Farmers end 15-month protest, Christians among those rejoicing

By Jose Kavi

New Delhi, Nov 9, 2021: Farmers in India on December 9 announced the end of their historic protests, making their supporters in the country, including Christians, euphoric.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, (SKM, United Farmers Front), that led the protests against three controversial farm laws and other issues, told a press conference in New Delhi that the 15-month protest would end on December 11 and farmers would return home from the Delhi borders.

“It is a big victory for the farmers, whatever may be the political compulsions for Prime Minister Modi,” says Indian Missionary Society Father Anand Mathew, who had in January come to the Delhi borders with some Catholic priests and nuns to show solidarity with the protesting farmers.

The farmers’ victory “is an inspiration and tremendous encouragement for those of us who are on the path of Satyagraha,” says the activist priest, who organized a series of protests, rallies and meetings on the farmer’s issue in Varanasi, his base in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

John Dayal, a veteran journalist and a leader of the All India Catholic Union, says united protests can force the government to negotiate favorably. “But the core of the protest must be visibly strong with unprecedented resources. The big Sikh and Hindu Jat farmers provided this core,” he told Matters India.

The farmers called off the protests a day after the federal government sent a written draft proposal to the SKM’s five-member committee in response to their November 21 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The prime minister surprised the nation by announcing the repeal of the farm laws on November 9, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, whose followers from a major group among the protesting farmers.

The farmers letter had pointed out that repeal of the farm laws was only one of their several concerns. The farm laws were subsequently repealed in the parliament.

The federal government also has agreed to form a committee to decide another demand of the farmers – the minimum support price for their farm produce. The committee will comprise government officials, agriculture experts and SKM representatives.

The government has also agreed to drop all police cases against farmers in connection with violent clashes with security forces in the past several months.

Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have given in-principle agreement to compensation for farmers who lost their lives, and Punjab has already made an announcement, the federal government’s letter says.

The Bill on electricity will also be introduced only after consulting all stakeholders, including SKM, regarding the sections that affect farmers, the government proposal said.

Father Mathew, who had spent a winter night with his companions in small tents on the Delhi borders, now salutes the farmers for their courage, dedication and patience. “This protest has been a unique one, because of the determination of the farmers to carry on with a strong faith in non-violence,” the priest told Matters India.

Father Mathew justifies the farmers’ protests against the farm laws, which he termed as “pro-capitalist, pro-affluent and anti-democratic.”

Presentation Sister Dorothy Fernandes, who had also joined the farmers on the Delhi borders, says they have “have given a loud and clear message of what is possible if we are united in purpose and not afraid to pay the price.”

The national secretary of the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, an advocacy group for Catholic religious, described the farmers’ stir as “the longest and greatest historical protest in the entire world.”

The farmers succeeded because of their clarity of thought and meticulous organization of people and resources, she told Matters India.

The protests have made “significant contribution to the meaning and understanding of struggle in a peaceful democratic manner,” said Sister Fernandes, who is based in the eastern Indian city of Patna.

Her forum was among several Catholic groups that had backed the farmers, despite the silence of official Church bodies such as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and the Conference of Religious India, the national body of major superiors of Catholic nuns, brothers and religious priests.

The hundreds of thousands of farmers, mostly from northern Indian states, camped at four borders of the national capital from November 26, 2020, to demand repeal of the farm laws.

“There was determination and sense of purpose. They were not just jumping on the bandwagon. Loss of lives of their brothers and sisters did not deter them from their goal. Instead, it only strengthened them and encouraged them to keep going,” Sister Fernandes said.

Around 700 farmers had died during the protests.

Ignatius Gonsalves, president of the Indian Catholic Press Association, too welcomed the farmers’ decision and said their success has “reinforced my faith in the ordinary Indians, 80 percent of them living in villages.”

The Catholic lay leader, who is also a veteran journalist, hailed the farmers’ “unparalleled grit, wisdom and prudence. When needed, they are capable of rising as one, transcending all kinds of differences. Now I believe that our democracy and our Constitution are safe in their hands.”

Gonsalves congratulates the prime minister and his government for apologizing to the farmers and repealing the farm laws. “Despite the alleged political intentions behind, it indeed is a heroic act to bow before the “People Power,” he adds.

He wants a section of Indian media to apologize to the farmers for painting them as anti-nationals. The farmers’ agitation and its victory have “underlined the potency of nonviolence and the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi one again,” Gonsalves told Matters India.