The current write-up being the fourth in a series of write-ups, the earlier ones were on the
28th day of the Yatra and then on the
35th day of the Yatra coinciding with President Obama's visit and then
the travels of the Yatra in eastern India and all these have been based on the
blogs maintained by the
yatris. To put it in perspective, the Yatra started on 2nd October 2010, the 141st birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi, and ended on 11 December 2010 at his
samadhi (memorial),
Rajghat, New Delhi.
Yatris entered
Uttar Pradesh through the Valmiki reserve forest bordering Bihar and Nepal and their first stop on 25 November 2010 was in
Kushinagar, where
Buddha attained nirvana (final deathless state with the soul abandoning the body). In the meeting with farmers there were discussions on 750 acres of being lost to some project. Later in the day the
yatris reached
Gorakhpur where there was a rally with active participation from
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU),
Poorvanchal Gramin Seva Samiti,
Gramin and Development Services and Farmers Club, Mahirajgunj that ended with a public meeting at
Subhas Bose Chowk . The meeting raised issues of
Genetically Modified food (particularly
Bt Brinjal), the forthcoming legislation's on biotechnology and seeds, experimental research for private companies by publicly funded institutions, and trials of such crops in fields without informing the farmers and their neighbours. The
yatris moved to Durain village, Varaniasi, and stayed for the night in a school, which is slightly different as the children are taught to critically question the text book knowledge and are very much aware of the political system and social issues.
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| Govindacharya addressing at Subhas Bose Chowk, Gorakhpur, UP, 25 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
There was convergence with BKU farmers who have been traveling from village to village in three districts in and around Varanasi. The day (26 November 2010) began with an interaction with the villagers in the school who like the students were apprehensive of the Yatra thinking it to be a political exercise, but appreciated it as they came to know that the Yatra is genuine about its concern for farmers and farming. Journey to Sultanpur was slow because of the traffic jam in each and every small town on the way, but the farmers there were eagerly waiting who welcomed the
yatris by rendering slogans to save Indian agriculture. In the meeting, the need for a second freedom to stop the takeover of our land, water and seed by transnational corporates, which is unforrtunately being mediated through the Indian government, was raised. There was a candle light march. The
yatris left for
Lucknow where they spent the next day (27 November 2010).
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| Candle light march at Sultanpur, UP, 26 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
In a meeting at Shaheed Smarak, BKU members vowed to stop all trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. More importantly, women farmers vowed to fight seed sovereignty.
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| Women farmers vow to fight for seed sovreignity at Shahid Smarak, Lucknow, 27 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
Travel from
Lucknow to
Moradabad was slow because of long delays at the number of railway crossings and a distance of 350 kilometers took 16 hours. The delay and had thinned down the farmers presence but there were informal discussions in smaller groups on 28 November 2010. Later, in a meeting at Kisan Bhawan, Chajlet (a building built by funds from BKU members) there was discussion about how farmers have always been at the receiving end and how there are a lot of restrictions on the pricing of primary produce, as against the processed goods.
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| Meeting and Kisan Bhawan, Chajlet, 28 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
A dip at the Ganges and the scenic beauty of
Uttarakhand rejuvenated the
yatris in the land of
Chipko movement and
Beej bachao andolon on 29 November 2010. Entry to the bathing ghat for VIPs (Very Important Persons) was a symbolic protest to convey that farmers' are important for the nation. Discussion with BKU members and farmers at
Haridwar as also the meeting at
Dehradun later in the day brought about the immediate concerns of pricing, marketing, damage to crops by wild life, compensation for this year's crop loss due to unprecedented drought followed by heave rains subsequently, settlement of payments to sugarcane farmers that has been pending for the last three years as also the medium-to-long term concerns of regularization of land title including land title for women, seed sovereignty, environmental sustainability, state should promote wisdom of local communities that has emerged through years of experience, and state policies on organic farming should be connected with livelihood and culture of people and not be equated with market-based organic farming and cannot go hand-in-hand with the propagation of chemical-fertilizer based agriculture.
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| Slogan shouting reverberating the air, Haridwar, 29 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
The Yatra moves to
Himachal Pradesh where they stay overnight at
Gurudwara Paonta Sahib and begin the next day (30 November 2010) with an early morning breakfast of
gajar ka halwa. The collapse of a bridge in the area, harvest activities and the marriage season kept the
yatris in a relaxed mood. An interaction with the Himachal Kisan Sabha a non-political party affiliated outfit brought about the issues of appropriate pricing for farmers, state facilitation for life and health insurance policies for all farmer households, the difficulties with hybrid seeds as the farmers cannot use them for further reproduction.
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| Farmers at Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, 30 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
On the same day the
yatris leave for
Haryana and were welcomed by the waiting farmers into the state at
Yamunanagar and then the Yatra moved into Pipli village in
Kurukshetra where there was a meeting in which the state's BKU leader, Gurnam Singh, welcomed the yatris and the ensuing discussion the high cost of water for irrigation (
`6,000 per acre), non-implementation of the recommendations by the National Commission on Farmers (particularly the price support), soil degradation and the need to conserve resources for a sustainable agriculture came up. The
yatris moved on to Mohra village in
Ambala where they were welcomed by slogan shouting farmers who also donated generously for the Yatra.
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| Farmers welcome the Yatra at Mohara, Haryana, 30 November 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
After spending the night at
Gurudwara Bhattha Sahib the
yatris start the day (2 December 2010) with a meeting in
Rupnagar (Ropar),
Punjab attended by farmers, teachers, journalists and environmentalists. On the current agrarian crisis there was serious discussion and the way forward was to look up to ecological farming with active participation from farmers and facilitating policies by the government. The Yatra moved on the the Students' Centre,
Punjab Unviersity,
Chandigarh, where they interacted with students drawn from human rights, social work, botany and environmental sciences among others and were also joined by the singer Rabbi Shergill who urged the youth to save the fertile lands of Punjab. The police tried to prevent the final event of the day at Sector 17 Plaza with this the
yatris rented the air with impromptu slogan “Kitna dum hai daman mein tere, dekh liya aur dekhenge; kitni jagah hai jail mein tere, dekh liya aur dekhenge, Badi sharm ki baat hai, police unke saath hai, Hamaare haath mein jhande hai, police ke haath mein dande hai.” (How much power is there in your suppression, we have seen and we will see; how much space is there in your prison, we have seen and we will see; It is a matter of shame, that police is with them; We have in our hands a flag, The policy have in their hands a staff.)
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| Street play, Students Centre (StuC), Punjab University, Chandigarh. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
On 3 December 2010 the
yatris started with a demonstration against the
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
Ludhiana because of its anti-farmer, anti-nature and pro-Monsanto agenda and were joined by past employees, social activists and also some students. A question mark was raised against technology that destroys environment, makes food toxic and puts farmers at the receiving end. Rajbir Singh of
All India Pingalwara Charitable Society challenged the scientists to match his crops.The next event of the day at Khanna mandi was addressed by a retired senior entomologist of PAU who advised against using toxic chemical pesticides. The last event of the day at Dhudike, the historical village which was the birth place of
Lala Lajpat Rai had interactions with farmers and discussed about farmer indebtedness, crop pricing, problems of tenant farmers and agricultural labourers.
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| Protest at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 3 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
The next morning (4 December 2010) started in Bhotna village, Barnala where many farmer households are getting back to millet-based food and women-folk are also growing pesticide-free vegetables in their kitchen garden. In the meeting that followed, Punjabi songs by Jagdeesh Papra and his team pointed out the plight of
sone da desh (land of gold), about poison being harvested from the lands and a message of hope to farmers feeling suicidal and also provided support to a spontaneous Telegu song by Ramesh on how our land is being mortaged by our rulers thus, giving a pan-Indian feeling to the Yatra. The
yatris moved on and were welcomed as they passed by Bajakhana, Jalal and other villages. In the final meeting of the day at Jaitu, organic farmers were felicitated and a former agriculture minister of the state government Sardar Sukhdev Singh Badal was asked questions on environmental health issues, indebtedness of farmers, water contamination, depletion of ground water and soil degradation.
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| Organic farmers felicitation at Jaitu, 4 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
Last day in
Punjab (5 December 2010) started at the Goniyana Gurudwara where the need for urban consumers to connect with farmers and food was emphasized. The discussion also focused on how the farmer needs to think beyond single season specific focus on yield maximization. The Yatra stopped at the seventh annual Virasat mela,
Bathinda, that showcases the cultural heritage of the Malwa region, and subsequently moved on through the villages of Mehta, Jaisinghwala and Kheoyali.
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| The Yatra at Virasat Mela, Bathinda, 5 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
The Yatra has now reached
Rajasthan (6 December 2010) and the day began with cold water bath at 3.00am during winter at the Dharmasala in
Sangaria, but was made up by the hot tea served by Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a New Zealand returned engineer-turned-natural farmer. Yatris reached Dhaban at 5.00am to join the villagers in the
prabhat pheri, a one and a half hour long procession singing shabad kirtans and bhajans. Despite the cold winter, this communal event gave the
yatris a warm glowing feeling. A visit to the natural farm of Kishan Jakhar, who follows the zero-budget principle of
Subhas Palekar, invigorated the
yatris further. There was a meeting with media persons and others at
Hanumangarh followed by an interaction with representatives from Khet Kalyan Morcha and
Nature Human Centric Peoples Movement at
Sri Ganganagar. The issue of local communities’ rights over their resources, atrocities by the Indian defense services in the area, non-payment of compensation to tenant farmers and agricultural workers for the landmines placed in agricultural fields, non-supply of irrigation water and police firing a few years back where seven farmers had to lay down their lives were discussed. Some of these issues also came up in
Gharsana, after which the
yatris left for
Urmul Setu where they were severed hot piping food for dinner at midnight.
Another morning of biting cold started with the team splitting into two (7 December 2010). A public meeting at Ambedkar Chowk,
Nokha where some of the contemporary burning issues are the following There has been no procurement of Bajra even after the announcement of a support price, the operation of a land mafia that sells of farmers' lands without the latter's knowledge, younger generation have little attachment with land, compound interests charged by banks on agricultural loans, purchased seeds that did not germinate and that the farmers have to wait for about 15 days in the market yard to sell grain. Interaction with farmer at a village named Sri Balaji brought out a demand/endorsement for a farmers income commission and a meeting with 95 year old freedom fighter, Mahavir Gahlot, brought out the reminiscences of
Mahatma Gandhi.
One team of
yatris had reached Jodhpur (8 December 2010) and had interactions with agricultural scientists from
Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) and put forth to them four points - income security for all farming households; environmental sustainability in Indian agriculture; securing rights of farmers over their resources like land, seed and water; and ensuring safe, diverse, nutritious and adequate food for all. Director of CAZRI agreed that these are relevant issues and these need to be balanced with the prime concern of the government of bringing about 4 per cent growth in agriculture. The Director also pointed out that one of the objectives of the institute is to reduce costs to the farmers and come up with environment-friendly technologies.
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| Meeting at Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, 8 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
Some other issues that came up are the relevance of adequate price support and their relationship with agricultural share in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), small holdings being productive and efficient but are not being sustainable because of high costs, some of the pro-farmer initiative in seed research are very minuscule and do not stand a chance against the corporatization of the seed market and this not only bring in a case for farmers' rights but also on researchers' rights, import of exotic varieties in a mass scale is eroding local diversity, the rellevance of varietal diversity to address temperature and rainfall variation, one should neither import nor oppose technology blindly, and that technology should be build on the existing local culture and livelihood practices. Later in the day the
yatris were accompanied by
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) members from Jawaja village and then moved on to Madkochra village where the Yatra witnessed one of the best interactions and discussions.
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| Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) member with yatris, Madkochar, 8 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
On the last day in
Rajasthan (9 December 2010) the
yatris first went to Renwal where the delay added to the somber mood, as 8317 hectares of land is being acquired for a housing project and that too when crops are being harvested in many places after 12 long years. With this immediate problem in hand, the Yatra's agenda looked so distant. With urging some member agreed to accompany the Yatra to Jaipur and also take up the issue in court. In Jaipur, there was a public meeting with activists, journalists, students, academics and common citizens coming to listen to the experience of
yatris. Dr Surjit Singh (Director,
Institute of Development Studies) pointed out the relevance of decentralized planning as a means to address many problems. He also pointed out how liberalized trade has priced out oilseed farmers. Dr VS Vyas (Vice Chairman, State Planning Board, Rajasthan) mentioned that the Yatra is encouraging and shows that he state has to have a greater role, as the private sector will not address the issues of farmer.
The penultimate day of the Yatra (10 December 2010) started with a meeting at
Social Centre for Rural Initiative and Advancement (SCRIA), Khori,
Rewari,
Haryana where farmers took over slogan shouting and women farmers donated. The last public meeting in the evening was at Nityanand School,
Rohtak with all set to go to
Rajghat.
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| Women farmers donating for the Yatra, Khori, Haryana, 9 December 2010. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra |
On the final day (11 December 2010) of the Yatra, some of the
yatris met Ms Sonia Gandhi and there was a day long meeting at Gandhi Darshan after paying obeisance to
Mahatma Gandhi at
Rajghat, New Delhi. We will come up with a write-up on this soon.
