@prashanthamine
Mumbai: The scenes of political anarchy played out in New Delhi in the name of Farmers cause and agricultural reforms shook the conscience of the nation. Looking back in history and genesis of agriculture sector reforms advocated since 1978, little has changed in their fine print which everybody agrees to, but is hesitant to let it be implemented in letter and spirit. Because, the agricultural reforms mooted so, strike at the very roots of a political rural-agrarian eco-system from where politicians derive their political power for their own survival.
It is strange to find that all the votaries of agricultural reforms have sworn by them when they were either in power or in the opposition. It is even hard to believe that the very same persons and politicians oppose the very same reforms they once advocated so vociferously. The reason being that the new farm laws or the agricultural sector reforms have been in the pipeline for more than 15 years in the making.
Reforms in the agricultural sector were first talked about by Shetkari Sanghatna leader late Sharad Joshi in 1978-80. It was his agitations for better remunerative prices for Onion in March 1978 and in 1980 triggered the debate over agricultural reforms. Joshi had then demanded to put an end to the monopoly of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), doing away with Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and that the farmers should be able to determine the price of his produce.
The powers that be scuttled his movement making attributes to his upper caste lineage. Joshi along with Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Mahendra Singh Tikait had led the Boat Club rally in New Delhi in 1988 that had forced the then Congress government of Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi to agree to their 35 charter of demands that included waiving of electricity bills, subsidized seeds, fertilizers, agri-loans amongst others. The movement lost its steam after the death of Mahendra Singh Tikait in 2011 and Sharad Joshi in 2015.
Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar is right when he argues that the current set of agricultural reforms were set in motion around 2003 when the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee introduced reforms in the APMC Act and ECA. Much of today’s opponents were either part of the then NDA or were closely associated with it, like the Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena.
After the BJP led NDA was voted out of power in 2004, the new Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government set up the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) November 18, 2004 chaired by noted geneticist Dr M S Swaminathan under the aegis of Union Agriculture Ministry headed by Sharad Pawar from May 2004 to May 2014.
The NCF or better known as the Swaminathan Commission had agrarian-experts like R B Singh, Y C Nanda (Microfinance), CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan, Dr Chanda Nimbkar, Dr R L Pitale, Jagadish Pradhan and Atul Sinha among others.
The Commission submitted its fifth and final report in record time of two years on October 4, 2006. The report was aptly titled “Serving Farmers And Saving Farming”. Earlier, the draft of the report was submitted to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Food on April 13, 2006.
Amongst its many recommendations, the report on page’s 28 and 29, point 1.5.10 titled “Assured and Remunerative Marketing Opportunities” listed out five major recommendations that included – Minimum Support Price (MSP), Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), setting up of Community Food Banks and reforming the Public Distribution System (PDS) making it universal.
The NCP in its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto “Our Pledge”, page 10, “Steps for increasing the production” had talked about “lifting of restrictions and allowing farmers to sell their produce to anybody for better price”. The Congress emulating its ally the NCP, had in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto “Congress Will Deliver”, page’s 16 & 17, section 07 titled “Agriculture, Farmers and Farm Labour”, has 22 points that promises to repeal the APMC act setting farmers free to sell their produce, export it to anyone they wished to at better remunerative prices and to amend the ECA only to be invoked in times of emergency.
It is not hard to understand as to why these political parties are so now vehemently opposed to the very same farm reforms that they once had promised. The agriculture sector reforms were being pushed through since 2000. The BJP led NDA government enacted the Model APMC Act in 2003. Subsequently the Congress led UPA continued to push for agrarian reforms.
After coming back to power the BJP led NDA once again pushed through the Model APMC Act in 2017. It was only Arunachal Pradesh which adopted the Model APMC Act. The Niti Ayog in its working paper in 2020 argued that the Center had to enact the three farm laws on September 17, 2020 after noticing reluctance on the part of most state governments to implement the agricultural reforms.
It may be recalled that in Maharashtra, the previous BJP-Shiv Sena led alliance government had amended the APMC Act to allow farmers to sell their produce outside the APMC to private entities at assured higher prices. The same amendment was sought to be reversed by the Sena, Congress and NCP led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
The rural agrarian and cooperative bodies like sugar mills, dairies, spinning mills, water user’s societies, farmer’s credit societies, APMC’s, Adati’s at the APMC’s and cooperative banks are all intertwined with the lives of the farmers. It is the very same ecosystem that the politicians thrive on and derive their political power from.
It is a system in which the political appointees control the destinies of the farmers. The farmers cannot break free from these shackles and if he dares to, he invites the wrath of the political masters. It is little wonder that Khap Panchayats in Punjab are issuing Fatwas directing one member of the villagers to lend their support to the agitation on the borders of New Delhi or pay a fine. Then there is the risk of being socially boycotted for refusing to toe the political line.
While every other political party has promised complete farm loan waivers, free power or subsidized assured power supply to agricultural pumps, no election promise has been able to stop the farmers from committing suicides out of indebtedness. Neither has anybody been able to address the poor storage facilities to store farm produce, nor why small and marginalized farmers are denied access to irrigation facilities.
What happened at the Red Fort in New Delhi on Republic Day last week cannot be pardoned. Although most of the farmer unions have withdrawn from the protest, the fact that the likes of Rakesh Tikait continue to hang on to the protest bandwagon underscores the fact that the agitation has become political with both the sides digging in their heels for a long battle of attrition. In the end the poor, small and marginalized farmer may not get to see any tangible low hanging fruits out of this agitation.
