There can be other than agrarian interests in farm protests, says Deepak Talwar

Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA swept into power in 2014, the government’s focus on farmers has always been on a high, a seasoned market expert has said.

Veteran market analyst Deepak Talwar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked overtime to understand the plight of nearly 17 million farmers in India which has over 131,000 traders registered with the government.

He said that India’s agrarian economy needs political leaders who have the ability to keep their ears to the ground to understand the pulse of the farmers.

“It is both important and significant to know that Modi and Shah have always avoided maximalist positions that could, in turn, inflame public anger and erode BJP’s political capital.”

So how are they handling the farmers’ agitation?

Deepak Talwar said that PM Modi has made it clear that the current farmers’ agitation, driven by farmers from mostly Punjab, needs to be evaluated in the light of what the government has done and not what shape the agitation is taking place on the outskirts of the Indian Capital.

“The march of the Punjab farmers’ to the Indian Capital is slowly, yet steadily, changing hues, many are linking it to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. There are enough similarities between these two agitations. The leaders of these agitations are the same, so are their methods of creating cacophony by blocking highways and pushing an anti-Hindu rhetoric.”He said that PM Modi knows that this issue needs to be handled with sagacity, not abrasiveness. “Modi and Shah are clear that the farmers are agitating for something other than their agrarian interests.”

Talwar said that a realistic look at the agitation, will make people understand what exactly the government has been doing to dissuade the farmers from

It is important to note what the government offered to the farmers.

He said that the government offered a written assurance to continue the minimum support price (MSP). The government also allowed the state governments to register private buyers and charge cess from them like the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis.

One needs to remember there are over 1,000 mandis in India and these are already linked to e-NAM and another 22,000 additional mandis are expected to be linked by 2021–22. And then, the government also offered reassurance that private players simply can’t take over any land from farmers they are contracting with.

The government further clarified to the farmers that contractors can’t take a mortgage on farmlands if they are constructing on it and they can’t maintain possession of the construction and giving choice to farmers to approach civil courts in case of disputes. This was a significant move by the government for the farmers who have often suffered in the hands of the contractors.

And then, the government said it would look into the concerns of the farmers regarding the Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2020 and Air High-quality Administration of NCR Ordinance, 2020 which sought to reform power distribution companies in the states and control pollution arising from stubble burning by farmers in Punjab.

“What the government offered had nothing to do with the three farm laws passed by the Centre. Yet, imbroglio continued because the farmers said they were not satisfied with what the Centre put on the plate. But realistically, the move by the Centre shows that the government is willing to go more than half-way to break the deadlock,” said Deepak Talwar.

Can farmers from Punjab, who are in the heat of the farmers’ protests and triggering breaking headlines with their stubborn attitude, be in a position to negotiate? He questioned.

No, because the state benefits the most from what many say is a loaded MSP regime that favors them at the cost of farmers across India. Why not toss some figures to make this argument substantive. In 2020, Punjab farmers accrued MSP benefits worth Rs 62,000 crore for both wheat and paddy.

And imagine what would happen if the Centre can reorient the subsidies and link the procurement to the production capacity of each state. Farmers across Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and southern states will benefit at the cost of farmers in Punjab and Haryana.

Talwar said that the Centre can instantly end the MSP regime and divert Rs 180,000 crore worth of money to farmers directly into their accounts. It would increase PM Kisan payout from the current Rs 6,000 a year per farming family to Rs 18,000 per year, a three-time jump.

So who is India’s genuine farmers? And where are they? And why are they silent? It is time for them to rise and take charge of the movement and return to the farmlands. They must tell the agitators that politicians siding with the agitation have no intention of furthering the farmers’ interests.

With over three decades of experience, Deepak Talwar is an eminent entrepreneur and public policy analyst.