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More expressions of solidarity, more external media attn and public interest are needed for the longest, largest protest in history.
Punjab = breadbasket of India. The work of these farmers directly supports lives in one of the world's most populous countries. #FarmersProtests https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1356694884615340037
Punjab = breadbasket of India. The work of these farmers directly supports lives in one of the world's most populous countries. #FarmersProtests https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1356694884615340037
In a nutshell:
- Farming makes up nearly 15% of India’s $2.9 trillion economy and employs 59% of its 1.3 billion people
- Farmers are demanding the withdrawal of three new laws that benefit big business at their and their workers' expense
... cont'd
- Farming makes up nearly 15% of India’s $2.9 trillion economy and employs 59% of its 1.3 billion people
- Farmers are demanding the withdrawal of three new laws that benefit big business at their and their workers' expense
... cont'd
- Government insists reforms will allow big retailers to buy directly from growers, will benefit farmers and draw investment to the farm sector
- Government has offered some concessions but has ruled out abandoning the reforms
... cont'd
- Government has offered some concessions but has ruled out abandoning the reforms
... cont'd
- Government has employed a similar series of tactics - media & internet blackouts; stoking communal mob violence against minority protesters; police violence - as it did when dealing w 2019 protests of the controversial citizenship law that discriminated against Muslims.
- Internet shutdowns & recent arrests of journalists covering the protests provoke increased concerns of internal and external observers about press freedom in India, as well as the increasing fragility of India's democracy.
Last week, several government Opposition parties jointly condemned Government's treatment of protesters, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response "arrogant, adamant and undemocratic."
On-the-ground estimates of the death count during the months-long protests to be at 147. No official numbers have been released yet.
Wondering "how long is long?":
- Aug 2020: small scale protests started in Punjab.
- end Sept: Farm union protests across India
- end November: First protesters marched from their fields to Delhi, accompanied by a country-wide strikeof 250M people.
- Aug 2020: small scale protests started in Punjab.
- end Sept: Farm union protests across India
- end November: First protesters marched from their fields to Delhi, accompanied by a country-wide strikeof 250M people.
Since, sev waves of farmers marched to join #FarmersProtest (many sites ac Delhi).
Wondering "how large is large?" (a recent video of one of the sites: https://twitter.com/simran/status/1356719888769953792
Wondering "how large is large?" (a recent video of one of the sites: https://twitter.com/simran/status/1356719888769953792
This story links to other crucial topics -- climate crisis, alarming rates of farmer suicide over the last decades. It fits into patterns of legislative violence in many countries against the very communities & people that get food from fields to tables.
And, in India in particular, there is a clear gender based analysis to consider, as 85% of rural women are engaged in farm work. Women's mobilising has a crucial place in both farming and the #FarmersProtest.
Finally, if you've made it this far... thank you for reading. If you found any of the above information useful, please consider RT'ing and liking. The flow of news we receive here is being purposefully interrupted, but this is an issue that affects us all, farmer or not.
