India’s supreme court has suspended a series of controversial new agricultural laws that have led hundreds of thousands of farmers to stage a months-long protest in Delhi over fears that their livelihood is at stake.
Since November, more than half a million farmers have marched to the outskirts of Delhi and occupied roads and highways leading to the capital, setting up a 24-hour protest camp and refusing to move until the new laws are repealed.
Farmers, mainly from the states of Punjab and Haryana, argued that the new laws were passed by the government without consultation, exposed them to the mercy of large corporations for crop prices and placed them at greater risk of poverty and loss of their land.
The farmers’ protests proved to be one of the biggest political challenges facing Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he took power in 2014. It was one of the first times the government was forced to sit at the negotiating table after unrest in mass and, despite eight rounds of negotiations, remained at an impasse.
After two days of deliberation, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to suspend the laws. The judges ordered the creation of a four-man committee to examine farmers’ complaints about the laws, saying they were “extremely disappointed” by how far the negotiations had gone. The judges also expressed concern about the lack of consultation with farmers when approving the law.
“These are matters of life and death. We are concerned with the laws. We are concerned with the lives and property of the people affected by the unrest. We are trying to solve the problem in the best way. One of the powers we have is to suspend legislation, ”SA Bobde, the chief justice, told the court.
While many politicians who expressed anger at agricultural laws celebrated the decision, it was met with scorn by farmers’ leaders who said “now is not the time for a committee”.
The farmers’ unions reiterated that they would not participate in any commission process ordered by the court and would not cancel their protest until the new legislation was repealed.
“The members of the committee appointed by the supreme court are not to be trusted as they have written about how agricultural laws are pro-farmer. We will continue our agitation, ”said agricultural leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal at a news conference.
Farmers said they still intend to proceed with a planned protest with tractors in Delhi on India’s Republic Day, 26 January. So far, 60 farmers have died while participating in the protests, which involved camps in makeshift tents in icy winter temperatures.
Some described the decision as a setback for Modi, who can generally count on the support of the supreme court, which is widely seen as favorable to the ruling government.
However, other observers noted that the court’s decision to suspend agricultural laws gave the government a way out of the impasse in the negotiations without appearing to have bowed to farmers’ demands.