FARMERS PROTEST

The 2020-2021 Indian farmers protest is an ongoing protest against 3 farm acts which were passed by the parliament of India in September 2020.

More than half of India's 1.3 billion population work on farms, but agriculture contributes to only about a sixth of the country's gross domestic product. Farmer unions and their representatives have demanded that the laws be repealed and will not accept anything short of it. So far, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are holding firm against the protesters, arguing that the laws will give farmers more autonomy,  allow better marketing and remove regulatory barriers. Economists have far pointed out that India needs agricultural reforms but the issue is tough to handle.

Farmers have been protesting against 3 farm laws published by the government. The protests have mainly been led by farmers from Punjab. The Supreme Court of India has suspended the implementation of the laws and constituted a committee. The executive cannot proceed with the implementation of the laws yet. Farmers in have blocked roads and railway tracks on Friday to protest three new legislations, which they claim could pave the way for the government to stop buying grains at federally-fixed minimum support prices (MSPs), leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by agribusinesses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed the bills, recently approved by Parliament, as historic reforms, which will open up agricultural markets, giving more options to farmers other than notified market yards to sell their produce.

In the initial years, APMC Acts helped remove malpractices and freed the farmers from the exploitative power of middlemen and mercantile capital.