The World’s Largest Protest is Happening in India Right Now

What is the crisis?

In September 2020, the Indian government, under Modi’s administration, passed a series of laws known as the farm bills. Though the government’s reasoning was that these bills would give India’s farmers more autonomy when selling their crops, they have actually opened up the possibility for these farmers to be exploited by big corporations, which has sparked outrage and one of the largest protests in human history, with more than 250 million protestors in India alone and many more protesting across the globe.

Farmers in India, specifically in the region called Punjab, have always been facing problems at the hands of damaging government policies. India’s Green Revolution of the 1960s, which was a series of laws meant to increase profits and economic impact of agriculture, ended up disproportionately helping richer, more land-owning farmers, and left many poor farmers in debt and landless. In Punjab, the Indian government began redirecting water from the region in the 20th century, which has led to rapidly declining water sources, causing many farmers to face water scarcity and failing crops. And now, with the new farm bills, the buying, selling, and storing of farmers’ crops by private buyers and corporations will be deregulated, leading to more exploitation, and for poorer farmers, the potential loss of their businesses, land, and profits.

Why is this an issue?

For many of these farmers, especially in regions known for agriculture, like Punjab, farming has been their family’s livelihood for generations, and there is a deep-rooted tie to the land. These farmers would simply not be able to support their families and would not be able to easily find new jobs if they lost their land or the money needed to keep their farm going. Unfortunately, with the Modi administration’s new farm bills, this may become a more common occurrence. The rules that once regulated the buying, selling, and storage of crops, and protected these farmers since the 1900s have been loosened with these farm bills, which harms farmers by leaving them unprotected when negotiating with large, powerful corporations that control the market. Farmers would not have the bargaining power to fend off exploitation and would be left dealing with the consequences of unchecked corporations in the agriculture industry.

Furthermore, agriculture is a major component of the livelihoods of the Indian people, as well as the Indian economy in general. India has hundreds of millions of farmers, and they make up more than 50% of India’s working population. Of these hundreds of millions of farmers, the majority of them rely entirely on farming to feed and support themselves and their families. They live off the crops they cultivate and grow. Any laws which would make it harder for them to grow those crops, like the new laws, would be detrimental to their livelihoods, and also to the economy considering the fact that farmers are such a large percentage of India’s working class, and agriculture is one of India’s most important industries.

The issue could even prove deadly for many farmers. In recent years, the multitude of issues facing Indian farmers has resulted in an increase in suicide rates. Many farmers do not have sufficient resources to support themselves and their families, and the mounting pressure causes many to take their own lives. The new farm bills have the potential to make this far worse because they could result in a struggle for farmers to meet minimum support prices. The Minimum Support Price, or MSP, is a policy implemented by the Indian government for decades now that sets a specific price for agricultural products, which ensures that farmers are receiving a sufficient minimum profit per harvest season. By deregulating laws around farmers’ interactions with corporations, the Indian government is giving these corporations an opportunity to drive down crop prices, which in turn could result in a struggle for farmers to meet the minimum support prices. This would make the pressure on farmers even more overwhelming, causing more farmers to feel like the only option is to commit suicide.

Though this issue seems as if it more directly affects India’s farmers, and is being ignored by many for this reason, there could in fact be a global effect. For example, India’s farmers produce 68% of the world’s spices, including ginger, turmeric, garlic, and cumin, and the agriculture industry there is the lead producer of basmati rice, milk, and cotton, and the second-lead producer of wheat and many cereals. If farmers are unable to support themselves as a result of the new laws, it could affect production levels of these globally-used products in the long-term. The new laws don’t just affect the farmers, and if we stay silent, it could negatively impact everyone. It is important that we speak out for and stand for the farmers at a more global level.

What can we do?

Raise Awareness:

A lot of mainstream media networks in major countries outside of India are not covering the protests, or are not covering them enough. In India itself, many of the news networks are portraying the farmers as “terrorists,” violent people, and as anti-patriotic, which creates and perpetuates a dangerous stereotype in an effort to silence the farmers. To combat this, the best thing we can do is talk about the protests as much as possible, Whether this is by posting about the farm bills and the protests on your social media platforms, by sharing information with friends, family, and colleagues, or by starting conversations about the protests with those around you, the simple act of sharing information creates a chain reaction of awareness. Those you inform about the protests may go on to inform people they know, and on and on. By telling even just a few people about the issues Indian farmers are facing, you are actually informing a lot more people than the few you think you are informing.

Protest:

Even if you aren’t in India, you can still protest and show your support for the farmers. There are many protests happening in major cities across the world, and going to one can help not only create a global support system for the farmers, but also bring the issue to the attention of local politicians, and even just residents of those cities that happen to pass by the protest. Protests are one of the most powerful ways for us to use our voices: no action will be taken to help the farmers until those in power see people fighting for them. History has shown repeatedly that protesting is one of the most effective ways of fighting for a cause. If governments see that their people are coming together and demanding change, they will be more likely to take the first steps to start conversations about the issue, and this could potentially spark actual legislative action to help solve it.

Donate/Sign:

If you can’t go to a protest, there are several petitions you can sign and organizations working to help the farmers that you can donate to. I have included links for a few organizations that you can donate to, as well as links for petitions below. After signing and/or donating, share these links with family and friends if possible. This will help maximize donations and signatures, which will help the organizations and petitions gain traction and hopefully help initiate action. If more people speak out demanding action and justice through their donations and signatures, there will be a higher chance that our politicians will actually take the actions we are demanding.

What is the crisis?

Why is this an issue?

What can we do?

Raise Awareness:

Protest:

Donate/Sign:

Organizations to Donate To:

Petitions to Sign:

Sources