Farm laws

 

What are Farm laws?

The Farm laws are three acts initiated by Parliament of India in September 2020.The President of India gave his assent on 27 September 2020.

Currently Farm laws are facing huge protests in all parts of the country with Delhi being the epicentre of the protests, the Supreme court stayed the implementation of Farm laws on 12 January 2021 and has appointed a committee to look into farm laws.

The Farm laws are as follows

1.The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020

Expands the scope of trade areas of farmers’ produce from select areas to “any place of production, collection, aggregation”.

Allows electronic trading and e-commerce of scheduled farmers’ produce.

Prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess, or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for the trade of farmers’ produce conducted in an ‘outside trade area’.

2.Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020

Provides a legal framework for farmers to enter into pre-arranged contracts with buyers including mention of pricing.

Defines a dispute resolution mechanism.

3.Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

Removes foodstuff such as cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, from the list of essential commodities, removing stockholding limits on agricultural items produced by Horticulture techniques except under “extraordinary circumstances”

Requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce only occur if there is a steep price rise.(source-wiki)

Why the protests?

The acts have faced protests from farmers throughout the country, the reason behind the protests being uncertainty regarding the implementation of the laws and the biggest point of debate being the MSP(minimum support price), majority of the protestors coming from Punjab and Haryana where 65 percent of wheat is procured at MSP by Food Corporation of India and state agencies.

The opposition parties have used farm laws as a way of targetting the government, their major points being farm laws were passed “unconstitutionally” and the laws are anti-farmer and corporate- friendly, not a new accusation for Modi govt if you ask me.

While most of the farmer organizations are against the laws, some organizations have registered their support to the laws, the most prominent organization to support farm laws is Shetkari Sanghatna, a farmer union of Maharashtra, claiming that MSP have actually weakened farmers instead of empowering them.

Since the proposal of these laws, different protests have come underway in different states of India. These protests are the first large-scale farmer protests since the Narendra Modi government came into power in 2014. On 26 November 2020, farmers from Haryana were stopped from entering Delhi by Haryana police. At the border near Ambala, protesters were struck with water cannons and tear gas shells by the police forces; protestors threw stones and tossed police barricades into the river. In response, the police used water cannons. Media have reported that trenches were dug by the police on certain routes into Delhi; the Haryana government dug the National Highway connecting Haryana and Delhi. Sand-filled trucks and bulldozers were also placed on the path of the march to Delhi. Earlier, the house of Haryana’s Chief Minister was blocked by farmers.

Benefits and Drawbacks of the laws

Now, let’s have a look at the benefits and drawbacks of the farm laws

Benefits:- as per the govt

1. The farmers will get an opportunity to sell their goods outside the APMC market and can get a higher price, and their will be no tax on such buying and selling.

2. The farmers can sell their produce anywhere in the country, wherever they see fit. In easier terms they can sell their produce wherever they find a higher price.

3. The traders buying produce from farmers outside the APMC mandi won’t need any license for the trade, anyone holding a PAN card or a document notified by Central Govt can perform the trade, this will give farmers a higher price and will benefit them.

Drawbacks:- as per the farmers

1. With this law, mandis under APMC will be abolished and farmers will be forced to sell their produce at a much lower price

2. Moreover, with the abolition of mandis, there won’t be any purchase of the crops at MSP.

3. Farmers produce has been going from one state to another even before these laws came into existence, therefore these laws are for the benefit of the corporate and not for the farmers.

4. There is a risk of fraud due to entry of people without any proper license and registration.

Now then, this is a short summary of what the Govt thinks farm laws will do and what the farmers thinks farm laws will do. Both have ample knowledge of the farming sector and both are unmoved as far as negotiating the farm laws is concerned. The farmers don’t want any changes in the laws, their point is very simple, “Farm laws:go back”

The Foreign Interference

Many foreign celebrities came forward in support of the farmers, while the Indian govt labelled this support as an effort to destabilize the country and their opinion is not needed.

The Govt made this issue of foreign support a national agenda and said it will not be tolerated and India stands united against Foreign forces. Not sure how expressing support is a problem.                 

The Tool kit

“Toolkit” is a term activists use for a campaign information document. It is a valuable resource that can be used to sustain a campaign or movement, used mostly on the internet. Recently, Greta Thunberg shared a link to the toolkit on the farmer’s protest which, was found to contain some pro-Khalistani elements

It is reportedly said that the toolkit shared by the activists tried to explain the farmers’ protest to those who do not know the reason behind the agitation. Disha Ravi’s role came under suspicion by Delhi Police after climate activist Thunberg tweeted a toolkit document which the police alleged had led to the January 26 violence in New Delhi.

On February 14, 2021, Disha Ravi was presented before a Delhi Court that remanded her five days of police custody. Disha Ravi broke down inside the courtroom and told the judge that she had edited only two lines and she wanted to support the farmers’ protest.

According to Delhi Police, Disha, along with the help of lawyer Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Mallick, played key roles in the circulation of the document. The police also claim that the group worked with the pro-Khalistan outfit Poetic Justice Foundation

The police investigating the matter claim that pro-Khalistani groups are attempting to use the farmers’ protests to cause chaos and divide the nation. The farmers have been protesting the new farm bills since August 2020 and have refused to stop until all their demands are met.

                                                   

   

                  Greta Thunberg’s deleted tweet

New laws, amendments and protests are part and parcel of a democracy and are bound to happen, constitution gives us the right to express our opinions and the govt is bound to listen to us, if the govt wishes to act on our will or not that is a totally different matter. Such protests keep happening in our country with the CAA NRC protests being the most recent and prominent before the farm laws protests but by any means no one should be allowed to rattle the unity of this country by using these protests as catalysts of personal benefit. Showing support or registering opposition to something is a different matter while influencing and interfering a totally different one.

What happens with the farm laws, only time will tell. The best we can do is remain loyal to our country and not indulge in any activities that may start something unwanted. Be a responsible citizen, fundamental rights are very powerful, and according to a famous movie dialogue “With great power, comes great responsibility”.

                 

                                                     Anuj Ghatate