Farmer Unions in Punjab – Evolution and Effectiveness

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) was founded by Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1978. The trigger for its formation was a protest by farmers in Kanjawal, Delhi to stop the forcible acquisition of their grazing land by the government. BKU established its headquarter in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. BKU drew its original support from the Punjab Khetibari Union which also became its Punjab branch as BKU spread itself into becoming an all India entity.

BKU split in 1982 and was reorganised by the well-known farmer leader, Mahendra Singh Tikait, in October 1986. Presently in Punjab there are many off-shoots of the BKU, mainly BKU (Ekta Ugraha); BKU (Krantikari); BKU (Sidhupur); BKU (Kadian); BKU (Rajewal); BKU (Doaba); BKU (Mansa).

Farmer leaders from other states have also organised themselves to protect the rights of their communities. Many unions/associations are functioning in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc.

First Farmer Union Agitation in India

The first major farmer agitation in North India in January 1988 when BKU, under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Tikait, sent a list of 35 grievances to the Congress led Government of Uttar Pradesh. These mainly pertained to writing off of loans; write-off of electricity dues because of drought; long term concessions in electricity rates; increase of sugar-cane procurement price from Rs. 27 per quintal to Rs. 35; reservation for farmers' wards in government jobs and pensions for farmers etc.

The Congress led government of Uttar Pradesh took no action on the memorandum which triggered the Meerut agitation spearheaded by Tikait personally. BKU laid siege to Meerut Divisional Commissioner V.K. Dewan's office on 27 January 1988. The then Congress chief minister of the state, Vir Bahadur Singh, adopted a strategy to tire down the agitators which failed in the face of the farmer’s resolve.

In October 1988, Takait decided to go to Delhi. Nearly five lakh farmers occupied the Boat Club and its lawns. The Government continued with its double talk. Ultimately the chief minister lost his chair and was sent to the centre as Minister of Communication. The Congress government fell in 1989 and VP Singh became the prime minister of India.

Farmer Unions Led Protest - 2020-21

The Farmers protest of 2020 at the borders of Delhi was the biggest since 1988. It was against three agriculture centric laws also called the Indian Agriculture Acts of 2020, that were formally enacted on 27 September, 2020.

More than 30 farmer unions/associations from Punjab that professed to be non-political in ideology spearheaded the agitation. There were others too that had political affiliations mainly with the communist parties. Naturally, a need was felt to bring these diverse entities on a single platform which led to the formation of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).

On the auspicious day of Prakash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision of his party and his Government to repeal the three farm laws.

In the course of his address the prime minister was humbleness personified in admitting that “Tapasiya Mein Kuch Kaami Reh Gayi.” What he meant was that though the farm laws would have been beneficial to a major segment of the farmers, but, he and his government failed to convince some segments of the community and hence the decision to repeal the laws altogether.

The roll back of the farm laws should have created a degree of satisfaction among the farming community of Punjab. Sadly, it was not so. The unions evolved the protest into a wider movement. The SKM mobilised around a string of demands including the passage of a national law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSPs) for agricultural products, a full waiver of existing debts of farmers and agricultural workers apart from roll back of the electricity reforms.

Protests by Farmers Unions in Punjab

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rode the popularity wave that it created for itself during the farm protest of 2020-21. It promised the farmers MSP on all crops and many other sops that they had been demanding. The party came to power in Punjab by registering a huge majority in the Vidhan Sabha elections of 2022.

The AAP led government of Punjab failed miserably in standing by the promises given and within no time the farmers, led by their union leaders, were on the road in protest for multiple reasons like a roll back of the cases filed against loan defaulting farmers; compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for families of farmers that had committed suicides; payment of compensation for crop loss due to floods; MSP for all crops and release of dues for purchase of sugarcane by the mill owners among others.

With not much coming from AAP, the union leaders directed their attention towards the centre. Despite having their demands met in the agitation of 2020, two among the various unions again mobilised their cadre in February 2024 in what they termed as the “Delhi Cooch” movement. Cooch incidentally means a military mobilisations for war. The main demand this time is legislation for a legal guarantee for minimum support price on crops from the government. The other demands include withdrawal of cases registered during the agitation in 2020-21; pensions for farmers; loan waivers and withdrawal from the world trade organisation.

In order to avoid a repeat of the 2020 protest the farmers were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana border itself and are now camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana.

The Government of India deputed two central ministers to hold talks with the union leaders. These ministers made several trips to Chandigarh to conduct the talks and gave many positive points for solution of the imbroglio. The union leaders, sadly, did not agree.

The protest is continuing despite the fact that the government is not in a position to act on the demands because of application of the election model code of conduct in view of the parliamentary elections. The farmers, despite insistence of being non-political and non-partisan, are directly interfering in the campaign and election canvassing of the BJP candidates in Punjab by stopping their entry in villages which is a direct infringement of the right to free speech of the party.

The Government Response to Farmer Union Protests

Farmer Unions, since their evolution in 1978, have spearheaded a number of protests against almost all governments of the Union and most governments of the states. This implies that expression of the anguish of the farmers by their union leaders is not a new phenomenon that has gained roots in the last ten years of NDA rule in the centre.

Records would factually establish that the NDA government has been more responsive in addressing the issues raised by the farmers. While the previous governments preferred to tire out farmers rather than concede to their demands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thought it best to concede rather than allow the conflict to escalate.

The difference between the 1988 and the 2020 agitation was that while the previous one was spearheaded by a single organisation(BKU) with one tall leader, Mahendra Singh Tikait, leading it, the 2020 version had involvement of 35 farmers' unions of which 31 were from Punjab alone. Yet, there was no unity of purpose in 2020.

The NDA government has unilaterally attempted to bring about reforms in the agriculture sector by increasing financial outlays for agriculture and applying innovative ideas to improve production and marketing of agriculture produce. Forward looking states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh among others have gained tremendously from such initiatives which has led to an overall improvement in the agriculture sector. This improvement has, in turn, contributed to the jump of the Indian economy to over three trillion dollars and becoming the fifth largest economy in the world at USD 3.7 Trillion. Punjab, sadly, has been lagging behind in this progressive initiative mainly due to a blinkered approach adopted by the leaders of the many unions that function in the state.

Fault Lines in the Punjab Agriculture Sector

The agriculture sector in Punjab is going through a deep crisis. With the effects of the green revolution petering down the Punjabi agriculture sector is witnessing a suicidal dependence on the wheat-rice cycle to ensure its sustenance. As a result, soil and water conditions have worsened, and costs have increased. Due to heavy mechanisation small farmers and farm labourers both struggle to make ends meet.

Rising input costs, uncertain agricultural incomes and inadequacy of loans from the banks impels farmers to take on high levels of informal debt at exorbitant interest rates of 22 percent. The average amount of farming debt in Punjab is about 3 Lakh INR for each marginal farmer and 5 Lakh INR for a small farmer. Chronic indebtedness is leading to high drug consumption and increasing suicide rates apart from making agriculture redundant as a profession for those with less holdings.

The labour market is over-exposed due to induction of migrant labour in large volumes. Punjab continues to be a lucrative labour market despite challenges of job insecurity and lack of social protection for the labourers. The sector needs a cushion against unemployment, better facilities for children in terms of education and health and adequate supplements to the existing income levels.

Various scholars have argued that large farmers benefit from the “Mandi System” much more than smaller ones. This is true in absolute terms, since large farmers bring larger crop volumes to the market. Arthiayas gain significance since they are the central figures in the “Mandi System.”

The ‘anti-corporatisation’ framing of the protests are a part of the self-stated socialist, anti-corporate, and anti-imperialist vision of the unions. While there is a voice against corporatisation, the fact that a large percentage of families in Punjab are opting for Theka (contractual farming) is being brushed under the carpet. Many of the so-called farmers with small holdings are in fact rich NRIs who wish to hold on to whatever little land holding they have in the village for reasons of sentiment and give it on Theka.

The land lease rate in Punjab currently stands at Rs 40,000-50,000 an acre. It is because of MSP on wheat-rice cycle and the proceeds to the informal corporatisation of a large chunk of land that the average monthly income of a Punjab farmer is the highest in the country at about Rs 20,000/- against a national average is about Rs 8,000/-.

Farmer Unions Need to Introspect

There is a need to reassess the evolution of so many farmer unions and associations in a state as small as Punjab. Is the objective a genuine concern for the farmers or is it financial advancement? The negative fallout of such a large spectrum is lack of consensus on the best methodologies to address farmer issues.

The 1988 protest by BKU was for land reforms, fair prices for agricultural produce, sustainable agriculture, pensions for farmers and waiver of loans. The ongoing protest is also for legal guarantee for MSP (fair price), pensions for farmers; loan waivers etc. The basic demands, therefore, remain the same even after three decades. The foregoing implies that either the unions have not been able to achieve anything despite staying in conflict mode with multiple governments. It is time for their leaders and the members to introspect.

There also exists a strong perception that farmer unions thrive on the support of farmers with large holdings and the Arthiayas (grain merchants) of Punjab whose profits declined as the initial gains from the green revolution petered out. It is up to the union leaders to off-set this perception.

The objectives of farmer unions should include taking firm steps to curb societal ills like taking loans for marriages, overspending on the birth of a son etc. Further, the poor semi-educated farmers need to be guided towards taking full advantage of government schemes and facilities being extended to the agriculture sector. It does not seem as if the union leaders are paying any attention to such aspects.

Conclusion

Clearly, the farmer unions in Punjab need to reassess their effectiveness and capacity to actually benefit the farmers. Not much can be achieved by staying constantly in “Conflict Mode” with the governments of the day. They have to put in effort to create support structures and usher mass awareness campaigns to mobilise support for the farmers. Efforts made with a positive frame of mind will definitely find support from the governments at the state as well as the central level.

The farmers also need to reassess the benefit or otherwise that is accruing to them from the unions that they support in the short as well as the long term. They have to find means to introduce accountability in the working of the unions.