Mahapanchayats, appeal to electorates and participation of women intensify farmers’ protest in phase 2  

On March 6, when the farmers’ movement entered its 100th day, the protesting Indian farmers boldly intensified the second round of their protest with Mahapanchayats

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Rukmini Sen

On March 6, when the farmers' movement entered its 100th day, the protesting Indian farmers boldly intensified the second round of their protest with Mahapanchayats.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a  coordinating committee of over 500 farmer unions has welcomed women leaders. They have also decided to engage with the electorate in poll-bound states like West Bengal and Kerala. Not just this, the farmers are joining hands with labour trade unions, organising tractor parades at the district level, freeing the toll booths across the country and organising rail blockades. Their initial plan of staging protests at the national capital border is now just one activity in a multipronged strategy. SKM spokesperson Dr Sanjay Madhav told this reporter that the third round will begin after the harvest in April.

An air of gloom had pervaded the movement after events of January 26. The farmers and their well-wishers were shaken by the flag hoisting by a group of people at the Red Fort on that day. Dr Darshanpal in a speech at Singhu Border asserted that people like Deep Sidhu who were at the Red Fort were not committed to the cause of farmers.

On January 28, Uttar Pradesh government  deployed at least 1,000 armed security forces personnel at the Ghazipur border. This included at least three companies of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces), six companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary and 1000 police personnel. It seemed that the farmers at Ghazipur would soon return home. However, Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait refused to budge. He cried. He protested. He threatened to commit suicide. Hundreds of tractors and trolleys packed with farmers reached Ghazipur Border in a couple of hours. The Uttar Pradesh government ordered its forces to step back. Tikait, however, asserted that the farmers were bullied by a group of non government forces as well. There was no looking back after that.


Since then a series of Mahapanchayats has propelled the movement and its leaders forward. After the Kandela Mahapanchayat, Dr. Darshanpal, President of the Krantikari Kisan Union and Balbir Singh Rajewal of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) welcomed the khaps into the farmers' movement. Unlike Punjab, unions are relatively insignificant in Haryana. The Haryanvi farmer community trusts its khap panchayats. Both Darshanpal and Rajewal have readily participated in many panchayats. The khaps have brought in a new lease of life and hope to the farmers' movement. However, Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), has also recognised the need to include women leaders in their movement - a very promising development, since traditionally khap panchayats disncourage women from participating in public life.  The farmers in Tikait's camp now outnumber the Punjabi farmers gathered in Singhu and Tikri.

Under the proposed escalation programme, Mahapanchayts are being organised in UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), at the Shahjahanpur border on the Jaipur to Delhi Highway, has announced the new Mahapanchayats in Rajasthan this week. These will take place at Pipad City in Jodhpur on March 12, Sriganganagar and Sangaria on March 17 and Vidyadhar Stadium in Jaipur on March 23. Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait will partiicipate in these Mahapanchayats. More Mahapanchayats are being planned at district levels. Farmer leaders like Comrade Amraram, Yogendra Yadav, Rajaram Meel, Tara Singh Siddhu and Chaudary Yudhvir Singh have also signaled their participation. The SKM's senior leaders like Hannan Mollah, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Balbir Singh Rajewal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni will also take the stage.

At a joint press conference by the SKM at Singh, Balbir Singh Rajewal said their teams will visit West Bengal, Kerala and other poll-bound states. He said that they will not seek votes for any particular party. "We will appeal to the electorates to vote for those candidates who can defeat the BJP which has failed to address farmers' issues."

In the hundred days of farmers’ protest, we have been witness to several incarcerations. Among them, two Dalit trade unionists, Nodeep and Shiv Kumar, have grabbed the headlines for the sheer nature of their arrest and treatment meted out to them. Nodeep was arrested from the farmers' protest site at Singhu. The labour unions have stood by the farmers in their movement. On March 15, the farmers are planning to show their solidarity with the trade unionists on what's being named "Anti Privatization Day". The SKM will acknowledge this day as an anti-corporate day and support the cause of workers. The farmers will start a vigorous campaign against "Ambani, Adani and Ramdev".

From March 5, SKM has started the 'MSP Dilao' movement in Karnataka, asking PM Modi to ensure MSP for crops. Farmers of southern states of Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will join the movement now. The farmer unions will throw light on the actual cost of a farmer's produce. According to the farmers’ unions, they will deconstruct the false claims made by PM Modi about MSP.

On March 6, the farmers blocked the Kundli–Manesar–Palwal Expressway between 11 am and 4 pm. The SKM had appealed to citizens to hoist black flags on their homes and offices to show solidarity with the farmer's cause.

On the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, women protesters will lead the protests. These women leaders have been invited by the SKM to be the speakers and also the stage managers. Women farmers have been asked to speak about their contribution to the world of farming and agriculture. Women leaders and activists like Com Nisha Siddhu, Rehana Riaz, and Kavita Srivastava have been an integral part of the protests at Shahjahanpur Border. The participation of women leaders and the acknowledgment of their labour in farming is a landmark event.

There is a paradigm shift in Western Uttar Pradesh politics because of this movement. Farmers have transcended their communal beliefs for their land and harvest. Women from rural India are increasingly coming out of their villages to be part of the movement. And Farmer Unions are marveling at the power of Panchayats.

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Published: 06 Mar 2021, 8:45 PM