Farmers’ organisations in Punjab and Haryana are determined to continue their agitation.
THE ANGER OVER THE KILLING OF SIX farmers inMandsaur by theMadhya Pradesh Police had its resonance in Punjab and Haryana. Various farmer and peasant organisations held peaceful protests to express their solidarity with the farmers of Madhya Pradesh and also highlight their long-pending demands. Apprehensive of a Mandsaur-like situation, intelligence agencies in Haryana circulated a communique among their personnel to keep an eye on “solidarity protests” in the State. The communique dated June 9, which is available with Frontline, contained names and numbers of farmers’ leaders and their organisations, who as per the Intelligence Department had the “potential to create violence” in the State.
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in both Haryana and Punjab and other farmers’ organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), perceived sometimes as representing big landed interests, organised and led protests in both the States and submitted memoranda with a list of demands. The issues ranged from loan waiver to timely procurement and purchase by state agencies of food and cash crops at minimum support price (MSP) rates or wherever applicable, market intervention scheme rates, implementation of the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission on crop pricing, the consequences of the ban on cattle trade imposed by the recent Central government notification and harassment of farmers by self-styled cow vigilantes. Farmer representatives Frontline spoke to in Haryana and Punjab said the protests against the ban on cattle trade would pick up in the coming months as farmers were agitated with the government notification.
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Tragedy on foot
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Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
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