Adopting Satyagraha, farmers’ protest should go on: Patkar

Patkar said while many question the need to sit on dharnas and the problems faced due to the protest on roads, the role of the agitation by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha is to not only repel the three farm laws but also to prevent such moves of the Centre that affect many.

“Revolutionaries like Birsa Munda struggled for land rights. But after seven decades since Independence, a farmer is compelled to commit suicide every 17 minutes in our country. If this does not move you to the core…for the ones who give their sweat and blood for your comfort, then standing up for them is a food for thought for us,” she added.

Patkar said there is no space for debates in Parliament. “It is not just an issue of farmers but also of labourers, women, Dalits and Adivasis. The laws will affect every individual associated with agriculture and its branches. We all need to stand collectively to save the democracy.”

Farmers have two crucial demands: they want to be free from the weight of debt and get the correct rate for their produce, Patkar said. She highlighted that the new farm laws aim to privatise and corporatise the agriculture sector which would not only affect the farmers, but also the consumers.

Seema Kulkarni, founding member of the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management, Pune, who was also present at the event, said: “Women are in majority when it comes to the labour required in farming. Women are out on the streets and alongside their male counterparts on tractors, because the farm laws affect them too.”