In the midst of the unprecedented Covid crisis in India, more than 200 academics, trade union leaders and activists from Canada, US and elsewhere sign statement of solidarity with the farmers and people of India

VANCOUVER - It is no longer news that India is in the grip of a Covid catastrophe caused by criminal acts of omission and commission by the national Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Modi.  

Disregarding science and concerns expressed by numerous epidemiologists and other medical experts,they allowed millions to gather for religious ceremonies and held election rallies of thousands across several states. The solidarity statement recognizes that the current covid situation is the most recent example of callous disregard that this government has shown for the people of India, ever since they came to power in 2014. The statement calls on the Indian government to

 

  • IMMEDIATELY REPEAL the farm laws passed in September 2020 so the farmers can protect themselves from COVID and return to their homes, secure in the knowledge that their families’ futures are not jeopardized.
  • RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS being held under draconian laws and now also facing COVID infection
  • PROVIDE FREE COVID-19 VACCINATIONS for all in India 

The farm laws referred to were passed in September 2020 by the Modi government, without consultation or debate in the midst of the first wave of the Covid pandemic. This farmers’ movement is the largest and longest non-violent peaceful protest in world history. It is entering an unprecedented sixth month. The farmers oppose these laws because they will empower corporations to seize their land, jeopardize their livelihood and deepen the agrarian crisis facing the country. 

Since November, hundreds of thousands of farmers have camped at the borders of the capital New Delhi, in the bitter winter cold and now, the searing heat of summer, despite police tear gas, water cannons and barricades. Several hundred of them, young and old, men and women, have perished due to weather, disease, police violence and traffic accidents.  Many have been injured by vigilantes of the ruling party. Yet the struggle continues and grows. 

But the Modi government does not budge. With the current wave of Covid, it is feared the government will opportunistically invoke public health and attempt to demolish the camps.  While the farmers know the health risk they face by staying encamped, they remain resolute because it’s a devil’s bargain between the threat of covid or farm laws that spell death for them.

The farmers’ protest has garnered amazing support from all sections of Indian society and outside the country as well. In Canada, city councils from Vancouver to Brampton, along with many Canadian labor organizations, including Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Federations of Labour, and UNIFOR, have passed resolutions or issued statements in support of the demands of the farmers. 

“In the last few weeks, the world has watched in horror as thousands die in India because of COVID-19 and lack of oxygen in hospitals. Yet despite the risks, myriad Indian farmers and farm workers continue their protest. They have no option if they are to save their lands and their livelihoods,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “On behalf of the Canadian labour movement, I call on the Indian government to repeal the agriculture laws so that farmers and farm workers can safely return home.”

The SIGNATORIES Say: RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS being held under draconian laws and now also facing COVID infection. FREE COVID-19 VACCINATIONS for all in India aged 18 and above.

 

Feroz Mehdi, Alternatives International, Montreal, Canada

Catherine Pappas, Alternatives, Montréal, Canada

Mohammad Imran, Retired, NJ, USA

Patrick Farbiaz, PEPS-Pour une Ecologie Populaire et Sociale, Paris

Dolores Chew, Marianopolis College, Montreal, Canada

Sophie Toupin, University of Amsterdam, Montreal/Amsterdam

Ishita Tiwary, Concordia university, Montréal, Canada

Richa Nagar, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Dipti Gupta, Dawson College, Montréal,Canada

Cory Legassic, Dawson College, Montréal, Canada

Rahul Varma, Teesri Duniya Theatre, Montreal , Canada

Prashant Keshavmurthy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Afshan Nasseri, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Sid Shniad, founding member, Independent Jewish Voices Canada

Jooneed J KHAN, Journalist and Writer, Montreal, Canada

Jaswant Guzder, child psychiatrist, Montreal, Canada

Chiara Letizia, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Bindu T Desai, Albany, CA, USA

Robert Apter, Retired UAW Local Rep, New York, NY, USA

Lakshmi Sharma, Montreal, QC, Canada

Jody Freeman, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Bill Skidmore, Carleton University (Retired), Ottawa, Canada

Anita Lal, Poetic Justice Foundation, Canada

Carmen Jensen, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Pasha M. Khan, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Adrienne Piggott, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Sadeqa  Siddiqui, IMA Quebec , Montreal Canada.

Robert Hornsey, President,Bergthorson Academy of Musical Arts, Maple Ridge, Canada

Malcolm Guy, International League of Peoples’ Struggle, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Niti Sharma, Richmond, B.C., Canada

  1. V. Ramana, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Lavanya Narasiah, MD MSc, McGill and Sherbrooke University, Quebec, Canada

Steve Orlov, playwright, Montreal, Qc

Omer Morad, Montreal, QC    .

Sushil Handa, Saint-Lambert, Quebec

Gilles Sabourin, Saint-Lambert, Québec

Daniel Guerrier, ancien délégué national Service civil international, France

Christiane Baril, Longueuil, Québec, Canada

Amrit Krishnan, Montreal, Québec, Canada

Vijay Kolinjivadi, University of Antwerp, Montréal/Antwerp

Caroline Kunzle, Montreal, Québec.

Debdeep Chatterjee, Concordia University, Montreal

Julie Vig, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Ayesha Vemuri, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Darin Barney, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Freda Guttman, Independent Jewish Voices, Montreal, Canada

John Price, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

Gracy Fernandes -Haiti

Prashant Olalekar – India

Vinod Mubayi, Insaf Bulletin, New York, USA

Penni Mitchell, Herizons Magazine, Winnipeg, Canada

Anne Caines, RECAA, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Judy Wong, Canada

Salman Kureishy, Mississauga, Canada

Burç Köstem, Montreal, Quebec

Samir Gandesha, Director, Institute for the Humanities, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Denise Nadeau, Concordia University, Montreal

Carrie Rentschler, McGill University, Montreal. Canada

Ian Angus, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

Jessica Fontaine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Stephen Aberle, Independent Jewish Voices member, Vancouver, Canada

Andrew Stuhl, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Rana Khan, Working for Change, Toronto, Canada

Mark Stiles, Stiles Associates Inc., Ottawa, Canada

Sana Ahmad, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

David Barsamian, Alternative Radio, Boulder, CO USA

Koushik Ghosh, Central Washington University, WA. U.S.A.

Radhika Desai, President, Democracy, Equality and Secularism in South Asia (DESA), Winnipeg, Canada

  1. Desai, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group (GERG), Canada

 Nicole Ranganath, UC Davis, US

Jyotsna Vaid, College Station, TX, USA

Jeremy Isao Speier, Artist, Vancouver, Canada

Jerry Dias, Unifor President, Canada

V.K. Tripathi, New Delhi, India

Carolyn D’Cruz, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Svend Robinson, Former Member of Canadian Parliament, JS Woodsworth Resident Scholar 2020-21, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

Rami Katz, Vancouver, Canada

Glenn D’Cruz, Deakin University, Melbourne

Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, Centre de Creation O Vertigo, Montreal, Canada

Aparna Sundar, Toronto, Canada

Chantale Ismé, Montréal, Canada

Roopjit Sahota, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Tanveer Sahota, Simon Fraser University, Burnany, Canada

Navkiran Poonia, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Jaspreet Singh, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Dilsher Athwal, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Canada

Kishore Gajbhiye, Mumbai, India.

Gurman Sahota, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Jean-Claude Icart, sociologue, chercheur autonome, Montréal, Canada

Harjaap Singh, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Anjali Choksi, Dawson College Montreal, Canada

Saleha Athar, Toronto, Canada

Patricia Gruben, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

Sadaf Rathod, UMass, Amherst

Madhumita Dutta, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Geneviève Rail, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Chinnaiah Jangam, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

Anthony Dias, SJES SAsia, Delhi

Prabhjot Parmar, SANSAD (South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy), Vancouver, Canada

Natalie Kouri-Towe, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Norma Rantisi, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Sharanjit Kaur, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Kris Foulds, The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford, BC Canada

Olivia Daniel, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC Canada

Mo Dhaliwal, Poetic Justice Foundation, Canada

Renel Exentus, doctorant en études urbaines, Montréal, Canada

Alain Saint-Victor, historien, Montréal, Canada

Hassan Yussuff, President, Canadian Labour Congress, Ottawa, Canada

Stephen von Sychowski, President, Vancouver and District Labour Council, Vancouver

Ian Rocksborough-Smith, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada

Gian Sihota, VP Richmond South Centre Constituency Exec. BC, Canada

Stefan Kipfer, York University, Canada

Ilan Kapoor, York University, Toronto, Canada

Sima Aprahamian, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University, Canada

Kajri Jain, University of Toronto, Canada

Rachel Berger, Concordia University, Canada

Bianca Mugyenyi, Director, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute

Dimitri Lascaris, lawyer, journalist, activist

Antonio Torres-Ruiz, Centre for Critical Development Studies, University of Toronto, and Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guillaume Bernardi, Drama Studies Program, Glendon College, York University.

Steven Bush, Senior Lecturer (rtd), University of Toronto, Canada

Bhavani Raman, University of Toronto, Canada.

Prabhjot Parmar, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada

Sedef Arat-koc, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

Katharine Beeman, Alternatives, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Evelyn Mondonedo, PINAYQuebec, Canada

Radhika Desai, President, the Society of Socialist Studies, Canada

Sejal Lal, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Vancouver, Canada

Radhika Mongia, York University, Toronto, Canada

Mustafa Koc, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

Ravindra K. Jain, Retired, JNU, India

Amanda R. Shankland. Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Rachel Portinga. Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Navjotpal Kaur, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s NL Canada

Marie Boti, Women of Diverse Origins, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Maria Worton, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

E McLean, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Kora Liegh Glatt, Victoria, BC, Canada

Ambrose Pereira, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

May Chiu,Montreal, Québec, Canada

Barbara Parker, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Bertrand Guibord, Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain – CSN, Montréal, Québec

Eric Shragge, Immigrant Workers Centre, Montreal, Quebec

Bryan Dale, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Monika Korzun, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Ryan J. Phillips, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Lionel Fernandes, Ontario, Canada

Omar Latif, Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians, Toronto, Canada

Nilambri Ghai, Ottawa, Canada

Dominique Daigneault, Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain – CSN, Montréal, Québec

Christine Marrewa-Karwoski, Columbia University, NY, US

Malcolm Blincow, Retired, York University, Toronto, Canada

  1. Doreen Fumia, Associate Professor Emeritus, Sociology, Ryerson University, Canada

Michelle Smith, Dawson College, Montreal, Quebec

Aziz Choudry, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Stefan Christoff, Artist, community organizer and student

John DMello, PEACE, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, US, 33410

Nazila Bettache, MD CM, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Canada

Odile Hélier Paris France

Waheed Mukaddam, Cambridge, MA,  US

Jean Swanson, Councillor, City of Vancouver, Canada

Mei-ling Wiedmeyer, MD, CCFP, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Shireen Hamza, History of Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US

Antonio de Jesus, Centre for Philippine Concerns, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Vijay Puli, South Asian Dalit-Adivasi Network (SADAN)

Robyn Andrews, Massey University, NZ

Kamala Visweswaran, Rice University, Houston, TX

Elena Razlogova, History, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Martha Stiegman, Environmental & Urban Change, York University, Toronto, Canada

Lauren Kepkiewicz, Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

Lorelei Hanson, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Canada

Francis Cody, University of Toronto, Canada

Rajee Paña Jejishergill, NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Jennifer Chew, Montreal, Canada

Elaine Power, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Kelly Tracey, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Between the Lines, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Larry Brown, President, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), Canada

Andrea Yovorsky, EcoTrust Canada, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, Canada

Syeda N Bukhari, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Ravneet Sidhu, Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada

Iris Yellum, South Asian Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US

Clarisse Wells, South Asian Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US

Catie Peters, American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US

Anelyse Weiler, Sociology, University of Victoria, BC, Canada

Richard Swift, New Internationalist Magazine

Harnek Dhaliwal, Punjabi Literary and Cultural Association, Winnipeg, Canada

Mukhtiar Singh (Retired), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Donna Denina, International Women’s Alliance, Seattle, WA US

Amélie Nguyen, Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO)

Caroline Quesnel, Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN)

Paritosh Kumar, Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

Marie Stuart, Montréal, Québec

Marguerite Kephart, Montréal, Canada

Sheetal Lodhia, Toronto, ON, Canada

198 Shree Mulay, St. John’s NL, Canada

Maurice Dufour, Montreal, Qc

Bhajan Gill, Secretary, Progressive Cultural  Association, Calgary, Canada

Harcharan Singh Parihar, Editor, Sikh Virsa, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Vrinda Narain, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Kaleem Siddiqi, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Harbans Singh, Editor, Sarokaran Di Awaaz, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Gurcharan Brar, Punjabi Cultural Association of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Gurvinder Gill, Secular People’s Association, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Dr. Shaheen Ansari, Arkitect India, New Delhi

Mritiunjoy Mohanty, CERIAS, UQAM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Jodi Koberinski, SSHRC Doctoral Fellow, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Nancy Sears Barker, teacher, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

211.Jonathan S. Barker, professor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Laird Cronk, President, BC Federation of Labour, Vancouver, Canada

Sussanne Skidmore, Secretary Treasurer, BC Federation of Labour, Vancouver, Canada