Chandigarh: Ever since farmers began their protests against the Union government’s controversial farm laws, the Haryana government – under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) – has been hostile towards them.
The use of water cannons and tear gas by the Haryana police in order to stop a group of farmers from Punjab making their way towards Delhi in November last year is still fresh in the public’s memory.
As negotiations with the BJP-ruled Union failed and the call for a public boycott of BJP and JJP leaders in Haryana gathered steam, the state government’s reaction only worsened. Nearly 140 FIRs were registered against farmers in the last one year, many using serious charges under the Indian Penal Code including sedition.
But the latest Karnal episode – which brought the ruling dispensation to its knees – is a clear signal that farmers can’t be taken down with force and lathis. After all, this is the region that produced stalwarts like Chaudhary Charan Singh and Chaudhary Devi Lal, who dominated regional as well as national politics solely with the support of the farming community.
“When in 1978, then Prime Minister Morarji Desai expelled Charan Singh from the Janata Party government, Devi Lal, then the Haryana chief minister, stormed the national capital with thousands of farmers in support of Charan Singh. A month later Charan Singh was back in the Janata Party government,” recalled Professor Sampat Singh, late Devi Lal’s close aide, while speaking with The Wire.
“The farmers’ movement has a huge legacy in this region.The current dispensation of the BJP-JJP government is mistaken if they think that they can silence the farmers by force. The more they use force against them, the more they emerge stronger,” he said.
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He said several Haryana politicians from across party lines claim that they are carrying forward Devi Lal’s legacy.
“Had he been alive today, he would have never tolerated this kind of treatment of farmers in the state. He wouldn’t have thought twice about giving up his chief ministership or sacrificing his government for the cause of the farmers. That is the legacy he commands, which is very difficult to follow even for those who belong to his family,” said Singh.
Government on the back foot
When the Haryana police lathi charged farmers holding protest before chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited his constituency, Karnal, on August 28, the BJP-JJP government’s message was loud and clear: they won’t tolerate any more ‘obstructions’ from farmers.
Khattar’s unapologetic stand a day after police action in Karnal left 10 farmers injured (including one who reportedly died of a heart attack a day later) made it amply clear that the government is not showing any solidarity or even patience with the protestors.
It was therefore not a surprise when Khattar publicly defended Karnal’s sub-divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha, who was caught on camera instructing the police to “break the heads” of farmers on the day of Khattar’s visit to Karnal.
For months now, leaders of the ruling BJP and JJP were virtually unable to appear in public or hold any official or party-level functions due to protests by farmers. On several occasions, the leaders had to cancel their trips, making them helpless despite being in the government.
Khattar’s Karnal visit on the day farmers were beaten was important, as the party had scheduled a meeting of all its main party workers to make preparations for the upcoming panchayat elections in the state. A report in the Indian Express on September 1 suggested that the government’s change of strategy comes ahead of the coming panchayat polls, with the two ruling parties worried about not being able to address public meetings or campaign.
As the ruling alliance has already faced a string of electoral defeats in the shape of municipal elections and the Baroda by-poll, the alliance can’t afford a poor performance in the panchayat elections. Such a loss would only cement the perception that the alliance is losing grassroots popularity.
The panchayat elections have been due since February this year but weren’t scheduled, perhaps given the state government’s apprehensions about the outcome if they were held during the farmers’ protests. It is well known that the BJP is facing anger because of how it has handled the farmers’ issue.
Coming back to the Karnal episode, at a time when the Khattar government had firmed up its stand against farmers, the chief minister’s own city, Karnal, turned into another farmers’ ‘chawani’ (cantonment) by the first week of September.
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The videos and pictures of farmers facing police lathi charge and soaking in blood went viral, and subsequently flared up sentiments of the farming community in the region, prompting them to congregate in Karnal in a big number. Sinha’s remarks did the rest.
Like the Singhu and Tikri borders, where farmers are camping since November last year, farmers set up tents in Karnal, announcing that wouldn’t leave if their demands to suspend Karnal SDM Sinha, take action against cops involved in lathi charge and compensation for the family of the farmer who died of a heart attack were not met.
The government finally caved in on September 11, when it decided to send Sinha on forced leave and order a judicial probe into the incident, ensuring adequate action against those found indicted in the report.
While the BJP-JJP government is not facing an immediate threat, and JJP leaders have ruled out any move to back out of the government despite pressure from farmers’ union leaders, the immediate challenge for the government is to hold the panchayat election.
There are chances that farmers will mobilise voters against the government on the issue of the farm bills and create hurdles for the BJP and JJP during the campaign and rallies.
Whether the ruling parties are able to out-manoeuvre farmers will be interesting to watch.
Farm protest is not ordinary event, has nationwide impact: Birender
While Khattar has said repeatedly that the farmers’ protest is politically motivated and not all protesters are farmers, former Union minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, Chaudhary Birender Singh, who is among the tallest farm leaders in Haryana, told The Wire that the ongoing protest is not an ordinary event. It has a nationwide impact, he added.
“The reason why the agitation is alive is not because of some leaders or political party guiding them. It is basically the apprehension of the farmers that they will become landless if these three farm laws are implemented. This is what is fuelling the agitation and no word can put their apprehension to rest,” said Birender.
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He added that if somebody is under the impression that this agitation will end soon, they are mistaken. “Ganga ka paani kabhi sukhaya hai kya, jo yeh agitation khatam ho jayega bhai (Has the water of the Ganga ever gone dry? Then how will this agitation end)?” said Birender
“My assessment is that if this agitation is prolonged, it will not be in the best interest of the farming community, the government or the nation,” he added.
On how this matter can be resolved, he replied that he can only give his opinion, since he is no longer part of the BJP government. “I believe that dialogue is the only way to resolve the matter. Both sides must resume talks and bury their differences.”
He brought up the assembly elections in five states that are scheduled for next year. “Retaining Uttar Pradesh is very vital for the BJP government. I presume that in light of these polls, there may be some movement towards finding a solution to the current logjam between farmers and the government,” he added
“Some amicable solution must come before it is too late. The farmers are already planning for a long haul till 2024. If that happens, it is not in anyone’s best interest of anyone.”
Vivek Gupta is a Chandigarh-based reporter who has worked for several news outlets including The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and The Tribune.
