World People in Solidarity with the protesting Indian Farmers [ Joint Statement of Concerned farmers , activists and citizens of the World published in the form of an Advertisement in THE NEW YORK TIMES , USA on February 16 , 2021 ]
Nearly one million farmers are peacefully organizing and demonstrating but the Indian government has responded with statesanctioned violence , including the use of tear gas , water cannons , mass arrests and indefinite detention . These human rights abuses must end now .
Indian farmers are standing up to defend their dignity and livelihoods . They are protesting three new laws passed hastily without due deliberation , that will deregulate agriculture in India . For many , this is a matter of life and death . These laws benefit large conglomerate corporate entities and remove protections for farmers . Nearly half of India ’ s workforce is in the agricultural sector , the majority on small-hold farms . Millions of families now stand to lose their farms . An increase in industrial farming could have a devastating impact on the food we consume and the future of our environment .
Farmers across India have peacefully organized and protested for months . Yet they have faced violence , persecution , and retaliation by the government . The protest sites , at times , have been cut off from water , aid , and electricity . Internet services have been strategically suspended to silence dissent . Media outlets have been censored and threatened . Protestors , activists , and journalists have been arrested , assaulted , and held in indefinite detention .
India ’ s actions run counter to core sacred values shared by all democracies : the protection of civic and political participation and
March , April - 2021 the commitment to human rights . We are living in a dangerous time when global citizens must be called on to safeguard the principles on which all democratic nations are founded .
To Indian farmers : You have ignited one of the largest protests in human history . From the fields of Punjab , to the villages of Kerala , to the streets of New Delhi , your voices echo around the world . Now we raise our voices in solidarity .
We call on all people who champion human rights-in the United States and around the world-to join us and condemn the abuses against farmers , laborers , and protesters in India . Use your voice to call on India to respect the core principles of democracy , including the rights of all people to protest peacefully , demand accountability , and envision a safer , healthier , and more just future for all people on the planet . HISTORIC RELEVANCE OF “ PAGDI SAMBHAL ” PROTEST
In 2020 , more than a century after the historic Pagdi Sambhal Jatta farmer ’ s movement spearheaded by Ajit Singh in 1907 ( Ajit Singh was the uncle of Shaheed Bhagat Singh ) before Partition , the Central government enacted three ‘ anti-farmer ’ laws . The peasant organizations have resurrected it as an icon and a powerful inspiration to the present farmer ’ s agitation on Delhi ’ s borders and all over India .
The British colonial government brought in three antifarmer laws in Punjab in 1906 . They are : the Punjab Land Colonization Bill , which introduced inheritance by primogeniture , that take away the farmer ’ s land , as they are fearing now ; the Bari Doab Canal Act , by which rates of irrigation water increased , and 25 per cent hike in revenue rates was effected ; and the Punjab Land Alienation Act .
Between March and May 1907 , several meetings were held in various cities of Punjab to oppose the three laws . On March 22 , 1907 , during a meeting held at Lyallpur , Lala Banke Dayal , editor , Jhang Syal , recited his Pagdi Sambhal Jatta , now regarded as a classic . Subsequently , the peasantry ’ s agitation was called as the Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement . Lord Morley , Secretary of State for India , told British Parliament that in all , meetings held in Punjab , of which Ajit Singh had addressed 19 as the main speaker . Ajit Singh was a powerful orator who used to hold the audience spellbound . The British Officials described one of his speeches , delivered on April 21 in Rawalpindi , as ‘ highly seditious ’ and a case under Section 124 A ( sec of the IPC was registered against him . Lord Kitchener , Commander-in-chief of the British forces in India , apprehended a revolt in the armed forces . Ultimately , the three laws were revoked in May 1907 , but Lala Lajpat also a speaker at some of these meetings , was arrested on May 9 and Ajit Singh on June 2 . Both were detained in the Mandalay prison in Burma for six months under Regulation-III of 1818 . Both were released on November , 11 th .
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