People's Democracy

THE agitation by the farmers of Kandela village in Jind district of Haryana made headlines in the media in the recent past. The children, youth, women and the senior members of the farmers families have been blocking traffic since May 19 in front of the village school and the Jind-Kaithal- Chandigarh road remains blocked. Eight farmers have died till now in the agitation facing bullets while dozens more have been injured and many put behind the bars. Repression, police firing and arrests have not been able to deter the spirits of the agitators and the agitation has became more and more aggressive. The government's efforts to crush the agitation have not only failed but also helped in spreading it to newer areas and gaining the sympathy of farmers across the state. This forced the government to initiate negotiations with the agitating farmers. It appears that the BKU leaders and the government are making efforts to resolve the dispute and there are indications of a solution.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) feels that because of the adamant and negative attitude of the government, the situation continues to be tense in Jind district and some areas of Rohtak and Hissar. The main Rohtak - Gohana- Chandigarh road remains closed till today. The government has stopped plying transport buses on the Jind - Bhiwani Road. The police have fired many times and at many places reflecting repressive and adamant attitude of the government. Thousands of women, children, senior citizens and youth have been squatting on the roads under the scorching sun since past twenty-two days. A special feature of this agitation is that women and children are doing sentry duty and no outsider is allowed to reach the place of dharna without full disclosure.

If the agreement reached between the government and the agitating farmers, after the tragic incidents of December 2001, had been honoured, the situation would not have reached such a pass. According to the terms of the agreement, the cases registered against the farmers since 1992 were to be withdrawn and adequate compensation paid to the dead and the injured. The farmers claim that the agreement bears the signature of Ajay Chautala, MP and Jaswinder Sandhu, state agriculture minister.

The present situation is a fall out of the populist promises of providing free water and electricity made by the ruling party during the elections. The government has reacted to the situation by arresting farmers, slapping false cases against the leaders and activists, not implementing the agreement signed by it and arresting leaders called by it for negotiations. The harassment and insults heaped by police on the farmers also appear to have fanned the agitation further. However, the BKU leaders have also behaved illogically during the course of this agitation.

The discontent in the rural areas appears to be because of the policies of liberalisation being pursued by the central and the state governments. This has led to unemployment, declining produce, closing down of industries and market slump. It is in this background that the farmer under the burden of debt has been driven to commit suicide. The confrontation over the non-payment of the electricity bills has only reflected the deep-seated discontentment in the rural areas.

Haryana falls in the green revolution region. Apart from high yielding varieties of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, water and electricity play an important role in agricultural growth. The privatisaton of power and increased electricity tariffs have brought the issue of electricity to the forefront. The farmers of Haryana have resorted to agitations on this issue many times even in the past. These agitations have claimed as many as thirty lives in Bhiwani, Hissar, Jind and Karnal districts. And many had to go to jail. This clearly demonstrates that the farmers cannot be silenced by bullets and lathis but only by resolution of their problems. Had the government realised this in time the police firing on the farmers squatting on the Jind-Bhiwani road on May 29 would not have taken place. On the same day, the police targeted farmers by firing bullets and resorting to lathi charge on the Jind-Panipat road. Despite all this repression the government could not crush the agitation.

Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, formed by various kisan organisations, has been demanding since the beginning of the agitation that the government should find out a solution through negotiations and end the repression on the farmers. The committee has decided to hold demonstrations in all district headquarters so as to force the government to hold negotiations. It is important to mention here that the Kisan Sangarsh Samiti has waged a powerful agitation on issues like against privatisation of power, for providing water, guarantee for procurement of all crops at remunerative prices, freeing the farmers from the burden of debt and adeqaute compensation for destroyed cotton crop. The Samiti has appealed to kisan organisations to unite for joint struggle against the anti-farmer agriculture policies imposed by WTO.