India withdraws controversial land reform that sparked mass protests | International

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced the decision to repeal three laws behind the controversial agrarian reform that sought to liberalize the sector but was considered unjust by farmers. Great struggles for almost a year. “Today I am going to tell you and the entire nation that we have decided to repeal the three agricultural laws,” Modi said in a televised speech, turning one of the measures that generated more opposition during his tenure.

The Prime Minister explained that the constitutional process for repealing the three laws would begin later this month, “when the winter session of Parliament begins.” “We could not convince a section of the farmers. There may have been something wrong with our efforts, ”Modi acknowledged in an extraordinary gesture, saying his party, the BJP, had relied on a majority in parliament to pass controversial laws, regardless of what the opposition considered.

However, many analysts who gathered this morning agreed that the extraordinary retreat of the Indian government could be marked by the proximity of important regional elections to broader agrarian factions opposing the reforms in states such as northern Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

It is noteworthy that Modi chose to make this announcement today, the memorial day of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, the founder of a religion that led the struggles in the agricultural state of Punjab. “Today is Prakash Parvez (Guru Nanak’s Memorial Day), this is not the time to blame anyone,” Modi said, lamenting that a farmer did not understand the benefits of agrarian reform. To a sector that is highly dependent on assistance. One of the leaders of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi of the historic Congress Party, celebrated on Twitter today how “the nation’s food producer defeated the arrogance of power”.

A year of protests

One day after the first anniversary of the mobilization, Indian farmers have already threatened the government earlier this month that they will intensify their protests if all three laws are not withdrawn by November 27. However, Rakesh Dekoit of the Indian Peasants’ Union (BKU), one of the key leaders in the struggle, today warned the government not to disperse their protests “until the laws are repealed in parliament”. .

Tensions between the Indian government and farmers have already been rising in recent weeks, especially after the October 3 protests in northern India and the killing of at least eight people as a result. Conflict between BJP government politicians and farmers. In November last year, farmers began their struggles against three laws that, in their opinion, would leave producers without a guarantee of protection at the mercy of a free market.

The Indian government, however, says it is trying to give farmers the ability to negotiate prices and production directly with buyers without restrictions or intermediaries. The parties held a negotiation process earlier this year and said the government was ready to make some changes in the laws, but these talks failed as farmers demanded a total repeal.

After several months of protests, the Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the reforms last January and set up a panel to discuss the impact of the measures. One of the most important days of these protests took place on January 26, Republic Day, when a tractor march in the capital erupted into clashes between protesters and police, killing at least one person and injuring hundreds more.

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