With unprecedented turnout and unanticipated vigour, the farmers’ agitation across the three borders in the Capital has been already hailed as the largest protest in recent memory. At the forefront has been the largely agrarian State of Punjab, with residents from all 22 districts marking their attendance, braving the chill and bad air of the city. The Hindu spoke to one resident from every district and captured their angst.
Twenty-two-year-old Jagmeet Singh, who grows wheat and rice in Patiala, asserted that he and fellow farmers will not let the government sell off everything to the corporate. Kashmir Singh (72) from Amritsar called the new law ‘ kaale kanoon [black law]’. “They will kill the farmers,” he said.
Harbans Singh, a 60-year-old farmer from Rupnagar, observed that “if we come across a problem, we won’t be able to go to the judiciary”, whereas Baba Jasvir Singh (34) from Fatehgarh Sahib said Sikhs are such a resilient community that they will fight for their rights till the end.
Ranveer Singh (56) from Jalandhar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a public servant and not everyone’s boss. So he should act like one. Jagdev Singh (37) from Ludhiana said they don’t trust the corporate and have experience dealing with them earlier. “An MNC contracted potato produce to us but they finally didn’t like the produce. They gave us money after a lot of drama,” he said.
Balkaran Singh (40) from Moga said currently they can take a loan of a few lakhs from commission agents (middlemen) even before selling the final produce, but after they are removed they will become insecure. Bikramjeet Singh (46) from Gurdaspur said the new laws will force them into contract farming and if the final produce is not to the contractor’s liking, he might end up cancelling it.
Avtar Singh (55) from Kapurthala observed that these laws will impact everyone, including labourers, and not just farmers. Gurbinder Singh (35) from Tarn Taran said after the Minimum Support Price goes with this law, every crop will meet the same fate as corn (makki) does as it’s sold at a lesser price because the government doesn’t buy it.
Manpreet Singh (38) from Mohali asked what if the corporate houses don’t pay them after taking the land on lease. “We won’t be able to go to court also,” he said.
Jagsveer Singh (29) from Bhatinda said people in Punjab are already in debt and the laws will only increase the insecurity. “These laws only impact small and mid-level farmers and not the big ones because they are already traders and are in touch with corporates,” he said.
Arshpreet Singh (32) from Muktsar said the laws will make farmers dependent on private mandis and they’ll have to bow down to them because they have to sell their produce.
Harmanjit Singh (34) from Hoshiarpur said he had sold sugarcane to a private mill two years ago and is still awaiting payment. “This is what this law will do,” he said.
Rajinder Singh (65) from Mansa said if he wants to marry off his children, he can take loan from the middlemen at present but if the middlemen are removed, they won’t have anyone to fall back on because bank loans have high interest rates and depends on the land one owns. Gurjant Singh (50) from Barnala said “we don’t want to sell to private mandis and that is that”.
Reshma Kaur (60) from Sangrur said the laws will take away all the security from them. “We don’t know the private market”. Gurvinder Singh (45) from Fazilka said if the laws are not accepted by the farmers then why they were being forced on them.
Nacchhatar Singh (42) from Ferozepur said if people won’t get the MSP, they’ll be destroyed. Baltej Singh (45) from Faridkot was concerned about contract farming which he was always against.
Virender Maan (42) from Nawanshahr said the uncertainty lies in the fact that they won’t know the buyers. Kuldeep Singh (24) from Pathankot said the government will have to take the laws back and there’ll be no negotiation.
