‘UK must protect protest rights of Indian farmers’

By Nadeem Badshah

BORIS JOHNSON has been urged to raise the plight of Indian farmers who have been protest­ing against new laws introduced by Narendra Modi’s government, when the British prime minister visits New Delhi next month.

Thousands of agriculture work­ers from Punjab and several other states have held demonstrations since last month in a bid to scrap the legislation, blocking roads around the capital with tractors and machinery.

Dozens of MPs in the UK have pledged their support to farmers over laws that they say would end the Minimum Support Price (MSP) which they rely on when selling their food to the market.

Campaigners have also hit out at the move to remove a cap on storage amounts for buyers and allow private firms to purchase produce directly from farmers and bypass the government-run mar­ket system.

Johnson is under pressure to raise the issue during his trip to India in January.

Indian police have fired tear gas shells and using water cannons to handle the protesting farmers.

Last Thursday (17) India’s Su­preme Court ruled the protest at the borders of Delhi could contin­ue and urged the government to put the controversial laws on hold.

Preet Gill, Labour MP and shad­ow international development secretary, told Eastern Eye: “The use of water cannons and tear gas against peaceful protesters is un­acceptable. Enabling individuals to publicly express their views through peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right.

“The UK must stand up for democratic freedoms and work with our partners to protect and champion them.”

Labour MPs Tanmanjeet Sin­gh Dhesi, Apsana Begum, Afzal Khan and Imran Hussain have also raised the plight of Indian farm workers in the UK.

Earlier this month, Dhesi raised the matter during Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons. He said, “Many con­stituents, especially those from Punjab and other parts of India, and I were horrified to see foot­age of water cannons, teargas and brute force being used against peacefully protesting farmers. However, it was heart-warming to see those very farm­ers feeding those forces who had been ordered to beat or suppress them. What indomita­ble spirit and it takes a special kind of people to do that.

“So, will the prime minister (Johnson) convey to the Indian prime minister (Narendra Modi) our heartfelt anxieties, our hopes for a speedy resolution to the current deadlock and does he agree everyone has a fundamental right to peaceful protest?”

However, Johnson, in his brief response, appeared to confuse two separate issues when he reiterated the UK gov­ernment’s stance that any dis­pute between India and Paki­stan was for the two countries to settle bilaterally.

“Our view is that, of course, we have serious concerns about what is happening between In­dia and Pakistan, but these are pre-eminently matters for those two governments to settle and I know that he appreciates that point,” said Johnson.

His response sparked a viral reaction on social media.

The issue has also led to car rallies in London, Leicester, Bir­mingham and Northampton in recent weeks to support farmers, although some critics have claimed that separatists seeking a separate Sikh homeland have hi­jacked the (farmers’) issue to push their cause.

The UK charity War on Want organised a signed letter by trade unions to express backing for the Indian farmers and supporting their right to protest.

Its executive director, Asad Rehman, told Eastern Eye: “The UK government should exert pressure on the Indian authorities to pro­tect the right for peaceful protest.

“This is happening in many other places. The response to the Covid pandemic and wider ine­qualities driving these protests.

“The UK government should not wait until January to raise this issue. The UN has raised it. It is up to the international community to de­fend the right to protest and reject the response of authoritarianism.

“The proposals would hand over the agricultural sector to big corporate interests. So many rely on agriculture in India.”

Harmander Singh is a spokes­man for the Sikhs in England think-tank. He said every civilised country allows its citizens the right to peacefully protest.

“From what has been in the media, the farmers’ protests have been peaceful and they have even offered a cup of tea to the police officers,” he said.

“Farmers from other states who are not Sikh are joining them be­cause of the laws.

“No civilised country should be able to stop a citizen from com­plaining. It affects every family who has farmers.

“The prime minister is going to India in January. What everybody is saying is we have issues with countries with (bad) human rights records, so should it not be raised as an issue when we are doing trade together?”

The Indian government has maintained that the new regula­tions will bring farmers better op­portunities and usher in new tech­nologies in agriculture.

Anurag Thakur, the country’s union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs, posted a let­ter on Twitter last week on “how India’s farmers will benefit from the reforms, how incomes and agri innovation will accelerate”.

The UK’s Foreign, Common­wealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the matter of han­dling protests was an internal one.

A spokesperson said: “The po­lice handling of protests is a mat­ter for the government of India.”

During a recent visit to India, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “Peaceful protests is a long­standing liberty in the UK but there is never any excuse for those who incite violence or foment ter­rorism or any other harm, whether in the UK or India. We draw that line very clearly.”