On Monday, protesting farmers squatted on rail tracks at several places across the country but especially in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and some parts of Uttar Pradesh blocking traffic. The stir affected 150 locations in the Northern Railway zone and hindered the running of 60 trains causing inconvenience to passengers who could be seen waiting for long hours with their baggage. The stir went on even as cases of violence linked to the stir – the brutal murder of a man on Singhu border and the killings in Lakhimpur Khiri – now go on in courts.

The farmer protests against three agri-laws have dragged on in the capital for nearly a year even as no solution appears in sight.

Farmer unions have insisted that they will not roll back the stir unless three agri-laws passed by the Modi government are annulled. Top government ministers have held several rounds of talks with the farmers, but no solution to which all sides agree has emerged.

Singhu border killing

Not just agriculture, the farmers protest have recently garnered headlines and been viral on social media for other reasons in recent times. The brutal killing of a labourer at the Singhu border, where the farmers have been camping, sent shockwaves across the country. The killing was carried out by Nihang Sikhs, who alleged sacrilege by Lakhbir Singh as the reason. Farmers’ unions have sought to distance themselves from the incident. On Sunday, three people allegedly involved in the lynching were remanded to six days in police custody as the Haryana Police set up two Special Investigation Teams to probe the incident.

Overall, four people have been arrested in connection with the gruesome killing.

Famer body alleges conspiracy

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the protests, on Friday condemned the lynching of the man at a farmers’ protest venue at Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border and claimed that there could be a conspiracy behind the incident.

“We are all very saddened at what happened. The Samyutka Kisan Morcha is fighting against the three farm laws. This (incident) could be a conspiracy. We condemn the incident in the strongest words,” said Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a farmer leader from the organisation. He said the matter should be probed thoroughly and the accused should be brought to book.

Dallewal said they have learnt that the victim, Lakhbir Singh, had been staying with the Nihang Sikhs, and had allegedly tried to steal the Sarbloh Granth, a holy book of the Sikhs. “We condemn disrespecting of any religion. We also condemn the reaction (killing),” he said.

The SKM claimed that the killing was an internal matter between the Nihang Sikhs and had nothing to do with the farmers movement, which is not a religious movement. Farmer leader Kulwant Singh alleged that the central agencies could be behind the incident and demanded a probe.

“When we got to know about the incident, we rushed to the site. By the time we reached there, the man had died. We urged Nihangs that police have come here and they are requesting us to hand over the dead body to them. The body was later handed over to police. We condemn this act,” he said.

Do the farmers’ bodies have no responsibility?

However, questions have been raised about the role and responsibility of the farm leaders. BJP leader and former Union minister Rattan Lal Kataria said the Samyukt Kisan Morcha cannot escape from the responsibility for what happened at their protest site.

“The way one used to hear about barbaric crime and killings carried out by the Taliban, in similar fashion Lakhbir Singh was done to death,” Kataria, the MP from Ambala, said.

“The responsibility of any incident happening at the protest site (of farmers) lies with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). They cannot escape from the responsibility for what has happened at their protest site,” he said. Several other leaders from the ruling party have raised questions.

Lakhimpur violence

Before the Singhu border shocker, it was violence that left eight persons dead that stunned the country. Union Minister for Home Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra has been arrested in the case for allegedly moving down farmers. The protesters had also lynched some individuals after the SUV had hit them. A separate case has been registered regarding the lynchings. Ball in the Supreme Court: Meanwhile, after the Singh-border killing, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing of a pending petition seeking removal of protestors. Referring to the incident, a the plea sought urgent hearing on the PIL, pending since March this year, saying “The right to freedom of speech and expression cannot supersede the right to life and if this protest is allowed to go in like this, the nation at large will be at a loss.”

The interim application has been filed by Swati Goel and Sanjeev Newar in their pending PIL through lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha.

Besides seeking the removal of protesting farmers, the plea has also sought the issuance of guidelines by the Centre to the states and Union Territories to stop all kinds of protests and not permit them until the pandemic gets over. The plea said at a time when there is a ban on celebrating festivals, visiting temples, going to school and colleges, allowing such protests will serve no good.

The top court is also hearing a separate plea of a Noida resident Monicca Agrawaal. She has sought the removal of blockades saying earlier it took 20 minutes to reach Delhi and now it is taking over two hours and that people of the area are facing hardships due to the protests at the UP Gate on the Delhi border.

Court asks for rationale

On October 4, the SC had questioned the rationale behind farmers continuing their protests, including blocking of national highways, when none of the three contentious agricultural laws are in force as all have been kept in abeyance for 18 months in January by the court after an assurance from the government to that effect. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar had said, “Why is the protest when the three laws are not in force at all? It has been kept in abeyance by the court. There is a stay. The government is also bound by the law enacted by Parliament, isn’t it?” These observations had come on a petition filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat, which had sought permission to hold protests at Jantar Mantar near Parliament against the farm laws.

Next Hearing

According to reports, the SC’s stand during the upcoming hearing on farm laws issue on October 21 may clarify whether the apex court comes out with any specific direction to both sides, or the situation remains the same. “Farmers had been victims of the old system and that’s why the Centre has come out with the reforms (farm laws) to make their lives better. Even protesters know that the old system had made farmers miserable leading to lakhs of suicides over the years. If the farmer leaders think they have a better solution in mind, they should come for talks and the government must listen to them. There is no other way out to end the crisis unless they talk about reforming the sector,” said Anil Ghanwat, president of Maharashtra- based farmer organisation Shetkari Sanghatana.

The SKM, meanwhile, has been preparing to go ahead with their plan of holding ‘mahapanchayat’ at Lucknow on October 26 to protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Political dimension

While the farmers’ unions have been trying to maintain distance from political parties, with elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh drawing closer, there is also a political side to the events. Opposition parties have been aggressive in taking on the ruling BJP following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

The three farm laws

The farmers are protesting for over 10 months against the passage of three laws — Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. Initially, the protests started from Punjab in November last year and later spread mainly to Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.