The Maharashtra government may have accepted majority of the demands made by protesting farmers and tribals on Monday, but to believe that farmers won’t take to the streets again would be a grave mistake.
“The proof of the pudding is in eating,” Vijoo Krishnan, a joint secretary with the CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha, which led the farmers in the march, told Youth Ki Awaaz. Since betrayal of promises made by the Maharashtra government earlier was one of the reasons for the protest, Krishnan didn’t discount the possibility of a larger mobilisation if the promises aren’t fulfilled. In a telephone conversation late night on March 12, he explained just why tens of thousands of farmers landed on Mumbai streets and why the agreement they reached with the government may not be the final one. Here are the edited excerpts:
Abhishek Jha (AJ): How would you describe the distress in agriculture in Maharashtra?
Vijoo Krishnan (VK): The situation of farmers here, especially the landless and small and marginal farmers, is extremely dismal. I, along with our Kisan Sabha, travelled to different villages and saw the kind of situation they are in. The loans taken are also quite low. They are unable to pay them. And mostly loans are from the private money lender. That is not being addressed. In Rajasthan, for instance, we had demanded a debt relief commission to address these kinds of issues, so that even the private moneylender’s loan is waived off. Those issues have to be addressed.
AJ: Do you think there is something different about the farmers in different regions of the state?
VK: Earlier the crisis was more concentrated in Vidarbha. But it has spread. The Marathwada region also has faced these problems, especially when water has been an issue.
And even in Nashik, where we have started from, especially in the Adivasi areas, there is an extreme case of malnutrition. The number of children dying below the age of five due to malnutrition in the tribal areas of the state in a year is something like 20,000.
Unfortunately, it is only the price and the loan waiver that comes to forefront. There are more basic issues such as food insecurity. Livelihood security is threatened. There is rampant land acquisition that is planned. There is very limited economic security for tribals and others.
AJ: Last year a Rs 34,000 crore loan waiver was announced. Even when a waiver is announced, we have seen in the recent past, farmers again demand a waiver. Why does this happen?
VK: It’s the neoliberal policies that are basically responsible for the agrarian crisis. And both the BJP and the Congress have been following these policies. That is what is causing a situation where farmers are becoming indebted. A loan waiver is not a one-time solution. It is at best a palliative and a relief for farmers who are in distress. And unless these policies are reversed and alternative policies that are farmer-friendly implemented, rather than this corporate model, this is going to recur.
AJ: There were loan waivers in many states. The union budget was seen as a farmer-friendly budget. Yet farmer-protests haven’t slowed down. Why is that?
VK: You see, with the loan waiver, there are cases where people have got waiver of 95 paisa, 2 rupees. So it is a farce that they have done. Similarly, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for crop insurance has been a total failure. In many places there are crop losses, farmers have paid the premium, but nothing has accrued for them.
And ever since demonetisation, there has been a continuous fall in prices, which is not being addressed. And if you see the Price Stabilisation Fund allocation, from Rs 3500 crore last year, it has come down to Rs. 1500 crore. Naturally, the cost of cultivation – the input costs – they are rising, because they have deregulated these industries. And that is where there is indebtedness.
AJ: How come, in a state that shows good performance on Forest Rights Act implementation, it became a major issue?
VK: No, the FRA implementation here is actually quite dismal. Even now, in this agreement they have said, there are lots of applications that are pending. They have said within 6 months those applications would be addressed. And another thing is upto 4 acres, the land that is already being held by tribals, they will regularise that. We should see how it unfolds in the coming days.
AJ: There have been around 6 large protests in Maharashtra in the past two years. What do you think has been achieved?
VK: Even earlier, the loan waiver demand that they accepted has not been implemented effectively, but the waiver is a result of the struggle. Some earlier measures regarding the Forest Rights, regarding Aanganwadis, some assurances that were given are some limited advances during the struggle. Today, what has been accepted, if it is implemented, I would say it is a significant advance. That way, we would say, it is a significant victory.
AJ: What is it about farmers’ protests that interests students and young people? Why do you think they should care about these protests?
VK: See, farmers are feeding the nation. Without their well-being, all sections are going to be affected. The extreme trouble they have taken to walk all the way, the way it was covered in some sections of media, that has naturally generated an opinion among the larger sections.
Student and youth, being a section that is conscious about their rights and who are following these things, they are sensitive to these kinds of issues and they have come together. Vibrant protests against some of the policies of this BJP government – on the issues of employment, the privatisation of education, attacks on reservation – have come from students. I think it has created a kind of general atmosphere in which these kinds of protests are receiving wider acceptance.