion for farming never left their hearts. 

People in other nations can help the farmers’ cause as well. Organizations like Khalsa Aid, a humanitarian non-profit based in the United Kingdom, have had a team of dedicated volunteers in the nation since the early days of the protest. The organization is based upon the Sikh principle of "Recognise the whole human race as one.” Khalsa Aid has helped people in several different nations across the globe, from their very first project in Albania in 1999 to the Indonesian Earthquake of 2018, the organization has provided meals, shelter, and healthcare to those stuck in crises. The group is currently accepting donations for both its long-term programs and to send aid to the farmers’ protests. 

Sources: 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/world/farmer-protests-india-protests-hnk-trnd/index.html 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/asia/delhi-farmers-india-protests-intl-hnk/index.html 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/cotton-wool/cotton-sector-at-a-glance/ 

https://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/six_head_product/cereal.htm 

https://www.ibef.org/exports/spice-industry-indias.aspx#:~:text=India%20is%20the%20world's%20largest,the%20global%20trading%20in%20spices.&text=In%20FY20%2C%20spices%20worth%20US%24%203.65%20billion%20were%20exported