I t could have not been anything but a surprise gift to farmers on the eve of the Guruparab, the Prakash Ustav of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to announce by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about repealing of the three Farm Laws otherwise bestowed with changing the face of Indian agriculture. The admission of the Prime Minister that “’we” could not convince a section of the farmers despite “clear heart and clean conscience” about the greater benefits and the utility of the said farm laws denotes the element of elasticity of the government in agreeing to thousands of those farmers especially from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh who found such laws unfavourable to their farming interests. The highest court of the country, it may be recalled, had already stayed the implementation of these laws early this year and formed a committee of agricultural experts to go into the grievances and fears of the protesting farmers. It had authorised the said committee even to recommend amendments to these laws, if so desired to be feasible. There are petitions in the Supreme Court which support the three laws. However, the fact cannot be ignored that a large section of farmers stood very strongly against the said laws which forced the government bend backwards but no one should take it in win-lose position as it is the people’s will that prevails both through its elected government and direct by them through peaceful protests which is their democratic right. Fears of “land would be taken away by companies” planted by some agitating farmers’ leaders and political leaders of the opposition in the farmers really disturbed most of them who wanted these laws to go, lock stock and barrel. The leadership of the agitating farmers had even rejected such committee formed by the Supreme Court let alone making any recommendations to these laws. The government had gone a step further in holding back the implementation of these laws by one and a half years. Prior to this, series of meetings between the farming community and the government over the issue had borne no results. The stalemate had even turned into an unpleasant situation witnessed on January 26 this year at the Red Fort. How to break the impasse, therefore, must have been on the top priorities of the government, the resultant solution thereof was seen in the form of the government withdrawing the said laws and promising to getting it properly done through the very august House of the parliamentary democracy, the Parliament which had passed it in the year 2020. That the adage “all is well that ends well” sounds all pleasant even after undergoing hardships and lot many difficulties. That the Prime Minister offered his apologies to the farmers depicts the levels of assuaging their hurt feelings on account of the hardships and inconvenience faced by them in the process of agitating against these laws. In respect of Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee of the agricultural produce like paddy, wheat, sugarcane etc, although there is no change in the current policy of the government and year after year there continues be an upward revision in the support price, yet the fear that the MSP may either go or get diluted in its purpose, the farmers had been demanding a guarantee by way of making a law so that there could be no apprehensions about its continuance. Undoubtedly, the three Farm Laws which the opposition parties finally succeeded in establishing to be ”Black Laws” had not been fully understood by those whom it concerned the most as to how they stood benefitted in the shorter and longer period nor could the government fully succeed in convincing the “aggrieved” sections of the famers about the same as “there may have been some shortcomings in our efforts” as himself admitted by the Prime Minister while addressing the nation. Not that all the sections of the farming community felt aggrieved, not that farmers of all the states came on roads to agitate against the said laws and therefore, most of the farming community feeling the said laws advantageous may now feel to be on the fence perhaps due to evaluating gains and losses on account of the repealing of these tree laws. Most of the agricultural experts, agricultural scientists and economists must be rueing, if not now but eventually, over an opportunity to have the substance of agriculture in India aimed to undergone the required changes for bettering the lot of farmers, having gone and frittered away just under the pressure of a prolonged agitation with tremendous support from almost all political parties and even reportedly by “other elements”. The immediate future only would reveal whether the Indian agriculture and all those immediately associated with it stood to gain with the repealing of the three laws and maintaining of status quo ante or the bus had been badly missed.
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