The strike took place following months of protest from Indian farmers, a response to three farm acts passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. According to protesters, the farm acts would leave small farmers, the vast majority, at the mercy of large corporations. Poor farmers were already desperate before the laws were passed - in 2019 alone, 10,281 agricultural workers committed suicide.

Dozens of farm unions began organizing protests demanding the repeal of these laws. After failing to get the support of their respective state governments, the farmers decided to pressure the Central Government by marching to Delhi en masse.

The farmers arrived at Delhi on November 25th, 2020 and were met by police, who employed the use of tear gas and water cannons, dug up roads, and used layers of barricades and sand barriers to try and stop their march.

On November 26th, 250 million workers from all over the country initiated a general strike in solidarity with the farmer’s struggle. According to Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, trade unions issued a twelve-point charter of demands which included “the reversal of the anti-worker, anti-farmer laws pushed by the government in September, the reversal of the privatisation of major government enterprises, and immediate [Covid] relief for the population”.

Farmer protests continued for more than a year, featuring mass marches, clashes with police, and many failed negotiations between farmers’ unions and the government. Rakesh Tikait, a leader with Bharatiya Kisan Union (English: Indian Farmers’ Union) stated in October 2021 that approximately 750 participants have died in the protest.

Among the dead was a Senior Superintendent of Police in the city of Sonepat, who committed suicide, saying he could not bear the pain of the farmers. His suicide note read “Bullets fired from the guns kill only those whom they strike. The bullet of injustice, however, kills many with a single stroke… It is humiliating to suffer injustice.”

In a televised address on November 19th, 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that his government would repeal the three acts in the upcoming winter parliamentary session in December. The national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Rakesh Tikait, stated the protests would only cease once the laws were repealed.

The film actor Deep Sidhu also joined the protests, and was quoted as having told a police officer the following: “Ye inquilab hai. This is a revolution. If you take away farmers’ land, then what do they have left? Only debt.”

We Are Grass. We Grow on Everything: The Forty-Ninth Newsletter (2020).

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  • autismdragon [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    22·
    1 year ago

    In the space of a week I have seen people post, unironcally, on two different websites, that the age of consent should be 25. I am LOSING it. What is GOING ON with purtanism.

    CW: Some potentially triggering discussion including discussion of Statutory you know what

    spoiler

    First was an unnoticed post on twitter, not a big deal. Second was a reddit comment with like 50 upvotes on /r/downvotedtooblivion, dude said that up to 25 there should be a 2 year age gap law and anything more than that should be statutory. Lmao brother u think a 25 year old fucking a 21 year old should be STATURORY RAPE??? BROTHER??? BROTHER NERO???

    Dude said he was OVER 25 so not even a puritanical zoomer situation. Said he was basiing it on his own development? Is this an NT thing because at 34 years old I cant identify with it at ALL. My brain does not feel all that significantly different than it was at 21. Ive learned things and grown as a person but my capability to DO SO hasnt changed? Ive been told im developmentally delayed but, come on??? Its so weird and I see takes like this on Reddit ALL THE TIME. But twitter and tumblr too. Even here sometimes so im a bit scared to post this lol but yaknow.

    Also btw the “brain development stops at 25” study is widely misinterpreted. Study did NOT study people PAST 25. All evidence since has shown that brain development simply doesnt stop. So uh… ban sex?