The TLDR: As both sides get ready to talk again today, the farmers are digging in, and the government is refusing to budge. We look at the state of play in the kisan vs neta battle in Delhi.

The basic deets

At noon today, the government will once again sit across the table from 35 farmer unions. This is the second round of negotiations. The discussion held on Tuesday ended in a stalemate. 

ICYMI: We explained these laws here. Also see: our explainer on the failed campaign to tar the Punjab farmers as Khalistan sympathisers.

What the farmers want

Upping the stakes: The farmers have now doubled down on their core demand. One of the prominent union leaders said at a press conference:  

“Our demand is non-negotiable. We want the three laws repealed immediately… We will give our written objections, and we will sit for discussions one, two, three, four days but as long as our demand is not met, we will intensify the struggle here and in the rest of the country. The other borders of Delhi will be sealed as well, and the city will be even more choked.”

Forget the details: The government has asked the farmers to put in writing their detailed objections to each of the three laws. The reason: The government is willing to make minor amendments, but refuses to roll back the laws. OTOH, the union leaders are not “willing to get bogged down in a clause by clause discussion as their demand [remains] full repeal.” And so they have refused to write out their objections as asked.

Beyond the status quo: The best clues to what the farmers actually want—other than just nixing these bills—are in two Lok Sabha bills that were never passed. These were crafted by the All India Sangharsh Coordination Committee—the umbrella organisation that is now leading the protest. These include:

• An immediate, one-time waiver of all loans—because most poor and marginal farmers are crippled with debt.
• Protection and relief for losses suffered due to natural disasters.
• Regulation and decrease of prices of farming necessities: diesel, seeds, fertilizers, machinery etc.
• In sum: farmers want more government intervention—not greater privatisation.

A good example: of the chasm between the two sides is exemplified by the issue of the middlemen. The laws eliminate agents who buy the harvest from farmers and allow them to directly sell to big buyers like WalMart, Reliance and Adani Enterprises. This should ideally allow them to get a better price—as it will eliminate commissions and fees now paid to agents. 

But the farmers instead are threatening to burn effigies of Ambani and Adani. The reason: these middlemen are an essential lifeline who provide quick funds for seeds and fertilisers, and even for family emergencies. They also help grade, weigh, pack and sell harvests to buyers. Take the example of Jasbir Singh who owns 12 acres of land:

“Without all the documents that banks insist on, and based only on the likely future yield of his crop, he says commission agents have been lending him money every year. Ten years ago, it was for his sister’s wedding and this year he took on $5,000 more.”

And he plans to borrow from them again for his son’s wedding next year.

What the government will offer

No big changes: BJP sources say the government will not give into any overarching demand. For example: farmers want a minimum support price (MSP) that will apply to all buyers, government and private. The government, however, insists that MSP is not even part of the negotiations:

“As far as MSP is concerned, it doesn’t pertain to any of these three laws, and the changes in the administrative structure of MSP in the manner the farmers are demanding is not possible. The government has clearly maintained that MSP will remain. However, still, these issues of MSP can be taken up as a separate demand but not in respect of the three farm laws.”

Modest tweaks: At best, the government is willing to provide “certain safeguards” that will ensure the government-run mandis—where MSP applies—are not sidelined or rendered obsolete by private buyers. Indian Express has more details on other such concessions.

The BJP attitude: Unnamed party sources indicate that the government is not in a mood to bend—or offer anything beyond “minor changes”:

“Like the Shaheen Bagh protests, this one too is an effort to mislead a section of the farmers and build a political movement against Narendra Modi… There’s no question of relenting here, either.... The government will convince the farmers and resolve the situation amicably.”

Rising support

Meanwhile, the farmers’ ranks of supporters continue to swell. The All India Transport Congress—which represents about 95 lakh truckers—has threatened to halt movement of essential goods in North India from December 8. Uttar Pradesh farmers have a strategic plan to survive a prolonged fight:

“We have planned the protest in a way that will allow us to continue it for months and years. Every day, 100 farmers from one or other area of Uttar Pradesh will leave for Delhi’s borders in tractors… They will carry foodgrain, vegetables, milk, stoves, blankets with them. We have realised it’s a long battle.”

Scenes from the ground

There have been many clips from the Delhi borders capturing the spirit of the protests. Here are the best of the lot:

One: We’ve titled this one #WaterCannonFail

Two: As part of the rightwing misinformation campaign, Mohinder Kaur—a 73-year old woman—spotted at the protest was deliberately misidentified as Shaheen Bagh’s Bilkis Dadi. Indian Express has a delightful video interview with Kaur who shows off her farming chops!

PS: For the first time ever, Twitter labeled an Indian political operative’s tweet as ‘manipulated media’. The tweet:  BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya’s attempt to discredit a photo of a farmer being threatened with a lathi. The Hindu has that story. Indian Express explains Twitter’s revised content policy.

Three: Say hello to Punjabi Protest Party lol!

Reading list

The Telegraph has a good piece on the government’s thinking. Indian Express details what concession it is willing to make. The Print has the fight over MSP. Reuters explains why farmers are standing up for middlemen. Also in Indian Express: the definition of ‘manipulated media’.