Mumbai: Around 10,000 people marched towards Azad Maidan in Mumbai on January 16 in support of India’s farmers battling the three agriculture laws forcibly passed by the federal government.
The farmers’ supporters walked from Islam Gym to the protest point at the call of a coalition of people’s and peasant’s organizations. The organisations put up “Mumbai with Farmers” hoardings all over the city for the mass mobilization from 2 to 4 pm.
Teesta Setalvad, secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and a renowned journalist, commended the farmers camping on Delhi borders for awakening the people of India. She reminded Azad Maidan rallyists that every Indian citizen needs to stand united in this struggle for food security and people’s rights because farmers.
“Farmers, who put all their efforts in the land, are all too aware of what happens when agriculture is corporatized. Our farmers are adivasis (indigenous people,) Dalits, OBCs, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. And so, we need to stand together,” said Setalvad.
She termed the farmers’ protests on the “borders” in Delhi as historic as it poses a political challenge to the policies of the regime. Punjab farmers who challenged the British with the Pagdi Sambhal Jatha in the late 1800s are today challenging the 21st century version of neo colonization.
Similarly, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) founder Raju Shetti applauded the assembled Mumbaikars for promising their solidarity with farmers.
“They call us annadaatas. But these annadaatas have been forced at the border of Delhi like beggars for near two months now. India’s farmer cannot enter the national capital to assert his own right. What Independence is this? For whom is it?” said Shetti.
Speaking exclusively to SabrangIndia, Shetti said that the three laws have been thrown upon farmers under the false claim that farmers themselves demanded these laws. Instead of these laws, he said that farmers want the legalization of Minimum Support Price (MSP) that it not accessible to all farmers.
He warned that the government was spreading a false narrative that this is a farmers’ struggle when in reality both farmers and poor people would suffer under these laws due to its impact on food security.
When asked whether the government was likely to listen to farmers, Shetti said that the alternative would lead to results similar to 1980s when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi tried to silence farmers.
Other organization that attended the rally included Mumbai Aman Committee, All India Ulema Council, the National Alliance of People’s Movements, Hum Bharat ke Log, the All India Banjara Samaj, the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Brigade.
Along with state leaders, three farmer leaders from Punjab Amarjit Singh, Mukesh Chandar Sharma and Jangbir Singh Chauhan also attended the Mumbai protest in decrying the three laws and demanding the rights of farmers.
The leaders thanked the people of Mumbai for assembling in the “economic capital” of India and showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi that every state in India opposed the three laws as opposed to the false narrative of it being a Punjab-Haryana agitation.
“This is the country’s struggle. [Union Home Minister] Amit Shah kept making laws as per your wishes. We kept silent. But now that 78 percent of people’s lives are under threat, then the entire nation has stood against you. You are stealing food from the poor!” said one of the leaders.
They also condemned the government for selling public sector undertakings to the private sectors.
Source: sabrangindia.in