Above photo: AIKS/X.
Farmers are demanding fair compensation for land acquired for urban projects near New Delhi.
And a legally guaranteed minimum support price for their crops.
Scores of women held candlelight vigils in support of over a hundred farmer leaders arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in India on Tuesday, December 10. The protesting women warned authorities against intimidating the families of the farmers and demanded the immediate release of all those detained.
The vigils took place in villages near New Delhi, where farmers have been agitating for months. Their demands include proper compensation for land acquired for the development of large townships, the return of 10% of developed lands to those affected, and adequate rehabilitation for families who have lost their only source of income under the Land Acquisition Act of 2013.
Additionally, the farmers are calling for a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) at total cost of production plus a 50% profit for all farm produce, as promised by the Modi government during the 2020-2021 farmers’ agitation against three pro-corporate farm laws. Thousands of farmers had surrounded Delhi for over a year during that protest, ultimately forcing the government to repeal the laws and pledge the legally guaranteed MSP.
On Monday, a delegation comprising representatives from the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), led by Amra Ram, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament, met with authorities. The delegation reiterated their demands for the immediate release of all arrested farmers and an end to the intimidation of farmers and their families.
Additionally, thousands of farmers, under the leadership of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and AIKS, took to the streets and called for a march to the national capital, New Delhi, on December 2. Their aim was to press the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national government and the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh provincial government to fulfill their long-standing promises of adequate compensation for lands acquired during the development of the satellite city Noida near New Delhi.
BJP’s failure to fulfill promises
The ultra-right-wing BJP, currently leading both the central and provincial governments, has consistently opposed farmers’ demands and is allegedly aligned with the interests of large corporations. Farmers have criticized the Modi government for failing to deliver on its 2021 promise of a legally guaranteed MSP for all farm produce, even after more than three years have passed since the commitment was made.
Regional authorities deployed massive force on December 3 to prevent farmers from entering Delhi, arresting several farm leaders in the process. Despite promising to negotiate with the farmers after they agreed to convert their march into an indefinite sit-in near the Delhi-Noida border last week, the government has failed to initiate any talks.
Instead, the Uttar Pradesh government escalated its crackdown on the protesters, arresting over a hundred of them from the protest site. According to an AIKS press release, police raided farmers’ homes late at night, placing some leaders under house arrest, intimidating their families, and even detaining leaders who were not present at the protest site. Local AIKS leader Roopesh Varma was rearrested just hours after being released from jail when he rejoined the ongoing agitation and sit-in.
AIKS claims that “hundreds of farmers were directly taken to jail without any legal process. Even the family members of farmers are being falsely implicated in cases.” The organization accused the authorities of deliberately violating legal procedures in an effort to suppress the movement.
In response, the farmers have launched a mass “courting arrest” movement, voluntarily surrendering in large numbers to oppose the Uttar Pradesh government’s attempts to suppress their agitation.
Farmers who were arrested have also undertaken hunger strikes while in prison. AIKS, CITU, and AIDWA have called for a larger demonstration in front of the district authorities on Thursday, December 12, demanding the immediate release of all detained farmers.