(uplifting music) - [Anchorman] Thousands
of farmers in India are blocking highways and
holding massive protests. (farmers chanting in foreign language) Demonstrators clashed with police as they try to reach the
capitol of new Delhi. This is the second major
tussle between farmers and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's government just months before national elections. So here's what's behind the protests, and what they reveal about the challenges India faces to transform its economy. - Farmers in No
rthern India
began marching towards Delhi on February 13th, and they have a couple
of different demands. The biggest one, the most important one, is that they want the government to act as kind of a guarantee
for more crops that they grow. Right now in India,
there is something called a minimum support price. That really helps farmers
when prices crash, and they know that the
government will step in to buy, at least for rice and
wheat, some of their crop, and that can help them cover their costs
, and is a protection for a lot of farmers. But the problem is that
other kinds of crops don't get that same benefit. So the farmers and the government have been meeting several times in attempt to get the
farmers to go back home, and right now they're camped out around the borders of different states. The government doesn't
really want to extend this legal guarantee to
other kinds of crops, and the reason being that it does actually cost quite a bit of money to do that. So they had come up with
an
offer to guarantee buying for a few crops that the
farmers were talking about, and only to do it for maybe five years. So basically they're offering
more of a short term proposal, and the farmers were not
really happy with that. They felt like it really
wouldn't give them the kind of security
that they're looking for. This is actually the second confrontation between the government of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the farmers. In late 2020, farmers protests ended up lasting more than a ye
ar. There is some interconnections
between these farm protests and the overall plans for the economy. Some people say that there
are unusually large number of people in India still today
very dependent on farming. And usually when countries
grow and develop, many people come out of farming and then they go into other
kinds of jobs in cities. And this happened in China,
this happened in the US, so we've seen that happen
all over the world. This is something that's really important for the governm
ent. They talk about it a lot. They talk about jobs, and
they talk about the challenge of making India into a
different kind of economy, just a much bigger economy. They want other kinds of
jobs to take the place so that people are not so dependent on the vagaries of farming. What some economists say is that that is not happening fast enough. We are seeing investments,
and we are seeing factories, but India would need to create
millions and millions of jobs 'cause it has so many young people. In
dia is expected to go to
the polls in April and May, and farmers probably felt
that this would be a good time to put some pressure on the government. (farmers chanting in foreign language) Farmers are possibly one
of the most important political forces in India. There are some 260 million people working as farm workers in India. That's a very big number of
people that depend on this. I think that the
government would be worried from that perspective. They wouldn't want it to become
snowballed in
to something. And I think from what we
saw from the last time, nobody expected those
protests to go on for a year. So I'm sure that the
government is very keen to try to find a compromise and work their way out
of this with the farmers. They would be really keen to show that they indeed are
trying to work with them. (tranquil music)
Comments
Farmers are also demanding withdrawal of all free trade agreements with all the countries and withdrawal of INDIA from World Trade Organisation
If the US government started an offer of minimum support price on Corn then you would have everyone growing corn across the USA. Why bother with anything else? Everyone will abuse their environment and land for Max productivity and dump the harvest on the government while there is no use for much of the corn due to over-production. This also while you will be importing oil seeds and other farm products as so much of domestic capacity is wasted. This is exactly the story in India.
55% of indian population is doing farming which basically neans many r unemployed and agricultural systems in india is very very inefficient. We need more modern approaches to farming. Punjab is turing into a desert
Farmers are also asking for a monthly salary and once they reach 60 they want the government to pay them pension. Suggestions on how to end the protest in the replies would be appreciated 😊
30% of what government buys will rott in warehouse. These farmers should diversify.
Majority of farmers have no problem with new farm laws. Only the farmers of 3 out of 29 states are protesting. But since New Delhi is bufferred between these three states, they are able to create more impact on national and international media. Most Indian farmers support, in fact need, new farm laws. All economists agree on that. It is disheartening to see such important reforms being held off by this.
AS A LITERATE INDIAN WE ABSOLUTELY KNOW WHO IS FUNDING THIS PROTEST AND GUESS WHAT ITS NOT OUR OPPOSITION PARTY...KEEP DOING..THE MORE THEY DO THE MORE WE GET STRONGER ADVANCED AND KNOWLEDGABLE AND INCREASES THE APPROVAL RATING..WE STARVED FOR NEGATIVE FORCE TO PUSH US.
as you said there are 100 million farmers in india but only few thousand are protesting from 2 states particularly, they want more tax money, they also want pensions after the age of 60 from the government. The hardworking workers should subsidise the losses of the farmers of a particular state and pay for their retirement pensions or else they will block all the highways to the capital and cry persecution when arrested
This idiocracy should stop. If the farmers think that they can hold the government hostile because the elections are nearby they're really mistaken. They shouldn't forget which party is ruling and what all things they're capable of.
"quite a bit of money "? , 98lakh crore is a frikin LOT
They are not genuine farmers but politically motivated; why are farmers from only one state protesting, not from others? They are not only demanding MSP for all crops but also want an increase of up to 50%, which is not feasible. The Constitution grants equal rights to all citizens, so tomorrow auto rickshaw drivers and all industrial workers could also demand minimum guaranteed income.
A standing ovation is well-deserved; the dedication and talent displayed are truly extraordinary.💚
Not farmers for sure
Set design transcends being a mere backdrop; it's a character enriching the narrative's essence.😘
Why is WSJ presenting a protest by Sikh farmers alone as “India unrest”? Narrative much?
Stay strong, Indian farmers! 💪 Keep fighting for your rights.
Indian govt wants market forces to decide prices of farm products, to get politics out and make the farmers richer. Agri reform will add 3% growth to GDP every year with Agri reforms. Farmers from Punjab. Eastern UP and Haryana want this. Farmers in 25 other states are not asking for this! Ask reporters to to see the positive side of reforms too, even though WSJ has a bias against anything in India. 😡😡
Farmers from specific community and region are protesting who have become addicted to subsidies and free money.
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Missed out a lot of key information