The death of a young farmer in clashes with the Haryana police on Wednesday has added an emotional dimension to the agitation that farmers have been staging for over a week. According to reports, the farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, died in a tear-gas shell explosion at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday. Many other farmers were injured. Thousands of protesting farmers have camped at Khanauri and Shambhu after being stopped by the Haryana police from proceeding to Delhi on their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march. They have resisted tear-gas attacks, rubber bullets, water cannons, intimidation, and other high-handed measures. The government has also unleashed a propaganda campaign against the farmers and their supporters.
The farmers have paused their agitation for two days after the young farmer’s death. The tragic event is a wake-up call for both sides to intensify efforts to break the deadlock over the farmers’ demands, which include a legal guarantee for procurement at the minimum support price. Four rounds of talks have been held between the government and the farmers, but no progress has been made. The farmers have not accepted the government’s offer to introduce MSP for cash crops and to purchase pulses (tur, urad and masoor), maize and cotton crops at the MSP for a five-year period. So they decided to continue the agitation, and a confrontationist situation has developed now. The Haryana police have claimed that 12 of their personnel have been injured in the skirmishes.
The government has invited the farmers for a fifth round of talks. Both the government and the farmers should exercise restraint to ensure that the situation does not go out of control and there is a conducive atmosphere for a constructive dialogue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the government was “committed to fulfil every resolution related to farmers’ welfare”. The Prime Minister always harps on the welfare of the farming community. But the government is not allowing the farmers even to stage their democratic protests and is using force and coercion to stop them. The Haryana police even invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against the farmers, though it was later withdrawn. Force and intimidation would only increase conflict and tension and it could lead to more untoward incidents.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) held a meeting of more than 100 farm union leaders from across the country and decided to observe Friday as a ‘black day’. It has also announced a tractor march to Delhi on February 26 and other protest programmes in the coming weeks, including a one-day event in Delhi on March 16. Escalation can only worsen the situation and make resolution more difficult. The government must allow protests so long as they are peaceful. The farmers must realise that democratic protests and negotiations mean that compromises are necessary. Both sides must speak and act in ways that ensure that the other side can trust them.