The Indian Farmers’ Protests: A Triumph of Democracy
India’s democracy has gradually yet visibly been eroded in the last decade since the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the incumbent party in power, took office in 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As India looks ahead to the upcoming 2024 general elections, in which the BJP is forecasted to triumph convincingly (Das, 2024), it is vital to reflect on how the world’s largest democracy has increasingly become a shadow of its true self, especially in terms of the democratic values it upholds. Even so, democracy has found a way to stay true to its core principle of serving the will of the people through the effective mobilisation of public pressure.
Within a wider context, under Modi’s regime, secularism has steadily lost its significance in the realm of Indian national politics, which has increasingly emphasised religious differences and fueled religious fragmentation through the advancement of its Hindutva ideology to gain electoral support. The government has also clamped down on free media by using pro-government media as a strategic tool to advance its motives. The build-up to the upcoming elections has worryingly seen the suppression of opposition, with the recent arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with the Indian National Congress’s (INC) halted election campaign due to an income tax case that has frozen its financial assets (The Guardian, 2024). Observedly, these examples illustrate the downfall of Indian democracy over the past few years, a trend that seems bound to continue given the probable re-election of the BJP in the looming general elections.
However, there remain signs that India’s democratic decay may not be irreversible. One of the most significant cases supplementing this optimism is the farmers’ protests of 2020–2021. In September 2020, Indian farmers launched protests in Punjab and Haryana to repeal the Modi government’s introduction of three farm laws. These laws were deemed unfavourable by the farmers, who viewed them as exploitative given that they pushed farmers to sell their produce at a market price directly to private players, such as supermarket chains, and eliminated the existing system of selling produce to government-controlled wholesale markets, called mandis, at the minimum support price (MSP). Eliminating the MSP would hand greater leverage to private entities in negotiations over produce price with farmers while potentially leaving farmers with no backup option in case they could not reach a consensus on the price of their produce.
Despite the onset of widescale demonstrations from farmers, the government held firm on the farm reforms, regarding them as crucial for advancing economic growth through the agricultural industry. Unsurprisingly, a series of unsuccessful negotiations between leaders of the farmers’ union and the government followed. Over the subsequent year, the mobilisation of public pressure, both nationally and internationally, through collective action led to an unexpected reversal of the reforms. Indirect strategies of mobilising public pressure on the government included rail strikes, road blockades, and nationwide protests leading to the closure of commercial establishments along with government and private offices (Al Jazeera, 2021).
Farmers’ Mobilisation of Collective Action – (Ioanes, 2021)
One of the major contributing factors to the far-reaching impact of the protests was the role of the media. Pro-government media, also known as Godi media, actively spread false narratives delegitimising the farmers’ movement, labelling the farmers as Khalistanis, Naxals, and Maoists with the pure motive of creating unrest within the country (Anand & Sharma, 2022, p. 131). Such accusations were detrimental to the initial support for the farmers’ movement but were countered by the rise of independent journalism and media outlets. Independent newspapers such as Trolley Times were established to debunk false narratives regarding the farmers’ movement and create greater awareness for the broader public about the protest leaders involved and the farmers’ deep-rooted concerns concerning the farm laws (Pradeep, 2021).
Intriguingly, in the aftermath of the farmers’ protests, independent journalists had sedition cases filed against them for reporting the protests, a tactical approach by the government to stifle media freedom (International Federation of Journalists, 2021). Despite the attempts of the governing party to suppress independent media, a vital component of democracy, its efforts were visibly unsuccessful, attracting widespread condemnation. In an opinion poll conducted by Gaon Connection Insights (2020) after the beginning of the protests, nearly 52.2% of the mass public opposed the three farm laws passed by the government, illustrating public support for the farmers’ cause.
Opinion Poll on Support for Farm Laws – (Gaon Connection Insights, 2020)
Furthermore, the involvement of external actors beyond the farmers themselves significantly contributed to the success of the protests. The timing of the protests, at the start of September 2020, saw farmers set camp at state borders in the gruelling midst of winter. To provide sustenance, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charity groups such as Khalsa Aid stepped in to maintain the protests over an extended period of time through the provision of essential resources and supplies in addition to the establishment of free community kitchens (Sharma, 2020).
Moreover, popular figures, such as Rihanna, expressed their distress at the government’s refusal to respond to the farmers' demands through social media comments that spread greater awareness of the issue internationally (Al Jazeera, 2021). Award-winning Indian sportspersons also publicly announced their decisions to return their sports awards as a sign of their support for the farmers’ movement and disappointment with the government’s reforms (Ghazali & Pullanoor, 2020). In sum, these developments mounted significant pressure on the government, whose ultimate decision about either repealing or advancing with the reforms would have a notable bearing on its popularity nationally and internationally.
Consequently, the government repealed the farm laws in November 2021, more than a year after protests began, with the introduction of the Farm Laws Repeal Bill in Parliament (PRS Legislative Research, 2021). The reversal of the laws may also be attributed to the onset of state elections, which were held between March and April 2021. This proposition is especially likely given that nearly two-thirds of the Indian population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, meaning a large portion of electoral support depends on the agricultural industry, mainly on farmers. Ultimately, the Modi government’s decision to repeal its farm laws elucidates the underlying power of public pressure and a fundamental premise of strong democracy: the people.
Nevertheless, since February 2024, despite the initial annulment of the farm reforms, the farmers have resumed protests concerning the government’s failure to live up to its promises at the end of the previous protests, specifically in a guaranteed MSP. They have further demanded pensions, debt relief, and the withdrawal of India from all free trade agreements, considering free markets a threat to their livelihood (BBC, 2024). Once again, with the 2024 general elections imminent, the Modi government may be compelled to cede to the farmers’ demands to preserve electoral support. However, as previous instances have aptly depicted, the power of public opinion, particularly a majority population, seems to transcend the barriers of suppression, irrespective of the need for electoral backing.
Evidently, through the mobilisation of support from various sections of society, nationally and internationally, the Indian farmers’ movement has served as an essential reminder of the tenacity of democracy, which empowers it to function within a cycle of self-preservation, averting it from the dungeons of autocratic rule. However, unlike protesting farmers across Europe, who have come under the wing of right-leaning parties who share their vision of opposing green transition measures (Singh, 2024), the politically detached nature of the Indian farmers’ movement provides a foundational model for the preservation of democracy even under democratically evasive regimes.
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