Bharat Bandh Today: Farmers’ Protests and Demands Explained

Bharat Bandh Today: Farmers’ Protests and Demands Explained

A nationwide movement that succeeded in repealing the Center’s three controversial agriculture laws in 2021 is being rekindled by tens of thousands of farmers who are protesting for guaranteed crop prices. Joining the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has demanded a Gramin Bharat Bandh for Friday, February 16, citing numerous unfulfilled requests from farmers. BKU leader Pawan Khatana claimed that farmers had been asked to take a day off work to pressure the government into making demands during the “Bharat bandh” that his union had organized. Farmers have been urged to forgo working on their farms or to avoid visiting marketplaces to make any purchases. Pawan Khatana stated, “Traders and transporters have also been urged to join the strike.”

Bharat Bandh: Why are farmers protesting?

The farmers, who came from Punjab and Haryana on tractors and trucks, claimed that the center had not complied with some of their main requests from the earlier demonstrations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed several agricultural rules in 2021 after farmers protested that they would negatively impact their incomes. However, farmers’ organizations have now asserted that the government has not moved forward with other significant objectives, including loan forgiveness, a doubling of farmers’ income, and guaranteed crop prices. The core of their rallies is the call for legislation that would ensure minimum prices.

What are the demands?

• To provide a safety net for the farming community, the farmers are requesting legal assurances of a minimum support price, or MSP. Farmers contend that margins may be safeguarded by making MSP a legally mandated benefit.
• Farmers also demand the withdrawal of cases that were lodged during the most recent agitation in 2020–21.
• In addition, they want to leave the World Trade Organization and receive pensions for farmers.
• Additionally, the farmers demand that the government fulfill a pledge to treble their earnings. They claim that the last five years have seen a spike in production costs while wages have remained flat, turning farming into a losing venture.
• In addition, the farmers want the government to guarantee a minimum of 50% profit above their total production expenses.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh: Farmers’ Nationwide Protest on February 16 – Impact on Banks, Offices, and More

Farmers’ protest: What happened in 2021?

Farmers celebrated when the government declared in November 2021 that the contentious laws would be lifted. To modernize Indian farming, the government supported the three-farm legislation, but farmers were afraid that the government’s efforts to enact market reforms in agriculture would make them impoverished. Starting in the north of India, the protests spread throughout the country and garnered backing from other countries. Misery, COVID-19, and suicides claimed the lives of numerous farmers. After the Modi government scrapped the farm rules in 2021, it announced plans to form a council of government officials and growers to determine how to guarantee support prices for all commodities. Farmers claim the government is taking its time delivering on that commitment.