Demystifying the Republic Day violence: Assessing political greed within India’s farmer protests

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Abstract

Disha Ravi, a young environmental activist, was arrested on the 13th of February 2021 on conspired charges of sedition and for threatening India’s territorial integrity. Disha’s arrest is a recent development in the context of violence that followed in Delhi on the 26th of January 2021. This violence is a result of three new farm acts which the Government of India had passed in September 2020. These bills enable farmers to sell their produce outside the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis. This facilitates private and corporate investments in agriculture, and lets farmers undertake contracts with large private entities. However, these bills were met with immense opposition from several organisations, farmers, and political parties. It was speculated that large private players will occupy markets and dismantle both the APMC and its Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism. It was also put forth that these laws will allow private players to dictate market prices and exploit small farmers. Another concern is that large firms will impose strong restrictions on both farmers and their products through their financial and legal power – while most farmers (uneducated and poor) lack the resources to even understand the mechanisms involved. […]