The local government has been tough on the protesting farmers over the past week, says Konniger. “In the beginning they used tear gas and water cannons. That led to a lot of commotion among the population, who are sympathetic to the farmers. Now it is quieter and there are also talks between the government and the protesters.”
The Modi government and pro-government media are now trying to blame opposition parties for the demonstrations and violence, claiming that they have incited farmers with fake news. In addition, they point out that many of the activists are Sikhs, from the state of Punjab.
“It is suggested that they are terrorists who want to secede and establish their own state,” said Konniger. “But that’s not the case with this demonstration. It doesn’t work either. Truckers also want to join the protest from next Tuesday, out of solidarity.”
Favoritism
Prime Minister Modi has been known since taking office in 2014 as a nationalist and authoritarian politician, targeting the country’s Hindu majority at the expense of minorities such as Muslims and Sikhs. But economically, he can be called more neoliberal, says Konniger.
“He believes in progress by giving industry as much space as possible. For example, during the lockdown he weakened laws to protect environmental and labor rights for the benefit of the industry.”
Modi’s critics say his policies are more like cronyism, favoring a few friendly industrial parties in exchange for political support. It is therefore the fear of many farmers that their rights will not be protected by this law at all, “says Konniger.” They cannot compete with the dominance of large multinationals that set prices.
The old system, with the government markets, was not perfect, according to Konniger. “Farmers did not always earn a good price, and there was a lot of corruption. But many farmers still think that was the best way to get a somewhat fair price for their goods.”
Unsustainable monoculture
Yet opponents of Modi also see that something must change in Indian agriculture, says Konniger. “The biggest problem is that agriculture is not sustainable now. There are many small farmers who are exhausting their little bit of land. There is a lot of monoculture, while it would help to diversify, grow more crops. An agricultural expert I spoke to suggested to improve and expand the existing system and to set a minimum price for all crops. That promotes diversification and you then invest in all those farming families, who spend their money again and thus get the economy going. “
Scaling up could also be a solution: fewer farmers who have more land at their disposal. But that also poses a risk, says Konniger. “Seventy percent of Indians live from agriculture. Where do those people go? The cities are already overcrowded.”
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