Why do the Indian farmer protests matter?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2021
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It has been called the world’s biggest protest. In November 2020, thousands of farmers marched to New Delhi to protest against new laws that the Indian government says will modernise farming. The farmers set up camp in and around the capital, blocking major highways. Over 50 days later they are still there, in spite of freezing temperatures. Even after the Supreme Court stayed the laws until further notice, the farmers say they aren’t budging until they are repealed completely. They say these reforms will strip them of protections they’ve enjoyed for decades, resulting in lower prices and ruined livelihoods.
Kavita Puri hears why the protests matter for India’s millions of farmers, for the future of the country’s crisis-ridden agriculture, and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With contributions from agricultural policy expert, Devinder Sharma; Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, Sadanand Dhume; Professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Jayati Ghosh; and BBC correspondent Soutik Biswas.
Presenter: Kavita Puri Producer: Viv Jones
(Women farmers form a human chain during the protest against the new farm laws, January 18 2021 at the Delhi borders in India. Credit: Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the inquiry on the BBC World Service with me, Kavita Puri. |
| 0:08.0 | Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:15.0 | It's evening on the outskirts of Delhi and temperatures are hovering at zero. |
| 0:22.0 | Jigindus Singh is wearing a traditional krutobajama, |
| 0:26.0 | the puffer jacket over the top to keep up the cold. |
| 0:29.0 | He's 75. |
| 0:31.0 | His beard is long and white, his wrinkles deeply etched into his face. |
| 0:37.0 | He's sitting in a makeshift camp, many, many miles away from his home. |
| 0:43.0 | He's there, he says, |
| 0:45.0 | to demand his rights as a farmer |
| 0:47.0 | and protest against government laws he believes |
| 0:50.0 | will threaten his way of life. |
| 1:00.0 | He's a former soldier in the Indian Army and says he's not afraid of the cold. He'll stand his ground until the government give in. |
| 1:05.4 | Juginda is one of many thousands of people who are part of a protest movement |
| 1:10.8 | against three new farm laws recently passed by the Indian government. |
| 1:15.0 | They would affect over 40% of India's working population who live off agriculture. |
| 1:22.0 | A recent Supreme Court ruling set up a committee to |
| 1:26.2 | arbitrate between the government and the farmers. Over 50 days into the protest the farmers don't look like they're giving in. |
| 1:37.0 | So this week on the inquiry we ask, why do the Indian farmers protest matter? |
| 1:45.0 | Part 1, not budging. |
| 2:00.0 | We have seen young girls painting poetry in favour of farmers. We have seen young girls playing music for the sake of farmers. |
| 2:05.4 | This is Devinder Sharma, a leading agriculture expert based in Delhi. |
... |
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