Why are the farmers protesting again?

Around 25,000 farmers, largely from Punjab, Haryana and UP, are headed to Delhi with a list of 12 demands…

Transcript

00:00Delhi chalo.

00:06Thousands of farmers who have marched towards Delhi want 12 things.

00:15They want the government to make a law that would guarantee a good price at which it buys crops from the farmers.

00:21They also wanted all their debts waived off, a pension for them and the farm labourers,

00:26fair compensation and transparency during land acquisitions.

00:29Electricity prices to be regulated.

00:32Other employment and produce-related policies.

00:35And they wanted the country to freeze all free trade agreements.

00:39Additionally, the farmers are also asking for stricter punishment for those responsible

00:44for the Lakhimpur Kheri killings of 2021 and compensation for those who died during the earlier protests.

00:50The calls for Delhi Chalo started at the end of December 2023.

00:59Back in 2020, lakhs of farmers crippled the capital for 13 months to protest against the three proposed farm laws.

01:15So what were these three laws?

01:17These laws allowed farmers to sell their produce to any licensed trader at a mutually agreed price,

01:23made provisions for contract farming to be able to freely market their produce

01:28and freed food grains, pulses, edible oils, onions and other such items for trade,

01:33with an exception during extraordinary circumstances.

01:36Although the Centre said these laws were to liberate the farmers,

01:40the farmers feared the corporatisation of agriculture

01:44and that these laws could leave them vulnerable to exploitation by big companies.

01:48The protests, which saw massive violence, economic losses to businesses and residents around Delhi

01:54and transport disruptions, lasted till 2021, until the laws were repealed.

02:08Back to the current protests, the Kisan Mazdoor Mocha and the Samyukt Kisan Mocha non-political,

02:14which were the two factions largely leading the march, emailed their demands to the government on February 6.

02:19Two days later, three central ministers met some of the farmers in Chandigarh.

02:24They met again on 12 February as the Haryana government began sealing its borders with Punjab.

02:35A massive 12-layer barricade was set up at the Shambhu border.

02:39Several other borders were also barricaded around Haryana and Delhi,

02:42and over 50,000 security personnel were deployed.

02:49On the day of Delhi Chalo March, 13 February, chaos erupted at some of these barricades

03:01as farmers tried to make their way through.

03:03The determined farmers said they would continue to protest and attempt to march to Delhi

03:08until all their demands were met.