By Arré Bench Sep. 25, 2020
Railway tracks and highways have been blocked as farmers from Punjab to Tamil Nadu protest against the contentious farm bills passed in Parliament. It’s the biggest news of the day, but if you depend on TV channels for information all you’ll get is cars chasing Deepika Padukone.
The biggest news story in the country today is the all-India Bharat Bandh being called by farmers, though you wouldn’t be able to guess if you went by TV news channels. The nation’s farmers and farmers’ unions are protesting the Centre’s three agricultural reform bills, which were passed in Parliament this month. The farmers’ greatest complaint with these new bills is the provision which will allow private markets to be set up outside the physical boundaries of the Agriculture Produce Market Committees’ (APMC) mandis. Farmers feel that this will lead to the erosion of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system APMCs offer, and concentrate power in the hands of private traders. As the government pushes ahead with passing the bills, farmers have announced nationwide protests against these reforms, demanding that MSP be made their legal right.
Countrywide farmer protests against these anti-farmer bills are being held today by over 350 farmers organisations under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC). Indian Farmers will resist these laws in unison! Say #NoToFarmBills.
— AIKS (@KisanSabha) September 25, 2020
Across India, farmers have turned up en masse to protest, leading to visuals unseen during all six months of the lockdown after the coronavirus hit. Right before lockdown was imposed, there were widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, another unpopular bill introduced by the government. Now, as the country looks toward unlocking, protests of a similar scale are being held across the country. Punjab and Haryana are currently witnessing the largest protests, with farmers announcing a “Rail Roko” campaign.
Rail Roko protest begin in Punjab.
I stand with farmers.#BharatBandh @narendramodi @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/hDD8QYFLRm— SharmaRakhi (@SharmaRakhi6) September 25, 2020
Farmers have also taken to blocking roads, like the highway linking Patiala and Chandigarh.
Farmers’ protest on Patiala-Chandigarh Highway #FarmBills2020 #BharatBandh pic.twitter.com/3yUkdiVlLO
— Supriya Bhardwaj (@Supriya23bh) September 25, 2020
Farmers have poured onto the streets.
Farmers blocking Delhi – Merrut highway #FarmersProtest#BharatBandh #भाजपा_हटाओ_किसान_बचाओ pic.twitter.com/FNA2KnnfCZ
— Aarti (@aartic02) September 25, 2020
In UP, many protests have sprung up, in places like Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Bijnor, and Kanpur.
Farmers from All India Kisan Mahasangh, Kanpur are protesting today against the Anti-farmer #FarmBills2020 !
We express our solidarity to their protest on this #BharatBandh!#25सितम्बर_भारतबंद pic.twitter.com/uJ62z9rD1Q— AISA UTTAR PRADESH (@upaisa_official) September 25, 2020
A protest by farmers on a national highway in Shahjahanpur , UP #FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/9riQGKgE44
— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) September 25, 2020
Agitating farmers in west UP’s Bijnor allow an ambulance to pass . #FarmersProtest . Video courtesy : Mohd Zubair Khan pic.twitter.com/XRYXw7b4CP
— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) September 25, 2020
A gathering of farmers in Kheri , Uttar Pradesh this morning #FarmersProtest . Pic courtesy @prateekreporter pic.twitter.com/rGEtmaDLTl
— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) September 25, 2020
In neighbouring Bihar as well, protests have sprung up, with political leaders joining the demonstration.
#RJD (@RJDforIndia) stages protest against #FarmBills in #Bihar @yadavtejashwi #FarmerProtest #FarmBills2020 #Farmers #NationwideProtest #BharatBandh pic.twitter.com/saL6imPT5F
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) September 25, 2020
Himachal Pradesh is also seeing farmers voicing their demands.
Protests against Anti-Farmer Bills in Himachal Pradesh#NoToFarmBills. #CorporateBhagaoKisanBachao #AntiFarmerBills pic.twitter.com/eCCCrxK5G6
— AIKS (@KisanSabha) September 25, 2020
It’s not just north India that is seeing farmers’ protests on this scale. Even in South India, there are huge gatherings, with visuals from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu showing how wide-ranging the opposition to the bills is.
Red Tsunami in Karnataka. Mass protest of Farmers and Workers.#NoToFarmBills pic.twitter.com/0vc5x4evPc
— Marx (@SDey83) September 25, 2020
Thousands of Farmers march Bangalore to protest against #FarmBill2020. pic.twitter.com/kHZHJJeuOs
— Marx (@SDey83) September 22, 2020
Tamil Nadu | Farmers from National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers’ Association sit outside Collector’s office in Trichy with human skulls
(Photos : ANI)#FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/29Hnfo0CNi
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 25, 2020
In Gujarat and Maharashtra as well, protests are being held against the Centre’s new reforms.
Protests against Anti-Farmer Bills in Gujarat#NoToFarmBills. #CorporateBhagaoKisanBachao #AntiFarmerBills pic.twitter.com/1zRPxCinVF
— AIKS (@KisanSabha) September 25, 2020
Farmers from Maharashtra protest against the #FarmBills2020 . They burn the copy of d bill in protest. Their demand is MSP should be part of this new farm bill & there should provision of penalty if corporate buyers buys farm produces below MSP @NewIndianXpress @Sunday_Standard pic.twitter.com/05o8SKxM7h
— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) September 25, 2020
Even in the northeast regions, farmers are not happy.
Aap Assam Protest against the farmers bill. Memourndum submitted to the honourable President of India.
Few images from Dibrugarh,
Volunteers protesting against two Flawed Farm Bills #AaapAssamWithFarmers @ArvindKejriwal @AAP4Assam @beingAAPian @Unique05772267 @123lkd pic.twitter.com/UMIfcZQqSl— Amim Khan (@AmimKhan17) September 24, 2020
The number of farmers from different states participating in the protests continues to grow, making this one of the most significant movements of public dissatisfaction against the current regime. However, if you look at some of the most-watched news channels in the country, this is the kind of content you can expect.
Kids, don’t do drugs. Or you may become a reporter for @republic 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QxxKmmgevc
— Danish Aslam (@dan1shaslam) September 25, 2020
It’s enough to make you wonder whether Indian media practises journalism, or parodies it.
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