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From the camps at the Delhi borders to the kisan mahapanchayats in BJP-ruled states to even weddings in Punjab, witty and sarcastic lyrics by Punjabi singers served as anthems in the fight against the farm laws.
Support for the farmers' cause came from all corners of the globe and in some cases, even enabled Punjabis settled abroad to reconnect with their roots.
The “farm laws” introduce deregulation and facilitate large corporations into the sector with the stated intent of “modernising systems” and “helping farmers realise better prices”.
The laws weaken state control over pricing and sale of food crops by allowing corporate retailers to directly buy from and enter into pre-agreed contracts with farmers, bypassing government marketing boards set up to ensure fair prices. They deregulate crop storage by allowing private traders to stockpile and removing restrictions meant to avoid speculation and inflation.
Farmers’ agitation against the three anti-farmer and pro-corporation laws crossed the 100-day mark in early March. In a definitive moment of the resistance, when the Modi government blocked peaceful marches to New Delhi by digging trenches and fixing nails and concertina wires, farmers responded by planting flowers and sowing crops, demonstrating a firm resilience in the face of repression.
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Mukesh Tandon
Sonepat, March 31
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) today announced that farmers would march on foot to Parliament in the first fortnight of May. However, the final date for the march would be decided soon and no vehicle would be allowed.
Besides, the SKM also decided at a meeting yesterday to block the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Western Peripheral Expressway for 24 hours on April 10.
The representatives of the morcha, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, Prem Singh Bhangu, Satnam Singh Ajnala, Buta Singh Burjgil, Ravinder Kaur, Joginder Nain, Santokh Singh and Pradeep Dhankar, announced the programmes for the next one month to intensify the protest.