1

THE FARMER’S MOVEMENT OF 2020:

BACKGROUND, CAUSES, AFTERMATH.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

By Daksha Gole
SAP ID: 81012200184

Supervisor
Dr. Arun P A

SCHOOL OF LAW, SVKM’S NMIMS (Deemed to be University)

NAVI MUMBAI
November 2022
 2

Declaration

I declare that this written submission represents my ideas in my own words and where others'
ideas or words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original
sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity
and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my
submission. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action
by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have thus not been
properly cited or from whom proper permission has not been taken when needed.

Daksha Gole
SAP ID: 81012200184

Date: 03/11/22
 3

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank SVKM NMIMS School of law, our college, for giving me the
opportunity to write a sociology research paper. Dr. Arun P.A also merits particular mention
since he has guided me through every step of drafting this research paper. I couldn't have
produced a research paper that was as perceptive and interesting without his help.

The SVKM NMIMS School of law, and, my seniors, who helped me in several ways when I
was preparing my research paper, also merit my gratitude. Special mention should be given
for the provision of library resources access that enabled me to write the paper with credible
information. Through this research, I have gained a lot of knowledge about the topic. I
believe that this study will aid readers in understanding the topic more thoroughly.
 4

INDEX

CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

Abstract, keywords, list of 5

abbreviations

Introduction, statement of purpose, 6-7

research objectives

Literature review 8

Findings/ analysis 9-10

Conclusion 11

References 12-13
 5

ABSTRACT:

In the early June of 2020 when India was grappling with Covid- 19 pandemic, the Union
Government enacted 3 legislations relating to agriculture. These new laws were with the
intention of expanding the farming sector to an increased commercial arrangement, which
could buy, store and even decide through contract farming what crops to grow. They were
collectively implemented in order to give away the traditional practices and framework of
agricultural practices in India. Farmers, especially from the North-Western region of India
thought of these laws as a danger to their livelihood, because a lot power went into the hands
of the private and corporate sector of the society. Since the enactment of these bills, a lot of
protests have arisen which went on for a period of more than a year. These protests received a
widespread support from not only the people of India but also from the people all around the
world. Rallies were organized all over the world and international celebrities such as
Rihanna and environmental activist Greta Thunberg extended support. Surviving the chilly
winters of Delhi when the temperature went down to 1-2 degree Celsius to sitting in the
blazing hot sun of the summer, the farmers protested it through all. This research aims to
provide a holistic tour d'horizon on the farmer’s movement- from the bill’s enactment to the
causes that led to such a major outcry by the ‘Annadata’ [the one who provides for food] of
the nation.

KEYWORDS:

India, protest, farmers, farm laws, violence.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS:

● APMC- Agricultural Produce & Livestock Market Committees.

● MSP- Minimum Support Price
● AIKS- All India Kisan Sabha
 6

INTRODUCTION:

In the year of 2020, the Indian farmers had a tight blow on their back by the introduction of 3
farm laws by the Union Government. These laws were particularly in favour of the huge
corporate giants and were discriminatory towards the practices of traditional farming system.
They shifted the government run agricultural sector into a privatized administration. The
farmers of India survived the tough weather conditions by living in trollies and built
temporary camps at Delhi borders. They performed hunger strikes and organized massive
rallies. A whole lot of more than 500 farmers have died in the process due to the tough living
conditions. Women also played a very important role. They also set up camps at the Tikri
border. A majority of older women left their homes and accompanied their husbands at the
protests. These protests also brought in front a huge amount of police atrocities too. The
farmers were lathi charged and water cannoned. Many of them lost their lives in seeking
justice and demanding their rights. These protests took a heavy toll on their lives but in the
end their hard work paid off in November of the year 2021, after one year to this nationwide
protest.

To give a context, 3 farm bills were passed in September of 2020 which were as follows:

I. THE FARMERS’ PRODUCE TRADE AND COMMERCE (PROMOTION AND

FACILITATION) ACT, 2020. (Farm Laws Explained: What Are the Three Agri
Legislations and Why Farmers Opposed Them, 2021)3
This Act seeks to give farmers freedom to sell their products outside the notified APMC
market yards [mandis].

II. FARMERS (EMPOWERMENT AND PROTECTION) AGREEMENT ON PRICE

ASSURANCE AND FARM SERVICES ACT, 2020. (Farm Laws Explained: What Are
the Three Agri Legislations and Why Farmers Opposed Them, 2021)3
This Act gave the farmer’s the right to enter into a contract with agribusinesses, firm
processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for the sale of future farming
produce at a pre-agreed price.
 7

III. THE ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2020 (Farm Laws

Explained: What Are the Three Agri Legislations and Why Farmers Opposed Them,
2021)3
This law seeks to remove commodities like pulses, cereals, edible oilseeds and oil,
onions and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and will do away with the
imposition of stock holding limits on such items except under ‘extraordinary
circumstances’ like war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave
nature.
Nationwide protests took place after the introduction of these acts. Road blockages and
‘Dharnas’ [a mode of compelling payment or compliance, by sitting at the debtor's or
offender's door until the demand is complied with] were held near the Singhu and Tikri
borders of Delhi. The purpose of this research is to analyse the different events that took
place in this entire farmer’s protest. It aims to find the cause of these events and the
conclusion that they came to.

1) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The purpose of this research is to analyse the different events that took place in this
entire farmer’s protest. The farmer’s movement was one of the longest protests India has
ever witnessed. In this protest, a lot of lives were lost for the purpose of one authority
of the farmers that is their right on their own crops. The farmers knew that if big
corporate entities were to replace the APMC Mandis, it would lead to price exploitation.
They would’ve had no choice but to bend their knees below the giants and agree to
whatever price suits the private companies. The implementation of these laws would
also lead to the loss of Minimum Support Price[MSPs]. All this exploitation would lead
to losses which the farmers could not bear during the time of such an unforeseeable
pandemic. This research aims examine all these events and come to a conclusion of it.

2) OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH:

Following are the 2 objectives of this research:
i. To study the fact that in order to stop a mob of people from protesting, was the use
of violence, the right thing to do. Analyzation of the Lakhimpur- Kheri and the Red
Fort Republic Day incident.
 8

ii. Understanding the concept of MSP, to scrutinize the entry of private corporate
giants and them replacing the traditional APMC mandis.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

A. Farmers' Protest Ends: A Story of Struggles and Solidarity by THE QUINT ON

YOUTUBE. (The Quint, 2021)7
This video on you-tube shows the ground level of the farmer’s protest. It shows the real
people involved in the protest. The interviewer questioning them how they feel about
their demands been finally met and the feeling of going back home. In this video, people
are elated about the farm rules been reprimanded but are at the same time sad about the
fact that they will now have to their leave their temporary camps which had become a
home for many. These people had dinners together for an entire period of 365 days and
had now become a one big family. People back home were waiting for their family
members to come back and now after such a huge struggle these people could finally go
back to their sweet abode.

B. The Farmers’ Struggle Against the Three Farm Acts: A Participant’s Memoir by Vijoo
Krishnan. (Krishnan, 2022, 60 )4
This piece of literature gives an entirely different perspective about the farmer’s
movement for a learner. Vijoo Krishnan is the Joint Secretary of the All-India Kisan
Sabha[AIKS]- the farmer’s wing of the Communist Party. It tells us about the real-life
struggle of the farmer’s during the movement. He talks about how these 3 farm laws are
anti-farmer and pro-corporate. In this article he does a comparative study of similar
instances in the past in which he gave his personal contribution. There is also a mention
of international unity, wherein people from all over the world have joined hands for this
mission. He is resilient about his goal and is very affirmative about the fact that they will
succeed with flying colours.
 9

FINDINGS/ANALYSIS:

THE AREA OF DISPUTE FOR THE FARMERS

Many of the Punjab farmer’s organisations were aware of what was going to happen, despite
the fact that there had been no serious talks with the farmers' organisations in the province.
Some of them had even participated in earlier meetings on the matter that had been organised
by the central government, when they had voiced their opposition to the alterations that are
being proposed to the framework of agricultural marketing. The farmer’s organisations in
Punjab were quick to reply when they learned about the proclamation of the ordinances after
they had been passed into law. They examined them thoroughly, clause by clause, and
virtually without exception reached the conclusion that they were unacceptable. Nearly all of
them came to the conclusion that the new legislation was enacted with the intention of easing
the way for the participation of large corporations in agricultural endeavours. The system
known as the MSP would be terminated once they were put into effect. Local farmers would
eventually lose their fields as a result of the unrestricted access to agriculture that was offered
to large investors through markets and contract farming.

Farmers are concerned that if certain limits on the storage of food grains were lifted, major
corporations would be able to purchase vast quantities of the commodities and store them in
their warehouses. The reality that some Indian corporations had already started building these
kinds of warehouses only served to reinforce their worst fears. The provision contained in the
newly enacted laws which permit private players to acquire food grains directly from the
farmers, so avoiding the involvement of local intermediaries, will eventually make it difficult
for the local mandis to continue existing in their current form. They anticipate that the prices
that the corporates will provide in the beginning will be greater than those that the arhatiyas
(commission agents) and other buyers in the mandis have given. These would be an even
greater increase than what was officially reported to be the MSP. On the other hand, this
situation would only persist until the arhatiyas closed their stores. Once the arhatiyas were no
longer available, the farmers would be forced to enter into contractual relationships with the
private buyers, at which point they would be need to take advances from the buyers and
would eventually become locked in cycles of debt. This would eventually lead to them ceding
their land to corporate interests, if not de jure, then de facto at the very least. (Krishnan,
2022, 60)4
 10

THE LAKHIMPUR-KHERI INCIDENT

Eight persons were killed in violence at this protest location. Four farmers, Nakshatra Singh
(55), Daljeet Singh (35), Lavepreet Singh (20), and Gurvendra Singh (18), were allegedly
killed when vehicles drove over them during a protest on the Tikunia-Banbirpur route,
according to the farmers' bodies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp confirmed four
deaths. Allegedly, demonstrators surrounded the car they were riding in and dragged the
occupants out before lynching them.

Union minister Ajay Misra Tenis' son Ashish, the protesting farmers said, was in one of the
vehicles that ran them down. Teni, the father, denied his son had anything to do with the
incident. Teni and his son each claimed to have evidence of Ashish's honesty. After the car
they were riding in flipped around due to stone pelting by the agitators, Ajay Misra Teni was
quoted by news outlets as alleging that some members among the protesters beat three BJP
employees and a driver to death. (Lakhimpur Kheri: A Brief History of Eight Deaths, 2021)5

Videos showing the visuals of this miserable incident circulated on the internet. It displayed
the farmers been run down by this huge jeep like car and people running helter-skelter.
These farmers who were peacefully protesting were run down and in the sprint of a moment
were killed. Violence never prevails in such sticky situations and this incident is a clear
example of it. Even if the provocation was from any of which sides, it led to loss of life and
brought a halt on the entire movement. Families were affected of those who were dead and
this disrupted the entire motive of this protest.

Another example of violence turning life threatening is when the farmers marched towards
the Red Fort on the 26th of January. Despite government opposition, police in central Delhi
granted a rally by farmers' condition that it not interfere with the Republic Day parade. The
farmer participants in the tractor rally were given predetermined routes that kept them on the
city's boundaries. As the parade ended, however, tractor convoys stormed the city centre,
pushing over police lines. Protesters managed to break through security and climb atop the
walls and domes of the old Red Fort, where they flew flags alongside the national flag. Some
of the bloodiest fighting happened at a major intersection on the way to central Delhi, just by
the ITO metro station. Farmers were seen attacking police with sticks and metal bars in the
footage, causing the police to respond with tear gas and batons. (Red Fort Violence: Delhi
Police Detain 200 After Farmer Protests, 2021)8
 11

CONCLUSION:

In a video statement on November 19, 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that
his administration would be abolishing the three legislations during the approaching winter
parliamentary session in December. In his statement, he expressed disappointment that his
government had not been able to persuade farmers to support the bill by explaining its
benefits to them. In honour of Guru Purab, the government has decided to do away with three
agricultural laws. These farmers who were protesting for their rights since a year and a few
months finally returned home with a victorious attitude.

A crucial component of India's democratic system is the guarantee of its people's liberty to
assemble and demonstrate without resorting to violence. It is also the responsibility of the
government to safeguard civilians from potentially violent demonstrations; nevertheless,
certain fundamental principles must be kept in mind at all times. At both the national and
state levels, the government needs to start giving serious consideration to implementing
police reform. The state and central police forces must always keep in mind that they are
working for, protecting, and defending the population regardless of whatever government or
political party is now in power. Citizens can be sure that even if a civil protest turns violent,
police forces will restore public peace and order in a lawful, legal, and constitutional manner
if efforts are made to resolve problems arising from the politicisation of the police force. This
can be ensured if efforts are made to resolve problems arising from the politicisation of the
police force.
 12

References

1. Arora, T. (2021, February 17). International organisations support Indians farmers:

NYT carries full page declaration | SabrangIndia. Sabrang India. Retrieved

November 4, 2022, from [Link]

support-indians-farmers-nyt-carries-full-page-declaration

2. Bhardwaj, M. (2021, September 9). Explainer: How Indian farmers' protest turned

into a country-wide movement. Reuters. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from

[Link]

wide-movement-2021-09-09/

3. Farm Laws Explained: What Are the Three Agri Legislations and Why Farmers

Opposed Them. (2021, November 19). News18. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from

[Link]

[Link]

4. Krishnan, V. (2022, April 28). The Farmers’ Struggle Against the Three Farm Acts: A

Participant’s Memoir. Review of Agrarian Studies, 12(1).

[Link]

5. Lakhimpur Kheri: A brief history of eight deaths. (2021, October 4). India Today.

Retrieved November 4, 2022, from [Link]

kheri-a-brief-history-of-eight-deaths-1860566-2021-10-04

6. Patnaik, P., Grenfell, O., Kampmark, B., Janson, J., Torbat, A. E., Marques, N.,

Khawaja, M. A., Prashad, V., Baroud, R., Faheem, F., Dogra, B., Hunziker, R., Alam,

M., Kanagasabai, T., Negi, B., Gohain, H., Dasgupta, S., McCoy, A. W., Klikauer, T.,

… Lieberman, D. (2021, October 9). Farmer’s Agitation: A Unique Movement in

India’s History. Countercurrents. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from

 13

[Link]

history/

7. The Quint. (2021, DECEMBER 11). Farmers' Protest Ends: A Story of Struggles and

Solidarity. YouTube. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from

[Link]

8. Red Fort violence: Delhi police detain 200 after farmer protests. (2021, January 27).

BBC. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from [Link]

india-55817628

9. Singh, S. (2022, June 10). The Farmers’ Movement Against Three Agricultural Laws

in India: A Study of Organisation. Review of Agrarian Studies, 12(1), 60.

[Link]