Demonstrations Against India's Agricultural Reform Are Increasingly Massive: Apparatus Prevent Demonstrators Entering New Delhi

Indian farmer rally (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Demonstrations against India's agricultural reform which have been taking place since mid-November have become increasingly massive. The meeting between representatives of farmers and government officials of the Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi, who never found common ground, was the cause.

Reported by Reuters on Monday, December 14, angry farmers also appeared near New Delhi. They again took to the streets because six discussions between the officials and the leaders of the peasants' union could not reach a consensus.

"Hundreds of farmers will launch a tractor parade to New Delhi to voice our grievances against the new law," said Kamal Preet Singh Pannu, leader of the Sanyukta Kisan Andolan (Farmers Union Protests), one of 30 groups opposing the new regulations.

"The government wants to discredit and destroy our movement, but we will continue to protest peacefully," said Pannu.

To that end, the local authorities immediately stepped up security measures. They then deployed police and put up barricades to prevent farmers from entering New Delhi in large numbers. For this action, the opposition party and several senior Indian economists also gave their support to the demonstrators.

"I have now studied a draft of the new agricultural reform in India and realize that it is flawed and will hurt farmers," Kaushik Basu, a former chief economic adviser to the federal government, said on Twitter.

“Our agricultural regulations need to be changed, but the new law will ultimately serve the interests of companies more than farmers. Hats off to the sensibility and moral strength of Indian farmers, "Basu said.

Previously, agricultural reforms were implemented last September by the Indian government. The rule removes any market protections around selling, pricing and storing agricultural produce that could have protected farmers from the free market for decades.