Canada’s WSO Stands With Punjab’s Farmers And Condemns Indian Brutality!

As hundreds of thousands of Punjab’s farmers march on Delhi, Indian police forces have attempted to block their path by destroying roads, erecting barriers and attacking the protestors with water cannons and tear gas.  Indian media outlets have also attempted to vilify the protestors and malign them as extremists. The farmers fear the new laws will reduce their earnings and give more power to corporations. For the last two months, farmer unions unwilling to accept the laws, which were passed in September, have camped on highways in Punjab and Haryana states.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

SURREY – Morally and ethically corrupt Indian government should be ashamed of itself for the brutality and abuse of human rights against peaceful farmers who are rightly standing up for their rights in face of economic terrorism by the state. This is another black mark on the Narendra Modi regime, which is denying peaceful assembly and democratic rights to the people who work hard to feed India.

The World Sikh Organization of Canada said it stands in solidarity with the farmers of Punjab in their protests against the Government of India, which is shoving anti-farmer policies down the throats of the India wide agricultural community. 

The farmers peaceful protests have been met by the brutality unleashed by the Indian security forces who have violently cracked down on hundreds of thousands of farmers from Punjab and other states who are currently marching towards India’s capital, New Delhi.

Since September, Punjab’s farmers have been protesting against the Modi Government’s passing of three agricultural reform laws that dramatically change the procurement system and will bring an end to the Minimum Support Price (MSP).  Farmers are demanding that the government guarantee the MSP in writing in order to prevent exploitation by corporate actors under the new law reforms. 

As hundreds of thousands of Punjab’s farmers march on Delhi, Indian police forces have attempted to block their path by destroying roads, erecting barriers and attacking the protestors with water cannons and tear gas.  Indian media outlets have also attempted to vilify the protestors and malign them as extremists. 

The farmers fear the new laws will reduce their earnings and give more power to corporations. For the last two months, farmer unions unwilling to accept the laws, which were passed in September, have camped on highways in Punjab and Haryana states.

They say the laws could cause the government to stop buying grain at guaranteed prices and result in their being exploited by corporations that would buy their crops at cheap prices.

The government has said the laws are aimed at reforming agriculture by giving farmers the freedom to market their produce and boosting production through private investment.

The farmers began their march to the capital on Thursday to mount pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to abolish the laws, but were stopped by large numbers of security personnel in riot gear on the boundary between New Delhi and Haryana state.

WSO President Tejinder Singh Sidhu said: “We condemn the Government of India’s repression of Punjab’s protesting farmers.  The brutal tactics being used to crush their peaceful protests are reprehensible.  The legitimate concerns of Punjab’s farmers have been ignored for decades and the Modi government’s unilateral changes to the procurement process in September have served as a watershed moment.  Punjab’s farmers have suffered for far too long, leading to an epidemic of farmer suicides and social unrest.  India must address the plight of farmers and not simply respond with brutality.  We stand in solidarity with Punjab’s farmers.  We call on the Government of Canada to play an important role by raising concerns over the treatment of Punjab’s farmers with the Government of India and to call for an end to the violence against them.”

Heading toward New Delhi on tractors and cars, the farmers were again blocked by police at the capital's fringes. This led to clashes between the farmers and police, who used tear gas, water cannons and baton charges to push them back.

In response, farmers used tractors to clear walls of concrete, shipping containers and parked trucks set up by police on roads leading to the capital.

Some protesters also threw stones at the police and waved the flags of farmer unions. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

"We are fighting for our rights. We won't rest until we reach the capital and force the government to abolish these black laws," said Majhinder Singh Dhaliwal, a leader.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged the federal government to initiate talks with leaders of the farmers. Many of the protesting farmers are from Punjab, one of the largest agricultural states in India.

"The voice of farmers cannot be muzzled indefinitely," Singh wrote on Twitter.

Farmers have long been seen as integral to India, where agriculture supports more than half of the country's 1.3 billion people. But they have also seen their economic clout diminish over the last three decades. Once accounting for a third of India's gross domestic product, they now produce only 15 percent of the country's $2.9 trillion US economy.

Farmers often complain of being ignored and hold frequent protests to demand better crop prices, more loan waivers and irrigation systems to guarantee water during dry spells.