THE POWER OF

“CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE”
Modi Government, on “the day of the Guru”, 19th November 2021
announced the repeal of the three contentious farm laws which were one
of the burning topics of the Indian law. There has been a long pending
demand for reforms in agricultural marketing, but these laws were
definitely not the solution to the problem. From passing of bill to nullify
the laws, it has been a corrigible journey for the government, opportunistic
journey for the oppositions, challenging journey for the grieved ones and
at last “sachai ki jeet”
The laws that were passed aimed at allowing trade in agricultural produce
outside the existing APMC mandis, contract farming and removing
commodities like oil, potato etc. from the list of essential commodities.
The announcement of these laws feared farmers that Existing APMC
mandis would be shut down once private players started trading in agri-
produce outside the mandi premises and that would consequently shut the
procurement based on Minimum Support prices (MSP). This made
farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, to protest against these laws.
After sporadic protests against the farm laws, including a nationwide road
blockage in November 2020, farmers unions in Punjab and Haryana gave
a call for a “Delhi chalo” movement. Starting from Punjab, it went on to
involve farmers from Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Months after
protest, Modi government announced the repeal of these laws and
showered support to the Indian farmers.
This is the second rollback by the NDA government – the first was of land
acquisition reforms in 2015 – and on both counts the issue related to rural
farmers. Politically, this will add fuel to the opposition’s constant
allegation that the BJP’s moves are not in tune. The repeal signals a
weakened political feedback mechanism within the party. However, no
opposition party can claim credit for forcing the government’s decision.
The credit lies solely with agitating farmers, who dug their heels in
through winter, summer and rains for a year now. For the Prime minister,
his announcement appeared to suggest that it was a tactical retreat. The
PM was clearly balancing his political posture that has thrived on the
image of a strong leadership.
The decision to repeal the controversial farm laws is a landmark moment.
Though agriculture needs serious reform, but this legislation was not the
reform it urgently needed. The deep distrust this legislation created would
have, in the long run, made it harder to move Indian agriculture to a new
sustainable and productive equilibrium. The repeal would allow for the
possibility of revisiting the real challenges agriculture faces and creating
some new and better much needed reforms. Non-cooperation or civil
disobedience gave us freedom from the British rule in 1947, similarly, the
farmer’s agitation re-establishes the relevance of non-cooperation or civil
disobedience movements.
Unconstitutional and unjust laws must always be opposed. Let us hope
that the government undertakes the process of economic reforms more
transparent, consultative and communicated to the potential beneficiaries.
Though it takes time to implement reforms, the government must ensure
that everyone wins.