The farmers’ protest in Haryana’s Kurukshetra has emerged as a significant movement, drawing attention to the challenges faced by agricultural communities and their demands for fair treatment and policy reforms.
By blocking the highway leading to Delhi, farmers have made a powerful statement, highlighting their concerns and seeking a resolution to the issues plaguing the agricultural sector.
Context:
The protest in Kurukshetra is part of a broader nationwide movement that began in late 2020.
Farmers, primarily from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, are voicing their dissent against three contentious agricultural reform laws introduced by the Indian government.
These laws aim to liberalize the agricultural sector, but farmers argue that they could threaten their livelihoods by weakening the existing support systems.
The Blockade:
Farmers in Kurukshetra strategically chose to block the highway connecting Haryana to Delhi as a means to gain attention and pressurize the government to address their concerns.
This blockade has disrupted the movement of goods and people between the two states, causing inconvenience but also serving as a potent symbol of resistance.
Demands and Grievances:
The farmers’ main demands include the repeal of the three farm laws, the assurance of minimum support prices (MSP) for crops, and the withdrawal of proposed amendments to the Electricity Amendment Bill.
They argue that the new laws favor corporations over farmers and fear that the dismantling of the MSP system could leave them vulnerable to exploitation.
