Monday 10 December 2018

Massive farmers’ march highlights India’s apathy towards agriculture sector

Among other things, the farmers are asking for loan waivers and better prices for their produce
All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) members and Farmers Protesting at Parliament Street fro their various demands in New Delhi. PHOTO-DALIP KUMAR
Latest News: On the night of November 29, 2018, as many as 100,000 farmers from all over India arrived, via trains and tractors, in New Delhi, the country’s capital. The next day, tens of thousands more marched to the parliament to draw the Central Government’s attention to the deepening agrarian crisis and resulting farmer suicides. Among other things, the farmers are asking for loan waivers and better prices for their produce.
The two-day long protest, called the Kishan Mukti March (Farmer’s Freedom March), was led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a joint platform of about 150 farm organizations, formed in June 2017. A press release published on the website Dilli Chalo (Let’s go to Delhi) explained that successive governments have failed to address the demands of millions of farmers. The group accused the authorities of ignoring the farmers’ plights, saying their apathy has turned into increasingly brutal antipathy.
The farmers’ charter of demands includes the passing of two bills in parliament, which have the potential to relieve their predicament — the Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018, and the Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill, 2018.

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