Birmingham City students raise their voices to support the farmer’s protest.

/ Rajveer Singh
India’s Farmers out on the borders of New Delhi (CREDIT: NDTV)

Farming plays a massive role in India, contributing to between 17–18% to its GDP and employs more than 50% of India’s workforce. However, since the three new agriculture bills release, farmers have left their homes to take a stand against the government.

Farmers protest in India has reached incredible heights over the past few months since these new laws were passed in September 2020. 

The three bills essentially allow farmers to sell their crops to whoever they want in exchange for removing the Minimum support price (MSP).

Whilst that seems like an excellent opportunity for farmers to expand their business, thousands of farmers are concerned about large corporations exploiting farmers and causing more damage to an already failing economy. 

The MSP played the role of a bargaining chip, it allowed farmers to set a minimum price that their products would be purchased for, but without it, large companies can buy a stockpile of crops for any price. 

Farmers attempting to ensure that the government will not ignore their demands to remove these laws have now surrounded the capital city New Delhi and have remained there for one month so far. Joining them are actors, singers, models and scholars, all of which came from farming backgrounds. 

Worldwide outrage has sparked due to these new farmer bills. Many people have spoken up against it, ranging from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the thousands of international students from India. 

On 5th December 2020, BCU Sikh society held a demonstration in Birmingham City centre outside of the Bullring.

The students stood outside the bullring and held posters and signs that explained the reality of the issue. 

When talking to Rupinder Grewal, a business and management student, he said 

“My parents are sat outside the borders of Delhi at the moment. Everything we worked towards for me to get here, in the UK, will all be for nothing if my parents lost our land. The land of my forefathers, the land that feeds us, the land with our history. But its amazing to see UK students and International students working together towards a common goal”

But why would international students go out of their way to stand in the cold to take part in this demonstration? Well, BCU Student Officer Amir Iqbal explains his reasoning for this. 

Amir Iqbal is leading member of the student union at Birmingham City University

Not only this but several worldwide car rallies have also taken place to build international pressure for the Indian government to rethink their laws. In the UK, MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi raised this issue in Parliament, whilst Lord Indarjit Singh CBE also wrote a letter to the prime minister expressing his concern of the farmer’s bills and urged him to take some sort of action towards this. 

However, they have been ineffective as governors have still not met with the farmer union leaders. So far seven different meetings have taken place between farmer unions and mediators of the government which have no results so far.

PM Narendra Modi said in his latest Man Ki Baat program:

There is nothing wrong with these Bills, and they will not be removed, as we are only helping our farmers of this great nation”

The hope is that the Indian government will take more considerate steps towards reconciliation with the farmers.