AIKS-led Maharashtra Farmers' Vehicle Jatha to Delhi begins from Nashik with a Rousing Send-off

The AIKS-led Maharashtra Farmers' Vehicle Jatha for Delhi began from Nashik on the evening of December 21 with a rousing public meeting and send-off by thousands of people. 

The Jatha is being led up to Delhi by AIKS National President Dr Ashok Dhawale, Former State President J P Gavit, ex-MLA, State President Kisan Gujar, State General Secretary Dr Ajit Nawale, State Joint Secretary Sunil Malusare and others. 

The public meeting at the Golf Club Maidan paid homage to the 33 farmers who have been martyred in the struggle around Delhi during the last three weeks. 

The meeting condemned the Modi-Shah-led BJP regime for its utterly insensitive and obstinate policies targeting peasants and workers to further enrich the corporates, both Indian and foreign. Effigies of corporates Ambani and Adani were also publicly burnt and a call given to boycott their goods and services. 

The highlight of the public meeting was the speech of Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala and AIKS National Joint Secretary K K Ragesh. Ragesh had fought tooth and nail against the three Farm Bills in Parliament and in 2018 had also placed two seminal Bills in the Rajya Sabha on behalf of the AIKSCC - one for Freedom from Debt and the other for Guarantee of MSP at one and a half times the cost of production. 

Along with the AIKS leaders mentioned above, others who addressed the public meeting were CPI(M) State Secretary Narasayya Adam, PWP General Secretary Jayant Patil, MLC, CPI leader Raju Desale, former Congress state minister Shobha Bachchav, AIDWA National General Secretary Mariam Dhawale, CITU National Vice President Dr D L Karad, CPI(M) MLA from Dahanu Vinod Nikole, RPI leader Ganesh Unawane, AIAWU State General Secretary Baliram Bhumbe, AIDWA State President Naseema Shaikh, DYFI State General Secretary Preethy Sekhar, SFI Vice President Nitin Wavhale, and other local leaders. 

The Vehicle Jatha of hundreds of cars, tempos and some buses was enthusiastically greeted on the way by hundreds of people at Ozar, Pimpalgaon Baswant and Shirwade villages before camping for the night at Chandwad, where it was given another rousing reception by hundreds AIKS-led peasants.

Today December 22, the Vehicle Jatha will be given a grand all-Party (minus BJP) people's reception at Malegaon and Dhule, before camping at Shirpur on the Maharashtra border tonight. Tomorrow morning the Jatha will enter Madhya Pradesh.

वाहन जथ्थ्याचा मार्ग व कार्यक्रम

 दि. २१रोजी १२ । ०० वाजेपर्यंत सर्व लोक नाशिकच्या गोल्फ क्लब मैदानावर जमतील तेथे सर्वांना सुचना व खासदार के के रागेश यांच्या उपस्थितीत वाहन मोर्चा प्रारंभ. 

दुपारी ३-००वा. जथ्था निघून नियोजित मार्गाने मुंबई-आग्रा मार्गाने ओझरकडे निघेल. 

दु. ४-००वा. ओझर

दु. ४-३० वा. पिंपळगाव बसवंत

सायं. ५-००वा शिरवाडे(वणी) 

सायं. ५-३० वा चांदवड (मुक्काम)

दि. २२ डिसेंबर रोजी सकाळी. ८-०० वा चांदवड वरून सुरूवात

स. ८.३० वा उमराणे

स. १०-०० वा मालेगांव 

दु. २-०० वा. धुळे

विविध जनसंघटना, पक्ष, समाजसेवी संघटनांच्या प्रतिनिधींकडून दिल्ली वाहन जथ्यांचे स्वागत व शुभेच्छा.

सायं ५-०० शिरपूर ( मुक्काम) 

दिं. २३ रोजी मध्यप्रदेशातून राजस्थान राज्यातून दिल्लीकडे

किसान सभेचे चलो दिल्ली नियोजन पूर्ण, उद्या मान्यवरांच्या उपस्थितीत दिल्लीकडे कूच करणार

 प्रेस नोट

किसान सभेचे चलो दिल्ली नियोजन पूर्ण

उद्या मान्यवरांच्या उपस्थितीत दिल्लीकडे कूच करणार

दिल्ली येथील शेतकरी आंदोलनात सहभागी होण्यासाठी महाराष्ट्रातून किसान सभेच्या नेतृत्वाखाली हजारो शेतकरी उद्या 21 डिसेंबर 2020 रोजी दिल्लीकडे कूच करत आहेत. नाशिक येथून किसान सभेच्या नेतृत्वाखाली सुरू होणाऱ्या या वाहन मोर्चात महाराष्ट्रभरातील 21 जिल्ह्यांमधून हजारो शेतकरी सहभागी होत आहेत. राज्यभरातील हे शेतकरी नाशिक येथील गोल्फ क्लब मैदान येथे एकत्र येतील. 

अखिल भारतीय किसान सभेचे नेते डॉ. अशोक ढवळे, जे.पी. गावीत, किसन गुजर, डॉ. अजित नवले, सुनील मालुसरे यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली निघणाऱ्या या वाहन जथ्याला शुभेच्छा देण्यासाठी केरळचे खासदार आणि अखिल भारतीय किसान सभेचे राष्ट्रीय सहसचिव के. के. रागेश यांची विशेष उपस्थिती असणार आहे. शेतकऱ्यांना किमान आधार भावाचे संरक्षण मिळावे व केंद्रीय स्तरावर शेतकऱ्यांची संपूर्ण कर्जमुक्ती व्हावी यासाठी राज्यसभेत खा. के. के. रागेश यांनी खाजगी विधेयके मांडून देशभरातील शेतकऱ्यांच्या हक्कांसाठी संसदेत रान उठविले होते. आताच्या तिन्ही शेतकरीविरोधी आणि जनताविरोधी कायद्यांना राज्यसभेत त्यांनी कसून विरोध केला होता. दिल्ली येथील आंदोलनाला पाठिंबा देण्यासाठी महाराष्ट्रातून निघणाऱ्या शेतकऱ्यांचा उत्साह द्विगुणीत करण्यासाठी के. के. रागेश उद्या नाशिक येथे येत आहेत. 

माकपचे राज्य सचिव नरसय्या आडम, शेकापचे सरचिटणीस आमदार जयंत पाटील, कामगार संघटना संयुक्त कृती समितीचे राज्याचे निमंत्रक विश्वास उटगी, अखिल भारतीय जनवादी महिला संघटनेच्या राष्ट्रीय सरचिटणीस मरियम ढवळे, सीटूचे राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष डॉ. डी. एल. कराड, सीटूचे राज्य सचिव आमदार विनोद निकोले, भाकपचे नेते राजू देसले यांच्यासह अनेक मान्यवर शेतकऱ्यांना शुभेच्छा देण्यासाठी उपस्थित राहतील. छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज, महात्मा ज्योतिबा फुले आणि डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर यांच्या पुतळ्यांना अभिवादन करून दुपारी 1 वाजता गोल्फ क्लब मैदानावर होणाऱ्या जाहीर सभेनंतर हा वाहन मोर्चा दिल्लीकडे कूच करेल.

शेकडो वाहने असलेला हा वाहन मोर्चा मुंबई-आग्रा महामार्गाने ओझर, पिंपळगाव बसवंत, शिरवाडे (वणी) मार्गे सायंकाळी ५-३० वाजता चांदवड येथे मुक्कामी पोहचेल. दुसऱ्या दिवशी २२ डिसेंबर रोजी सकाळी ८-०० वा चांदवड येथून वाहन मोर्चा पुन्हा सुरू होऊन उमराणे, मालेगांव, धुळे, शिरपूर मार्गे मध्य प्रदेशात मार्गस्थ होईल. या सर्व ठिकाणी जनातेतर्फे त्याचे जंगी स्वागत केले जाईल. मध्य प्रदेश, राजस्थान मार्गे 24 डिसेंबर रोजी तो दिल्ली येथे पोहचेल.

शेतकरी विरोधी काळे कायदे मागे घ्यावेत, प्रस्तावित वीज विधेयक रद्द करावे या मागण्याबरोबरच शेतकऱ्यांना आधार भावाचे कायदेशीर संरक्षण देणारा कायदा करावा व सरकारने आधार भावाने शेतीमाल खरेदी करण्याची सक्षम व्यवस्था उभी करून अन्नदात्याला घामाचे रास्त दाम व भुकेलेल्याला रास्त दरात अन्न देण्याची कायदेशीर व्यवस्था उभी करावी या प्रमुख मागण्यांसाठी हा वाहन मोर्चा काढण्यात येत आहे.

डॉ. अशोक ढवळे

जे.पी. गावीत

किसन गुजर

अर्जुन आडे

उमेश देशमुख

सुनील मालुसरे

डॉ.अजित नवले

 NATIONWIDE FARMERS' STRUGGLE INTENSIFIES, GETS READY FOR THE LONG HAUL

The historic nationwide farmers struggle that began on November 26 entered its fourth week on December 17. It was intensified and broadened even further after the unprecedented support that was expressed by the people of India through the Bharat Bandh on December 8.

For the first time since the neo-liberal policies began three decades ago, all sections of the peasantry have united as never before against the three Farm Acts, against the rapacious corporate lobby, both Indian and foreign, and against the BJP-RSS central government that is acting as their servile agent. This protracted struggle has united the poor, middle and even large sections of the rich peasantry. The working class, which has itself been hit by the four Labour Codes imposed by the centre, has rallied to the support of the peasantry in its struggle. Large sections of the middle classes are also backing the valiant fight of their ‘annadatas’. Women, youth and students from all these classes are standing in solidarity with the struggle.      

Last week saw another series of massive peasant actions one after the other, as per the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) given on December 9, just after the Bharat Bandh and after the SKM had unanimously rejected the written proposals of the central government. Those developments were outlined in these columns last week.

STRUGGLE INTENSIFIED

First, there is a massive increase in the number of farmers gathering on the borders of the nation’s capital. Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh are freshly joining the mahapadavs at the Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Palwal borders where four national highways coming to Delhi have been blocked.

Second, the last national highway from Jaipur to Delhi, which was still open, was blocked by thousands of farmers under the leadership of the AIKSCC on December 13. A large share of those who blocked this highway was AIKS-led farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana and CITU-led Anganwadi workers from Punjab. Red flags are flying here in abundance. They have now been joined by AIKS and CITU-led activists from Gujarat. Some other farmers’ organizations have also contributed to the blockade.

Third, the AIKS Maharashtra state council which held its online meeting on December 14, has decided to mobilize peasants in large numbers from all over the state and join the mahapadav at the Rajasthan-Haryana border. They will begin their 1300 Km vehicle march with a huge rally at Nashik on December 21. Hectic preparations are on to make this march a great success.

Fourth, thousands of farmers in various parts of the country picketed hundreds of toll plazas and refused to pay the toll on December 12. This action elicited enthusiastic mass response.

Fifth, lakhs of farmers gathered around Delhi observed a one day fast on December 14. This fast came after the farmers faced and fought severe repression in the form of water cannons, tear gas shells, lathi charges and arrests at the hands of the BJP governments in Haryana and at the centre, and after braving the biting December cold for the last three weeks.

Sixth, the nationwide call for demonstrations at all district and tehsil centres on December 14 got a massive response from lakhs of farmers in almost all states across the country. After the continuous mass actions on November 26, December 3, December 5 and the December 8 Bharat Bandh, this fifth countrywide action in three weeks blew to smithereens the government’s motivated claim that this struggle is confined to only two or three states. On December 16, a massive West Bengal peasant rally has been organized by the AIKSCC in Kolkata and it will be addressed by AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah and many others.

On December 14, apart from the huge mass actions everywhere, MLAs and MLCs of the CPI(M), PWP, BVA, NCP and SP waved a large red banner in the premises of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan on the opening day of the state assembly’s winter session in Mumbai, demanding the immediate repeal of the three Farm Acts and supporting the countrywide farmers struggle. CPI(M) MLA Vinod Nikole addressed the media that was present there in strength. 

Seventh, the countrywide call to boycott Ambani and Adani products and services has struck a chord and is being well responded to in several states. Farmers and other sections of the people have led large demonstrations outside Reliance and Adani outlets in many states. Social media channels are being used in a big way to popularize this campaign.

CALL FOR HOMAGE MEETINGS ON DECEMBER 20

It is tragic that over 30 farmers have died while taking part in the struggle on the borders of Delhi. And yet the callous and cynical BJP central government refuses to respond to the one-point demand of farmers for the repeal of the three Farm Acts and the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill.

The SKM which met on December 15 has given a nationwide call to hold public meetings between 11 am and 1 pm on December 20 to pay homage to all these martyrs of the farmers struggle. There is no doubt that this call will get a massive response across the country.

ARMY VETERANS PLAN TO RETURN GALLANTRY MEDALS

In a very significant move, as reported by ‘The Hindu’ on December 13, Army veterans from Punjab and Haryana who are camping at the Singhu border have collected over 5,000 gallantry medals since November 26 to return to the central government. They plan to collect 25,000 such medals in the next few days. Some extracts from the above report are eye-openers.

80 year-old retired Havaldar Balwant Singh from Jhajjar in Haryana said, “I come from a family of jawans and kisans, which have eight martyrs, either in war or at the border. I was proud of that fact, but because of what the government is doing now, it has begun feeling like this country is no longer worth living in, leave alone to die for. We have been here since the 26^th November and the government, instead of listening to us cry, is busy finding ways to force upon us these black laws created by people in air-conditioned rooms.”

Retired Subedar S P Singh from Gurdaspur in Punjab said some six farmers were detained when they had attempted to meet President Ram Nath Kovind to return a small batch of medals last week. Retired Havaldar Bartar Singh from Patiala alleged that the group of veterans was detained for two whole days and their phones and belongings were confiscated. He said, “I was a soldier earlier but even before that, I was a labourer and a farmer. We are willing to sacrifice these medals in return for a repeal of the black laws…They kept us in detention for two whole days thinking that we will go back home, but the first thing we did after being released this morning was to come back here to join the protest.”

Retired Naik Kapil Dev from Haryana said, “These medals were given not for entertainment but for valour, for coming face to face with death, through sweat and blood and tears, but the jawan is ready to let them go for a better future for the farmer.”

GOVERNMENT CALLOUSNESS CONTINUES

Living in its own world far away from such voices from the ground, and cosying up to the corporates who help it win elections through money and media power, the callousness of the BJP-RSS central government continues unabated. Its leaders have tried, with no success whatsoever, to defame, discredit and divide the farmers movement for the last three weeks.

First they accused the farmers of being influenced by Khalistanis. Then they alleged that they were instigated by Pakistan and China. After that they accused them of being led by Maoists and Naxalites. In spite of the Godi media hurling such Goebbelsian charges ad nauseum, they have been rejected with contempt by the people of India, whose support has kept growing.

Realising that its defamatory campaign was becoming counter-productive in the face of massively mounting protests, the government tried a new tack. Propping up some of its own agents (‘dalals’ is a much better and more accurate word) as so-called farmers’ organizations, it held negotiations with them. Like a command performance they duly supported all the three Farm Acts. The RSS-led Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) were also brought in to make noises opposing the farmers struggle. None of this is working one bit.

In a feeble attempt to draw attention away from the farmers’ struggle, on December 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with much fanfare laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building. He used all his usual empty phrases of our “democratic legacy”, “reflecting India’s aspirations” and “being always accountable to people and the Constitution”.

It was the classic RSS-BJP fascistic habit of speaking one thing, while doing the exact opposite. Modi spoke of “atmanirbharta” on the one hand, while selling off the country to Indian and foreign corporates, on the other. Today he is speaking of “democracy”, “aspirations” and “accountability to people” on the one hand, while letting millions of Indians shiver in the bitter cold for weeks on end on the borders of the nations’s capital, on the other.

But the peasants, the workers and the people of India will teach these modern Neros a lesson in this most peaceful and democratic and united resistance that is unfolding before our eyes.      

Ashok Dhawale      

               

MAHARASHTRA SEES HUGE ACTIONS ANDBANDH IN SUPPORT OF FARMERS STRUGGLE

 MAHARASHTRA SEES HUGE ACTIONS AND BANDH IN SUPPORT OF FARMERS' STRUGGLE

AIKS IN STATE PLANS SPIRITED 1300 KM VEHICLE MARCH TO DELHI

Maharashtra witnessed four massive actions in the last three weeks. The first was the response to the nationwide working class strike and the nationwide peasant upsurge on November 26. The second was the solidarity action to support the fighting farmers of Punjab and Haryana at the Delhi border on December 3. The third was the overwhelming response to the Bharat Bandh on December 8 in support of the farmers struggle. And the fourth was the response to the nationwide call for demonstrations in support of the farmers stir on December 14.

And now, in what will be the fifth major action, the online meeting of the AIKS Maharashtra state council held on December 14 decided to mobilize a large number of peasants from all over the state to Delhi in a 1300 Km vehicle march beginning December 21 from Nashik.   

All these struggles demanded a rollback of the three Farm Acts, the four Labour Codes and the Electricity Amendment Bill and saw worker-peasant unity in action. They were preceded by a widespread campaign of meetings, leafleting, press conferences and social media activity.

The first four actions were led by a united coalition of three platforms – the Trade Unions Joint Action Committee (TUJAC), the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) and the Struggle Committee of Mass Movements (JASS) which is an umbrella front of all leading class, mass and social organizations in Maharashtra. Along with the massive participation by both CITU and AIKS, the AIAWU, AIDWA, DYFI and SFI also took active part in all these actions. 

HUGE WORKING CLASS STRIKE

On November 26, strikes were widespread in industrial centres and in the manufacturing sector of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Solapur. Lakhs of organized, unorganized and scheme workers took part in the strike all over the state.  

In Pune for the first time there was a complete strike in Tata Motors. About 20,000 workers attended the mass meeting at Pimpri Chinchwad organized by TUJAC. In Raigad district there was a complete strike in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). In Vidarbha 24,000 coal workers went on strike. In Solapur, around 1,25,000 and in Pune around 3,00,000 workers from organized, unorganized and scheme workers went on strike. The strike in the banking, insurance and government employees sector was total.

Along with the strike, big mass meetings were held in Nashik and Pune. In Mumbai, Aurangabad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Nagpur and most other districts in the state large demonstrations were held at multiple locations. In Solapur, under CITU leadership, over 16,000 workers braved repression and led a rally to the district collectorate. The actions were often in the form of human chains because of Covid restrictions. In Mumbai, large human chains were organized all over the city by all unions in TUJAC and they mobilized an estimated one lakh people. CITU organized human chains in more than 20 locations.     

LARGE PEASANT ACTIONS

Simultaneously, on November 26, thousands of peasants conducted massive road blockades on the national and state highways. Many of these highways were blocked for many hours. In many other places, there were large marches and demonstrations at district and tehsil centres.

The total mobilization in 103 centres in 30 districts of Maharashtra, predominantly by the AIKS and CITU, and supported by the AIAWU, AIDWA, DYFI and SFI on November 26, crossed the 75,000 mark. The first five districts were as follows: Thane-Palghar – 27,500 (9 centres), Solapur – 16,450 (4), Nashik – 12,550 (10), Ahmednagar – 4,000 (1), Nanded – 3,000 (2). Kolhapur, Mumbai, Amravati, Raigad, Jalna, Aurangabad and Nagpur also made sizable efforts. The mobilization on November 26 by other trade unions and organizations in the TUJAC, AIKSCC and JASS was also substantial.

Again, in the solidarity call with the farmers struggle on December 3, the six class and mass fronts mentioned above mobilized nearly 20,000 people at 87 centres in the state. The first five districts in mobilization in this action were as follows: Thane-Palghar – 5,500 (7 centres), Nashik - 3,300 (9), Solapur – 1,100 (3), Pune – 1,000 (4), Parbhani – 800 (4). In this action also, many other organizations took a sizable part.

On December 14, once again at the nationwide call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), big dharnas and demonstrations were held at several district and tehsil centres. They mobilized thousands of people in both rural and urban areas. Detailed reports of these are coming in.   

MASSIVE BHARAT BANDH

The Bharat Bandh on December 8 evoked overwhelming response from the people of Maharashtra. It was by far one of the largest and most spontaneous Bandhs in recent history.

Along with the Left parties like CPI(M), CPI and PWP, the Bandh was supported by all three main parties in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition in the state, viz. Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. Other parties like Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), Samajwadi Party (SP), JD (S) and others also lent their support. Along with the major Kisan organizations, most of the trade unions and other mass organizations supported the Bandh call to the hilt. Lakhs of activists of all the above parties and organizations came on to the streets unitedly to make this Bandh a truly massive success. All APMCs including the largest APMC at Vashi in New Mumbai were completely closed. Several trader and transporter organizations came out in full support. Several national and state highways, shops and marketplaces, towns and cities were closed.  

One jarring note in this Bandh was the completely unwarranted police lathi-charge injuring several CPI(M) activists in Solapur, and the slapping of police cases under IPC Section 353 and others on 17 of them. They included CPI(M) state secretary Narasayya Adam. 15 leaders were arrested and were in jail for five days until they were released on bail. They included AIKS state vice president Siddhappa Kalshetty, AIDWA state president Naseema Shaikh, CITU leaders Yusuf Shaikh (Major), Nalini Kalburgi, Venkatesh Kongari, Shevantabai Deshmukh, Mohd Hanif Satkhed, DYFI leaders Anil Wasam, Datta Chavan, Balkrishna Mallyal, SFI leader Sham Adam and others. Four of those who were arrested are former municipal corporators of the Party.

The success of the Bandh showed that the battle had been joined, not only in Maharashtra but throughout the country, with the BJP-RSS central government along with the Indian and foreign corporates that it represents on one side and the great majority of the working people of the country on the other. This was greatly helped by the people’s sympathy with, and support to, the lakhs of farmers who are waging a bitter struggle on the borders of the nation’s capital.

Ashok Dhawale

Magnificent Bharat Bandh Backs Farmers Cause

 MAGNIFICENT BHARAT BANDH BACKS FARMERS CAUSE; BJP GOVT REFUSES TO RELENT; FARMERS DECIDE TO INTENSIFY NATIONWIDE STRUGGLE

Ashok Dhawale

It was a Bharat Bandh, the like of which had not been seen for the last several years in India. The Bandh called on December 8 by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to support the nationwide struggle of farmers for the repeal of the three hated Farm Laws received magnificent and spontaneous response from the people all over the country.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BHARAT BANDH

The Bandh was announced on the evening of December 4. Three days were enough to galvanise the entire country into action against the pro-corporate and anti-farmer BJP-RSS regime.

The Bharat Bandh showed the great level of anger amongst the people against the massive repression unleashed by the government against farmers from Punjab and Haryana, which we had outlined in these columns last week. It manifested the country’s support to its annadatas who were fighting against the injustice heaped on them by a government which is clearly acting at the behest of its super-rich corporate masters, both Indian and foreign. It also illustrated the massive unity of the people, transcending the barriers of religion, caste and language.

December 8 was the 13^th day of the Mahapadav of lakhs of farmers from Punjab and Haryana at the Singhu and Tikri borders of Delhi. These two national highways have been closed down for the last two weeks from November 27. Over the last one week, thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have almost closed down two other national highways coming to Delhi, and are camping at Ghazipur and Palwal. Rajasthan was in the midst of local body elections till December 8. Farmers from there and other states will soon be blocking the remaining fifth national highway coming to Delhi from Jaipur.

The mood of the farmers at all the places where they have congregated on the borders of Delhi must be seen to be believed. There is a carnival atmosphere. Flags and banners of all Kisan organizations - red, green, yellow, white – mingle in unprecedented unity and camaraderie. That is the most distinctive feature of the current farmers struggle. Tractors and trollies are parked for several kilometers along the highways. Public meetings abound which thousands of farmers attend daily. There is tremendous anger against the BJP-RSS regime led by Modi and Shah, and also against the corporates like Ambani and Adani. This is evident in the speeches of leaders, the reactions of farmers and also in the imaginative posters and placards that are seen everywhere. Gurudwaras in Delhi are helping all farmers, irrespective of religion, with free food and water. There is a clear and universal determination to keep the protests peaceful.

This upsurge of farmers from North India, combined with the unprecedented nationwide working class strike and peasant road blockades on November 26, the countrywide farmers demonstrations on December 3, the burning of the effigies of Modi, Shah, Ambani and Adani in several parts of the country on December 5, set the stage for the Bharat Bandh on December 8.

WIDESPREAD SUPPORT

The five Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML-L), RSP and FB – were the first to issue a statement supporting the Bharat Bandh on December 5. They were followed by 20 other national and regional opposition parties. The CITU and all the central trade unions with the exception of the BMS supported the Bandh call. Several organizations of agricultural workers, women, youth and students, and others came out in support. They included AIAWU, AIDWA, DYFI and SFI.

Lakhs of activists of over 500 kisan organizations in the country which have come together under the umbrella of the SKM, and also those of the above political parties and class and mass organizations, came out on the streets and organized massive road and rail blockades, and held huge demonstrations in thousands of places across the country on the Bandh day.

Numerous organisations of traders, shopkeepers and transporters supported the Bandh by downing their shutters and closing their fleets of vehicles. Several lawyers associations and Bar Councils in the country passed resolutions supporting the farmers cause. There was a churning in large sections of the middle class as well, with thousands of them expressing their support. The entire mainstream media was forced to sit upright for once and take notice – such was the scale of this remarkable nationwide action. The social media covered it widely and vibrantly.

For the first time in the last six years of the Modi regime, it has been squarely thrown on the defensive by the farmers upsurge. In their usual style, the RSS-BJP tried to malign the movement. They first alleged that the farmers from Punjab were Khalistanis. To this, the farmers at the Singhu and Tikri borders put up thousands of placards which retorted, “We are Farmers! We are not Terrorists!” These were publicized by all sections of the media. Now some BJP leaders have made the preposterous charge that this agitation has been instigated by Pakistan and China! All this only shows their sheer desperation.         

FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS 

There have been six rounds of negotiations of farmers’ leaders of the SKM with the central government so far. All have been fruitless. All that the government is prepared for are some amendments to the laws. The SKM is firm on outright repeal of the laws. In the fifth round of negotiations on December 5, SKM leaders maintained a 25 minute silence during the negotiations, refusing to talk until the government agreed to repeal the laws. When the government side comprising the Agriculture and Food Ministers and their aides went into a separate huddle and returned, they were dramatically greeted by the SKM with placards that simply asked “Yes or No?”. Among the 35-odd members of the negotiating team are AIKS General Secretary Hannan Mollah and AIKS Punjab general secretary Major Singh.

On the evening of the Bandh, the Home Minister suddenly invited a SKM delegation for talks. He refused to repeal the laws and agreed to send a written proposal from the government the next day. The SKM leadership met in the afternoon of December 9 at the Singhu border and read out the long proposal that was received from the government. There was nothing new in it. It was just a rehash of the old proposals that the government had been making in earlier rounds. It only had a few minor amendments to the APMC and Contract Farming Acts. There were no amendments at all to the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act. There was nothing substantial as regards the Electricity Amendment Bill and the Clean Air Ordinance either.

The SKM leadership instantly and unanimously decided to reject the government proposals lock, stock and barrel. The anger with the central government among all members was palpable. The discussion then focused on the ways to intensify and broaden the struggle. Among AIKS leaders present in this meeting were General Secretary Hannan Mollah, President Dr Ashok Dhawale, Finance Secretary P Krishna Prasad, Punjab General Secretary Major Singh, and Haryana Vice Presidents Inderjit Singh and Surinder Singh.

BROADEN AND INTENSIFY THE STRUGGLE

The SKM decisions were announced in a widely attended press conference on December 9 evening. They included the following:

1.      Call upon the farmers of states adjoining Delhi, from states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to immediately join the Mahapadavs around Delhi in even greater numbers and block the only remaining national highway that is still open, the Delhi-Jaipur national highway.

2.      Nationwide call to farmers all over the country to intensify the agitation from December 14 by massive dharnas, sit-ins and demonstrations at all district and tehsil centres.

3.      Launch a nationwide boycott of all Ambani and Adani products, like Jio, their petrol pumps and so on.

The AIKS has given a call to all its units to implement the above decisions all over the country with enthusiasm and determination. It has congratulated the people of India for their unprecedented response to the historic Bharat Bandh. It has thanked all political parties, trade unions and other class, mass and social organizations for their unstinted support to the farmers struggle and has appealed to them to keep up this backing until the Farm Laws and Electricity Bill are repealed and victory is achieved over the BJP regime.

BJP-RSS GOVERNMENT WAGES WAR AGAINST ITS OWN FARMERS WHO PUT UP AN INCREDIBLE FEAT OF RESISTANCE

Ashok Dhawale

Nothing like this was ever seen in India during the last few decades. A government waging war against its own people. Its own farmers. The annadatas of our country.

UNPRECEDENTED REPRESSION, INCREDIBLE RESISTANCE

But that is precisely what the BJP-RSS governments and their police – both at the Centre and in Haryana - did. They directed the force of water cannons on the farmers of Punjab and Haryana. They slapped a murder charge on a youth farmer who climbed up the tanker and switched off the water cannons. They attacked farmers with innumerable tear gas shells. They resorted to brutal lathi charges. They arrested hundreds of farmer activists. They put up huge barricades and barbed wire fencings. They even dug up wide and deep trenches on the national highways to stop the advance of the farmers to the national capital of Delhi. The notorious BJP government of Uttar Pradesh also cracked down on the farmers coming to Delhi from there.

Ironically, all this was happening on November 26, which is known as Constitution Day. It was 71 years ago this day in 1949 that the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of our country, which characterized our nation as being “sovereign, democratic, secular and socialist.” The basic democratic tenet of dissent was being trampled upon with fascistic fervor. 

The repression of the government was unprecedented. But the resistance of the peasantry was incredible.

Tens of thousands of valiant farmers literally broke through this seemingly impregnable wall of repression erected by the government at both the Punjab-Haryana and Haryana-Delhi borders. They comprised young and old, women and men, of all religions and castes, in massive numbers. Their numbers, and their determination, were their real strength. They came in thousands of tractors and trollies. And they came with provisions enough to last for months. The defining moment of this massive peasant struggle came when these farmers came forward to feed the same police personnel who had rained repression on them.

Confronted with this remarkable resistance, the central government was forced to surrender. It announced that the farmers could finally enter Delhi. All its actions so far were meant to prevent just that. It designated a large ground in Burari where farmers could come and camp.

And then came the master stroke. Tens of thousands of farmers just refused to enter Delhi. They decided to remain on the two major national highways on the Haryana-Delhi border, at Singhu and Tikri.  At the time of filing this piece, for the last six days, several kilometers of the national highways at both points have been occupied by farmers, their tractors and trollies. Asked why they were doing this when the government had given them permission to come into Delhi, a young farmer unerringly replied, “We will not go to the ground in Burari because once we go there, we’ll just sit there for days and nothing will happen. Here, the border is locked and it’s making an impact.”

When I visited the Singhu border and saw this spectacle, I was immediately reminded of our ‘mahapadav’ struggle in Maharashtra four and a half years ago. On March 29-30, 2016, over one lakh farmers under the AIKS banner gathered at the huge Golf Club Maidan in Nashik. After the massive public meeting which was addressed by Sitaram Yechury, Hannan Mollah and P Sainath among others, we led the huge mass out to the main square in Nashik and blocked it for two days and two nights. All top government and police authorities were persuading us to go back to the Maidan and continue our agitation. We refused for the same reason that the young farmer from Punjab gave. The entire city of Nashik was locked. Within 12 hours, the then BJP chief minister was forced to invite the AIKS delegation for talks in Mumbai.

The central government had originally given December 3 as the date for talks, under the illusion that the struggle would fizzle out by then. When it became evident that no such thing would happen, Union Home Minister Amit Shah set the condition that the government would hold talks as soon as the agitating farmers went to the Burari ground. The farmers spurned his offer with the contempt that it deserved. Eventually, the government was forced to bend and hold the first round of talks on December 1.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already queered the pitch for the talks by his recent Mann ki Baat, where he strongly defended the three farm laws and declared yet again that they were beneficial for farmers, at the precise time when lakhs of farmers had laid siege to the nation’s capital for the scrapping of these very laws. As expected, the talks were inconclusive. The government’s ‘offer’ to set up a five member committee to look into the contentious laws was rejected out of hand. The next round of talks with the government has been scheduled for December 3. It is clear at the moment that this struggle is going to be a long haul. 

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) is unitedly leading this struggle. It comprises representatives of the Punjab and Haryana farmers’ organizations, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) that has over 250 farmers’ organizations including the AIKS, and the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RKMS) which has several other organizations. More than 500 different farmers’ organizations in the country have come together in this issue-based struggle for the first time in the history of India. The AIKSCC was represented in the talks with the government by AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah.          

MAIN DEMAND - REPEAL OF ANTI-FARMER LAWS AND POWER BILL    

The fundamental demand of the SKM is the repeal of the three anti-farmer and pro-corporate laws rammed through undemocratically by the BJP central government in Parliament in September 2020. Along with it is the withdrawal of the Electricity Bill 2020, which will greatly hike power tariffs not only for farmers but for all rural and urban consumers in the country. Immediately after passing the three Farm Acts, the BJP central government forced through the four anti-worker and pro-corporate Labour Codes through Parliament. It hurriedly did this during the Covid pandemic, under the illusion that workers and peasants would not be able to come out on the streets to oppose them due to the pandemic. The Modi regime was obviously acting at the behest of both Indian and foreign corporates, and also US imperialism.

The magnificent November 26 All India Strike led by the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) which was responded to by millions of workers (both organized and unorganized) and employees, and the November 26-27 All India struggle led by the SKM which mobilized millions of peasants and agricultural workers throughout the country, were a tight slap in the face of the BJP regime. On top of that came this historic farmers struggle on the border of the nation’s capital itself. The cardinal importance of this November struggle was that it was a glorious manifestation of worker-peasant unity in action. Both the working class and the peasantry of India supported each other’s demands against their common enemy, the BJP-RSS central government. The November struggle of the working class and the peasantry also proved yet again that it is only united class struggle that can effectively combat communal, casteist and divisive conspiracies.   

The three Farm Bills were first introduced as ordinances on June 5, 2020. They were immediately denounced by most of the farmers’ organizations in the country. The very first nationwide protests against them were led by the AIKS on June 10. On Quit India Day, August 9, 2020, millions of workers and peasants came out on the streets of India to oppose them. The three bills were ‘passed’ through subterfuge in the Rajya Sabha, in the teeth of opposition by CPI(M) MPs K K Ragesh (Joint Secretary, AIKS) and Elamaram Kareem (Vice President, CITU) and other opposition MPs.

Immediately thereafter, the CTUs gave a call for massive protest actions on September 23. The AIKSCC gave a call for massive road blockades all over the country on September 25. Millions of workers and peasants came out on the streets. It was right after this that the AIKSCC gave a call for ‘Chalo Delhi’ along with a nationwide struggle on November 26-27. The CTUs also gave a call for an All India Strike on November 26. On October 26-27, an important AIKSCC physical working group meeting was held in Delhi, which invited many other organizations from Punjab, Haryana and other states. They all eventually formed the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is jointly leading the current struggle.   

CALL TO BROADEN AND INTENSIFY THE COUNTRYWIDE STRUGGLE

The central leadership of our class and mass organizations has been visiting the venues of the farmers struggle at the Singhu and Tikri borders regularly to pledge active support. They include AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah, president Ashok Dhawale, finance secretary P Krishna Prasad, joint secretaries K K Ragesh, MP, and Badal Saroj; CITU general secretary Tapan Sen, president K Hemalata, secretary A R Sindhu; AIAWU general secretary B Venkat and joint secretary Vikram Singh; SFI general secretary Mayukh Biswas; and many others. Our class and mass organizations in both Punjab and Haryana, and also in Delhi, are making valuable contributions in all ways to this crucial struggle.          

At the current juncture, it is vitally necessary to broaden and intensify the struggle all over the country. Five Left parties, along with secular parties like the NCP, RJD and DMK, have issued a joint statement supporting the farmers’ struggle, and more are likely to follow suit. The AIKSCC has called for widespread mass actions all over the country from December 1.

The AIKS has given a call to states around Delhi for increasing their participation in the struggle, for nationwide road blockades on December 3 and a week-long struggle in different forms from December 3 to 10. The CITU, AIAWU, AIDWA, DYFI and SFI have actively supported this call. The Nation for Farmers, led by P Sainath, Dinesh Abrol and many others, which was formed in several cities to support the massive AIKSCC Kisan Mukti March in November 2018, has swung into action and is mobilizing intellectuals, literary figures, cultural artistes and many others in support of this historic farmers struggle against the neo-liberal policies of the powers that be.