Permission for tractor rally on R-Day a political decision, say analysts; farmers claim ‘moral victory’

The permission granted by Delhi Police to the farmers to take out a tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day is a significant development considering that the decision would have been taken at a high political level, according to analysts.

“The Delhi Police which comes directly under the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Amit Shah would not have given the permission for this without the involvement of the PMO,” said a senior editor.

There is also a perception that the government changed tack after it failed to disperse the movement through other means.

A well-known human right activist said: “The Modi government was under the impression that with the help of a pliant media, it will be able to tilt the narrative in its favour, but it did not work.”

“That is why they dragged the talks for so long…But they failed to understand that (a) this is a peasantry movement; giving it a religious or anti national spin won’t be easy; (b) whether other people hit the streets or not, the movement succeeded in generating anti-govt sentiments/debates across the country and the world; and (c) it is a very disciplined, resourceful and organized protest having crystal clear goals,” he said, requesting anonymity.

“The farmers’ leadership proved that they are hard negotiators. They neither lost their cool nor refused to take part in talks…As the talks progressed, they very cleverly exposed the fact that the government was not serious about the farmers’ concerns,” he added.

So, do farmers’ leaders see it as a victory of the movement?

Jagmohan Patiala, state general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU- Dakaunda) said, “It is indeed one step forward in the right direction.”

Talking to National Herald, Patiala who has been part of the delegation of the farmers’ leaders participating in the talks, added, “Indeed it is a victory for those who died, for the protesters who braved the cold and rain but did not bend”.

Asked why it was so important for the farmers to take out a ‘kisan parade’ in Delhi, Patiala said, “We want to highlight the plight of the farmers during the parade.”

“Friends, we are going to create history. Nobody, till the date in history of India has taken out such a parade on Republic Day. We have to show our pain and sufferings to the world through this parade. We have to tell the truth of the all three anti-farm laws through this parade,” said Samyukta Kisan Morcha, highlighting the importance of the parade.

The holding of such a rally will let the farmers bring to the forefront several points such as the fact that the Indian Republic does not care anymore about the farmers and that the Modi government which came to power by making promises like ‘doubling’ their income is in fact intent upon destroying their livelihood and inflicting immense pain upon them.

They would also like to highlight that the PM and his Cabinet colleagues are so drunk on power that they hardly listen to the people at the margins of the society, and any dissenters of their policies are branded as ‘anti-national’. In this case, Modi’s ministerial colleagues had lost no time in branding the protesting farmers as ‘Khalistanis’

Although permission for the rally has been granted by the Delhi Police in principle, it is noteworthy that the routes decided for it are limited to the peripheral expressways. Also, it will begin only after 12 pm, after the Republic Day parade on Delhi’s Rajpath concludes.

It is expected that nearly two lakh tractors will take part in the rally for which the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has issued an advisory late evening on Sunday. National Herald had reported on January 11 that farmers were determined to take out a ‘parallel parade’ on Republic Day and that two lakh tractors will take part in the parade.

To manage the traffic and to help participants, nearly 2,500 volunteers will be deployed at various points in Delhi. Though Delhi Police and farmers’ organizations have reached a broad understanding with regard to the routes, final preparations were still being done at the time of publishing this report.