The months-long farmers’ protests that were started in November 2020 is drawing close to an end after the bill to cancel the three farm laws was passed in both houses of the parliament on Monday.
As per reports, a majority of the 32 farmers groups of Punjab that had partaken in the stir along the borders of the national capital are in favour of calling off the protests following the fulfilment of PM Modi’s promise of withdrawing the farm bills.
A meeting of the 32 farm groups took place at the Singhu border on Monday. After the meeting, BKU Ekta Dakaunda president Buta Singh Burjgill and BKU Kadian president Harmeet Singh Kadian said an emergency meeting of 42 representatives from Punjab and other states will be held on December 1 to formally discuss the issue of protests at Delhi borders. While they did not comment on how long the protest is slated to continue but they did hint at lifting it after December 1.
With the farmers’ agitation almost on the verge of its completion, it is germane to dwell upon what it leaves behind in its wake. From business losses to the tunes of Rs 60,000 crores to the egregious subversion of the elected government, to the insidious resurgence and manifestation of Khalistani sentiments and to a host of criminal activities such as rapes, murders, riots etc., the farmers’ agitation has been a grave assault on the national security, public exchequer and our fundamental values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
Business losses to the tunes of Rs 60,000 crores
While it is practically impossible to estimate the materialistic losses the country had to bear because of the ongoing farmers’ protests, the Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT) pegs the losses endured by the country during 12 months of farmers’ protest at Rs 60,000 crores. The trade body says the losses were predominantly incurred in the initial phase of the protests—November, December 2020 and January 2021.
Initially, there was a substantial impact on supplies from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Himachal Pradesh to Delhi. Transportation of goods from other states was also affected due to the blockage of highways leading to Delhi by the farmers. There was an acute shortage of items, including foodgrain, FMCG products, Electrical items, Builders Hardware, consumer electronics, Auto Spare parts, Machinery articles, Sanitarywares & Sanitary Fittings, Pipes & Pipe Fittings, Agricultural implements, Tools, Furnishing Fabric, Cosmetics, Iron & Steel, Wood & Plywood, Edible Oil, Packed general items etc.
In later months, however, due to the combined effort of CAIT and All India Transport Welfare Association (AITWA), the transportation of goods from the month of February to July 2021 and the supply chain was restored to a great extent. Truckers carrying material from other States to Delhi and from Delhi to other States avoided using highways and used alternate routes to the national capital to circumvent the protest sites and transport essential commodities to their respective destinations.
Mr Bhartia said that about 50 thousand trucks come to Delhi every day carrying goods from different states across the country and about 30 thousand trucks carry goods from Delhi to other states. Since Delhi is neither an agricultural nor an industrial state, it has to depend upon buying and selling of goods for maintaining its centuries-old distributive character of trade and therefore Delhi stands the major sufferer of farmers agitation.
CAIT National President Mr BC Bhartia had stern words for the protesters and the agent provocateurs who are egging on the farmers to continue their agitation despite the government acceding to their primary demands.
One can not make demands one after another and if the demands are accepted, it will be presumed by the Country that democracy ha succumbed to mob pressure, Bhartia said. Political parties who are supporting additional demands, he warned, must take note that the country is watching their activities and they will have to suffer political losses in near future for encouraging the farmers to continue their agitation even though their demands had been fulfilled.
Resurgence of Khalistani sentiments through farmers’ protests
Perhaps, the biggest fallout of the ongoing farmers’ protest had been the resurgence and manifestation of Khalistani sentiments. The protests were, to a great extent, hijacked by proponents of Khalistani extremism and supporters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. At various instances during the protests, the demonstrators were seen chanting Khalistani slogans and carrying posters of Khalistani terrorists Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Reports published by various dailies shed light on how Khalistani supporters had hijacked the so-called farmers’ protests. On January 12, 2021, the central government had told the Supreme Court that they have credible input from the Intelligence Bureau that there is a presence of Khalistani supporters in the farmers’ protest.
Khalistan sympathizer Deep Sidhu, who was seen among the mob who attacked the Red Fort and hoisted different flags in place of the Tricolour on the 72nd Republic Day, has reportedly been named by the police in an FIR lodged in connection with the violent protests of the Republic Day.
Various Khalistani organisations such as Poetic Justice Foundation, Khalsa Aid and others actively partook in the protests, providing monetary and emotional support to the protesters in their demands against the Centre. It cannot be discounted that the central aim of these organisations was to stoke Khalistani sentiments among the people and characterise the Centre as against the interests of Sikhs. Even banned foreign-based organisations such as Sikhs For Justice, a Khalistani outpost based out of the United States, voiced their support to the farmers, spurring them to continue stirring anarchy under the pretext of carrying out peaceful protests against the three farm laws.
As recently as 8 days back, SFJ announced a reward of $125,000 for unfurling the Khalistani flag at Parliament on the first day of the winter session. During the span of these so-called protests, the hardline pro-Khalistan group has made several attempts to infiltrate the ongoing protests in the capital and has made shocking proposals in the form of incentives in order to promote their Khalistani agenda.
In January, it announced a reward of $350,000 to the protestors who hoisted a Khalistani flag at the Red Fort on Republic Day. Ahead of Republic Day, the SFJ had announced a cash reward of USD 2,50,000 for hoisting the Khalistan flag on January 26 at the India Gate on Republic Day. The SFJ had also called for a siege of Parliament on Budget Day, February 1, in an attempt to push protesters into engaging in anti-national activities.
Subversion of democracy and the undermining of the elected government
On November 19, 2021, PM Modi announced that his government would take back the three farms after failing in their endeavour to convince a section of protesting farmers about its benefits. The announcement should have led farmer unions to call off the protests. Instead, they came up with a fresh set of demands, warning the government that if they don’t fulfil it, the protests would continue unabated.
Even after PM Modi’s announcement to withdraw the farm laws, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said protests would continue with yet another tractor rally, alleging that if additional demands made by farmers’ are not met, then 60 tractors will march towards the Parliament on November 29, the day when the winter session of the Parliament is to commence. He demanded the centre to pass legislation on MSP guarantee, withdrawal of criminal cases against lumpen farmer protesters, Seed Bill, Pesticides Bill, among other things.
The instance provides a window into the mentality of the protesters who had squatted on the national highways leading to Delhi. Their primary aim, it seems, was not to get the government to repeal the farm laws, but to hold the Centre to the ransom and blackmail them into acquiescence on as many demands as possible.
PM Modi’s government was re-elected to power in May 2019 with a thumping majority. They passed the farm laws in the parliament through the democratic procedures enlisted in the Constitution. Yet, the protesters felt no compunction in undermining the elected government of the day and blackmailing them into submission. Protests are legitimate means to express one’s disapproval with the Centre’s policies, but that does not give the protesting parties with a carte blanche to threaten the government with intimidation and adverse consequences should their demands are not met.
Anarchy, riots, murder and rapes—The sordid legacy of the farmers’ protests
The farmers’ protest, along the border of the national capital, which was started under the guise of peaceful demonstration against the three farm laws, took no time to devolve into a breeding ground of sorts for all kinds of criminal activities. The 12-months long protests were overwhelmingly punctuated by incidents of chaos, rapes, murders, riots, vandalism and arson, as restless protesters unleashed their criminal tendencies.
Recently, the gruesome murder of a man at the Singhu-Kundli border protest site had shaken the conscience of the country, raising questions on the participation of criminal elements in the farmers’ protests. On October 15, a badly mutilated corpse of a man, whose hands were chopped and legs cut, was suspended over a police barricade, reportedly by Nihang Sikhs for allegedly committing blasphemy. The victim was identified as 35-year-old Lakhbir Singh.
The grotesque incident instantly called to mind the horrifying fate of another man who was set off on fire by protesters in the Kasar village of Bahadurgarh near the Tikri border. In June 2021, the 42-year-old Mukesh was burnt alive by the protesters demonstrating against the three farm laws, the locals of the village told OpIndia.
The farmer protests were also plagued with cases of gangrapes and sexual harassment against women. It was reported that on April 12, a woman who travelled all the way from West Bengal to participate in the anti-farm law protests was sexually assaulted while travelling in the train to the venue. She was later raped at the protest venue as well. The woman, unfortunately, contracted COVID-19 lter, and died on April 30 at a private hospital in Bahadurgarh.
Yogendra Yadav, a professional protestor who is now protesting on behalf of “farmers,” had admitted on May 10 that he was aware of the woman’s sexual harassment as well as the potential kidnapping of the West Bengal girl by the perpetrators. This revelation drew tremendous condemnation for Yadav who chose to remain silent despite knowing about the incident.
It was also reported by OpIndia how the organisers of the farmers’ protesters themselves had cases of sexual harassment levelled against them. The allegations started with a post accusing one Mohammad Zuber (_emmzedd on Instagram) of sexual harassment, which opened a Pandora’s Box of many such allegations on other alleged activists. Other prominent activists who have been named so far are Varun Chouhan (member of Trolly Times), Antarpreet Singh (leader of Students For Society) and Manish Kumar (President, Swaraj For Youth).
While the farmers’ protests were afflicted by a range of menaces, but nothing came close to the siege of the Red Fort by protesters during the tractor rally on January 26, 2021 and the attendant riots that erupted in the national capital. It was not only vandalism and rioting of epic proportions but it was also an egregious assault on the sovereignty of the country as rampaging protesters ran amok along the streets of Delhi, causing mayhem, vandalising public properties and setting on fire cars and other private vehicles.
Kisan Unions had called for a tractor rally on January 26, 2021. Though initially, Police had denied permission for the rally, it was permitted with several conditions. One of the main conditions was that the rally would be commenced only on the permitted route. The leaders of Kisan Unions agreed to the conditions.
However, on January 26, a large group of alleged farmers entered Delhi from unpermitted routes and started rioting when Delhi Police tried to stop them. A group among them managed to reach Red Fort and hoisted two flags with the Sikh holy symbol Nishan Sahib. One of the flags was hoisted on the flag pole designated for Indian National Flag that is hoisted on August 15 every year to mark Independence Day.
There were visuals of protestors throwing away Tricolour while trying to hoist the alien flag on the ramparts of the Red Fort. The protestors at several places tried to mow down the police personnel with tractors. Police personnel were attacked with lathis, stones, swords and other sharp weapons by the protestors. An RTI filed into the case revealed that around 299 police personnel were injured.
