Editorial, "FARM LAWS (2020) AND FARMERS' AGITATION," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 December 2020, Vol. 16, Part 2, No. 23 issue

FARM LAWS (2020) AND FARMERS’ AGITATION

That the recently enacted three farm laws to facilitate the free trade of agricultural produce all over India as also to promote the private/corporate sector’s role in this arena, were resented by a large section of the people one always knew but it was beyond anybody’s guess that it would snowball into so large an agitation blockading the national capital Delhi. In one sense it is a welcome development in that the farmers have bravely stood on their feet and defiantly marched for their just demands in this regard, but, in another sense, it is quite disturbing too as it is very much infested by Khalistani separatists so far as the main Punjab detachment is concerned and the farmers in rest of India seem to have not much grievance or fury against these laws though several farmers/organizations there also did/are seeking to add fuel to the fire. The protests organized in some big cities of the US and the West point to the role of the Khalistanis supported by Pakistan in this regard. All of us know how badly we suffered due to the Khalistani terrorist menace in the 1980s and are shocked by the extremist declarations of reaching the present PM Modi the same ‘fate’ as suffered by our former PM Indira Gandhi. To quote from the preamble of one of these farm acts, it is said these are “to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers’ produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels; to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade and commerce of farmers’ produce outside the physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various State agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.” Not a wrong or unjust motive, but in this editor’s opinion these suffer from two main lacunae – one, the assurance of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to agricultural products of many varieties (not just the 23 or so notified so far), including perishable goods, has to be incorporated in these laws with an undertaking by governments to purchase at least 50% of the produce at MSP from the farmers if so necessitated. Secondly, the States’ sovereign rights and powers should be protected/promoted by suitable amendments to let them levy duties on imports/exports of agricultural produce to/from their states. Otherwise the present quasi-federal structure of the country itself may be seriously jeopardized by fissiparous tendencies. §§§