Farmers Agitation

South Asian activists burn copies of unjust Indian laws on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday

On the night of Friday, January 15, the members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together to reject controversial Indian laws . To mark the 92nd birth anniversary of the towering US civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burnt copies of the contentious Indian farming law, besides Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the draconian Unlawful[Read More...]

Indian Farmers on the Frontline Against Global Capitalism

In a short video on the empirediaries.com YouTube channel, a protesting farmer camped near Delhi says that during lockdown and times of crisis farmers are treated like “gods”, but when they ask for their rights, they are smeared and labelled as “terrorists”. He, along with thousands of other farmers, are mobilising against three important pieces of farm legislation that were[Read More...]

Admiral Ramdas Appeals The Government To Repeal The Farm Laws

I am Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Chief of the Naval Staff . I served the country in Uniform for 45 years and came straight to this village from Delhi after retirement. First of all let me begin by offering shraddhanjali to all those who have paid with their lives during these two months of peaceful protests camping in the bitter[Read More...]

For Farmers’ Movement, This Time is Ripe for Consolidation, Not Confrontation

The ninth round of talks between the farmers’ movement and government representatives on January 15 again did not yield any breakthrough, but kept some hopes alive by scheduling a next round of discussions—the tenth one—for January 19. In the meanwhile the farmers’ unions and organizations will be deliberating on the course of actions during the next few days. As they[Read More...]

Encroaching Identity

During the hearing of the farmer movement, the Supreme Court expressed concern towards the elderly and women and asked them to withdraw from the movement which is revealing the court patriarchal mentality towards women as well as the movement.  Supreme court is directly trying to disturbed unity and organization of the movement. Chief justice of India said That “We do not[Read More...]

International Support Continues for Protesting Farmers in India

On 5 January, British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wrote a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to convey to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “heartfelt anxieties” of MPs’ constituents (many emanating from Punjab) regarding the treatment of protesting farmers in India. The letter was signed by more than 100 MPs and Lords and had cross-party support. Dhesi stated that[Read More...]

Reason Wounded—Government and Judiciary Miss the Essence of Farmer Protests

The stalemate in resolving key issues relating to farmers’ movement continues, even though millions and millions of people in the country want the prolonged stalemate to end on a note of satisfaction for farmers. Although attempts are being made repeatedly to depict the farmers as being unreasonable and obstinate, in fact they have displayed remarkable maturity as well as foresight[Read More...]

No time to ‘celebrate’ on Supreme Court’s stay on three farm laws

The Supreme Court has been unusually aggressive with the government on the three farm bills. The Chief Justice of India made tough talking about this and said that he is going to form the ‘expert’ committee and will stay the implementation of the bill. And today, the court decided that a four member panel will speak to the farmers and[Read More...]

Vigil for dead farmers held outside Indian Visa and Passport application center

South Asian activists came together on Sunday, January 10 in Surrey, to remember more than 60 farmers, who have laid down their lives during the ongoing agitation in India. Organized by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the vigil was in protest against the recent deaths of farmers who have been holding a demonstration near New Delhi to press upon[Read More...]

A Non-Partisan View of Farmers’ Movement

The ongoing farmers’ movement in India has evoked strong feelings on both sides. This has been praised to an awesome extent; on the other hand very unfair criticism has been inflicted  on it repeatedly. It will be useful at this stage to attempt an unbiased appraisal of this movement. Strengths of Movement The most persistent demand of this movement for[Read More...]