A cousin of mine asked my opinion on the farmers’ protest in India that is going on right now. She also sent me a link to a YouTube video which I went through just recently. But of the top of my head, I can make the following points.
To start here is the link to the YouTube video:
The first point I would like to make is that I think that the farmer’s lobby has been coddled and pandered to due to votebank politics. Farmers receive free power and electricity and as a result there is too much exploitation of ground water. The water table levels are falling throughout the country and it is only a matter of time before we pay the price for it. Also because of high MSP (Minimum Support Price) farmers grow crops that are not required by the consumer. As a result stocks of foodgrains in government godowns in India is way beyond what can ever be consumed by the public. These foodgrains are eaten by rats or otherwise rot due to passage of time.
But I have to add that I have not studied the subject and my only source of information is newspaper articles which may have been written due to financial or political pressures. I cannot claim that I have credible information.
The second point is that there is a large population of landless labourers that are not organised as a votebank. As a result, they do not get the relief that they need more than the organised farm owners. If you have to support the rural population these are the people I would want to help.
The third point is that the Modi government has not followed due process in coming up with these laws but bulldozed them through both houses of parliament. I remember reading an article in which Yashwant Sinha made these comments. Wait a bit while I search for the link to that article:
It is the job of politicians to explain things to people and convince them. The Modi government should have followed due process in drafting the laws and convincing the farmers that these laws are necessary both in the public interest and their own interest. They obviously have not done that and now they have to reap the whirlwind in the form of protests that are making headlines all over the world.
The last point I would want to make is that I cannot comment on the laws that have been passed as I have not taken even the slightest interest in the topic. In fact, I don’t even know the names of the relevant laws. I can only make the general comments above on this subject.
The YouTube video is very well made but seems to be a bit over the top. I think it is too much to see a connection between Bill Gates and Hitler. I have never heard of Vandana Shiva and don’t know how much she can be relied on as a credible source. But it is a very sensitive and important topic and the charges she has made are serious and should therefore be investigated properly.
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