CNN’s Vedika Sud spent several hours at the Ghazipur camp on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, talking to farmers about their fears. She found a group of passionate people who are determined to stay as long as necessary for the laws to be repealed.
Go There asked Sud to answer some of his questions about their campaign.
It appears that the protesters are not wearing masks. How are these farmers dealing with the coronavirus situation?
Sud: I’m glad you asked. There are few attempts at social detachment at the protest site, where organizers say some 10,000 farmers and their supporters are camped. They work together in groups in community kitchens and makeshift supply stores and, at night, sleep side by side in trucks and tents. We saw several demonstrators huddled on tractors, singing and dancing as they drove through the camp. And when the leaders give their speeches, hundreds of spectators sit side by side near the dais to hear them. Surprisingly, we were unable to identify a single person with a mask!
I asked many farmers about this and their responses were worrisome and unscientific. Some said they come from villages where there are no cases and see no reason to wear masks. Others scoffed at us for asking. Many are not afraid to catch Covid-19, but a farmer told me that he would rather die from the virus than accept the new agricultural laws.
Why are farmers concerned about the new laws?
Sud: Not all the farmers I spoke to understand the reforms, and many of them fear change. For decades, they worked and sold their products following specific guidelines. This huge shift to entering into contracts with private companies and dealing with large corporations instead of intermediaries can be intimidating.
The Indian government says the new laws will liberalize the agricultural market and reduce farmers’ exploitation. Your income may even double, says the government. However, farmers fear that opening the market to private companies could lead to lower prices and lower incomes.
The majority of protesting farmers are from the northern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab, where they receive guaranteed prices or a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for certain crops, allowing them to invest in the next crop cycle.
Farmers are concerned that the new laws will mean that they will have to sell at prices below the MSP guarantee. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insists that the MSP will not be removed and has accused the opposition of deceiving farmers.
Much of the problem is that farmers do not trust the government.
What will be the protests and camps help farmers to fulfill their demands?
The government recently offered to suspend the three agricultural reforms for 18 months, but the offer was rejected by the farmers’ unions. They gave the government until October 2 to repeal the laws or face further action.
The protests have brought together farmers in northern India and their numbers are growing. A farmer told me that he was prepared to protest until the next general election in 2024, if necessary.
Not all farmers live in northern India, but it is important to note that agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 58% of India’s 1.36 billion population. This means that it is a significant voting block.
Fatigue will set in at some point, as will financial worries about the crucial harvest season approaching.
So far, at least 147 farmers have died from suicide, accidents and exposure to the cold, according to farmers’ unions and opposition leaders. Central and state officials have not confirmed the death toll.
Farmers say they will not allow the loss of life to be in vain.
But the government has made it clear that it will not repeal the laws.
How are the US impacted by this political issue?
Sud: The Biden government is not directly impacted by farmers’ protests. However, the US embassy in New Delhi issued a statement after the Indian government temporarily cut off Internet access at protest sites in January.
In its statement, the United States Embassy said that “the internet is fundamental to freedom of expression and a hallmark of freedom of expression”. He also asked the government and the farmers’ unions to continue talking to resolve the problem.
In December, some American lawmakers wrote to then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in support of the protesters. The letter said the issue worried many Indian Americans about connections to Punjab and other Indian states.
Many Indian Americans from the Sikh community of Punjab who have settled in the United States have family and friends in India who are participating in or supporting the protest.
But the Indian government has made it very clear that any international interference is undesirable.
“Some of these interest groups have also tried to mobilize international support against India.”