National

Farmers' Fury Bends Govt Out of Shape

The channels between the protesting farmers of Punjab and Haryana and the Central government finally opened on January 19, when the Centre invited the farmers to discuss their demands at a meeting in Chandigarh on February 14. Following the intervention, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a fast-unto-death since November 26, 2024, agreed to take medical aid. However, his fast continues. The farmers have been protesting at the borders of Punjab and Haryana since February last year, demanding that the government bring their earlier promises on legalising a Minimum Support Price to fruition. The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) have been at the forefront of these protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders respectively. During this time, nearly 32 farmers have lost their lives, including 22-year-old Shubhkaran Singh, who was killed by a bullet at the Khanauri border, when the police clamped down on protestors heading towards Delhi on February 21, 2024. Three farmers—two at Shambhu and one at Khanauri—took their lives to protest the Centre and state governments' apathy towards the farmers' predicament. Though there were political differences between the various farmer unions earlier, Dallewal's hunger strike and the introduction of the New Agricultural Policy draft by the Centre have once again brought them together, responding to the urgency of the situation.