Farmers’ protests at the road entrances to Delhi, in the hundreds of thousands, have reached Day 12, and are challenging the onset of cartel pricing of food — deadly to agriculture and farmers everywhere in the world — in three laws just imposed through the Modi government. After five rounds of talks between their leaders and Union ministers, they have remained firm in their demand that the laws be withdrawn. They realize in advance that their farm income will be cut down by the pricing “innovations” of those laws, where many farmers in other countries have come to realize it only when its ruinous reality hits.
NDTV reported that support for Tuesday’s Bharat bandh (All India General Strike) grew steadily, with opposition parties and trade and transport unions backing the shutdown call. “On Saturday farmer leaders met union ministers for talks — third this week and fifth since September — but the five-hour discussion broke down on the core issue, repeal of the laws. After the meeting Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the centre remains committed to finding a solution but urged farmers to scale down protests outside Delhi — by sending the elderly and children home.”
The farmers did the Saturday, Dec. 5, meeting in style. They first laid out their demand that all three laws be repealed. Then, they wrote “YES – NO” on pieces of paper, and stuck to their mouth like masks. And then, they put their index finger on their lips indicating they would not talk unless the government negotiator, Minister Tomar, answers “yes or no” to their repeal demand.
