Farmers and Farm Act 2020

Farmers and Farm Act 2020

As Indians break into 2021 with the fervent hope that it will be different from last year’s devastating pandemic and farmer protest. Many thousands farmers have gathered peacefully at the doorsteps of the nation’s capital, demanding that the government repeal the recently formulated agriculture-related laws and make MSP as law. There is a lot of noise on who is right and who is wrong. But this protest should challenge us to think, not as researchers or academics or even policy wonks, but as consumers of food that farmers grow.
The question we need to ask is why does the food that we consume need to be subsidized? Why are farmers, not just the ones camping in the bitter cold at the capital’s borders, but also the voiceless silent majority, demanding price support? Are they unproductive and lazy? The fact is that across the world, even, and especially, in the rich world, agriculture is heavily funded by governments.

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Golwalkar Mission of Hindu Rashtra

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