Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (), formed in November 2020, is a coalition of over forty

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n farmers' unions to coordinate satyagragh (non-violent resistance) against the three farm acts initiated in September of the same year. The SKM in opposing the three farm laws has asserted that laws are an unwelcome imposition on the farmers, violate the constitution, are anti-farmer and pro

big business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

History

The SKM formed in November 2020 is made up of over forty Indian farmers unions. Its purpose is to oppose the three farm acts that the

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) aims to implement. The farmers' method is Satyagragh (non-violent resistance) protest against the decision by three farm acts. The SKM has held eleven rounds of talks with the government to repeal the three farm bills, and make law to guarantee

minimum support price The minimum support price (MSP) is an advisory price signal that is part of a larger set of agricultural policies in parts of India. This informal "support" price (as opposed to procurement or issue price) is recommended by the government and ai ...

(MSP) for 23 crops without success.

Protest camps

In November, the SKM decided to take their protest to Delhi to draw attention to their cause. The protesters were not allowed to enter Delhi. They made plans to try to enter national highway. The number of farmers concentrated around the borders of Delhi grew. Police deployed against farmers, who remain peaceful cloistered in their make shift camps, are from MHA forces, Haryana, Delhi, and UP Police. The largest concentration of farmers in Haryana are at Tikri, and Shingu-Kundli borders. Similar action by the UP and Delhi police on the Delhi-UP border caused farmers to be concentrated in

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitu ...

, and Chila (Noida-Delhi road), on the UP-Delhi border. Haryana police action on the Haryana and Rajasthan Border, caused farmers concentrations near Shahjahapur, where the farmers face the Haryana and the

Rajasthan police The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan in India. The Rajasthan Police has its headquarters in Jaipur, the state capital. The motto of the force is "committed to serve". History History of Law enforceme ...

. These farmer's protests are opposed by police barricades, armed police and paramilitary forces. The protest sites have evolved into ramshackle camps of trolley tractors, tents and tarps. The farmers have remained without government, medical, electricity or civic support. By January 2020, many protesting farmers had come in by rotation from Punjab and Haryana. Estimates of the camp populations in and around Delhi, mostly in Haryana, varied between 100,000 and 300,000. In addition to farmers' camps on the Delhi borders, there are farmer and SKM supporter gatherings in

Palwal Palwal is a city and a municipal council. It is the headquarters of Palwal district, the 21st district of Haryana state in northern India. It is a centre of the cotton trade in the area. It is also a part of National Capital Region. Etymo ...

. This camp was caused by a decision of the

Haryana Police The Haryana Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Haryana, India. Present DGP of Haryana Police is P. K. Agarwal since August 16, 2021. He is an IPS officer of 1988 batch. History The Haryana Police were formed when ...

to stop the protesters there. On 26 January,

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

, the SKM held a rally and the protesters tried to enter

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. There was a clash between the protesters and police, which lead to injuries on both sides and the death of one protester. The SKM claimed the peaceful protest had been sabotaged by outside groups. The day after the protesters where back at the camps on the edge of capital. On 9 October 2021, Farmer unions termed the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre an " act of terror" that was part of a larger conspiracy to break the 10-month-old farmers’ protest. The union said that this "massacre" during the farmer's movement was analogous to the

Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independenc ...

during the

Indian freedom movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

. The unions and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) planned several protests calling for the immediate dismissal and arrest of Union minister of state for home, Ajay Mishra Teni, and his son Ashish.

2022 state assembly elections

SKM campaigned against the ruling BJP by organizing public meetings and rallies asking farmers to not vote for BJP. SKM had organised the

2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest The 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was a protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts, often called the Farm Bills, have been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions ...

against the controversial three farm acts which were passed by the BJP-led

Union Government The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

controlled

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

in September 2020. These laws were eventually withdrawn by the Union government. On 31 January 2022, the farmer leaders observed "''Vishwasghat Diwas''" (treachery day) across India after the Union government failed to fulfill promises that were made to the farmers during the withdrawal of agitation against three farm laws. SKM leaders have warned that the farm laws may be re-introduced if BJP wins the elections.

Politics

They see the three farm acts as has unwelcome impositions on farmers, violating the constitution, being anti-farmer, and pro

. The members of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and its supporters although ideologically diverse are united by their commitment to strategy of peaceful andolan (movement); and by the common minimum program of getting the Government to repeal the three farm acts, and make law to guarantee

(MSP) for 23 crops.

Organization

The SKM coalition includes farmers’ Unions from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and other States. Other members include several regional affiliates of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), including BKU (Rakesh Tikait faction), BKU Lakhowal (Harinder Singh Lakhowal), BKU Dakaunda (Buta Singh Burjgill), BKU Doaba (Manjit Singh Rai), BKU-Sidhupur, BKU-Rajewal and BKU- Chaduni. Other farmer's organisations that form part of SKM include: Krantikari Kisan Union, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Jamhoori Kisan Sabha (Kulwant Singh Sandhu), Kul Hind Kisan Federation (Prem Singh Bhangu), Satnam Singh Pannun, Punjab Kisan Union, SinghKrantikari Kisan Union and Swaraj India.

Coordination Committee and Leaders

Samyukta Kisan Morcha represents the farmers' union in talks with the government, issues statements on behalf of all the unions, and coordinates the strategy and tactics between the disparate groups. SKM has a seven-member coordination committee which coordinates the work of the 'Morcha', engages in outreach with other farmers' unions, decides and coordinates media policy, briefs the media, addresses press conferences, issues statements, decides on strategy and tactics of the movement, responds to government letters and actions. The Seven Member Committee includes Jagjit Singh Dallewal (President BKU-Sidhupur), Dr. Darshan Pal (President Krantikari Kisan Union),

Atul Kumar Anjan Atul Kumar Anjaan is a senior CPI leader and national secretary of the Communist Party of India. He is the General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. He did his schooling from Lucknow in state board school and graduation, post graduation ...

(National general secretary of

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1 ...

), Hannan Mollah (National general secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (36 Canning Lane)); Balbir Singh Rajewal (president BKU-Rajewal), Ashok Dhawale (National President of

Yogendra Yadav Yogendra Yadav (born 5 September 1963) is an Indian activist, psephologist and politician whose primary interests are in the political and social sciences. He was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Del ...

(President and founder of Swaraj India), Gurnam Singh Chaduni, Shiv Kumar Kakka.

Legal Advisers

The lawyers advising the movement in its negotiations with the Government, and Supreme court on issues of law include Colin Gonsalves, Dushyant Dave,

Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil. People with the given name * Prashant Bose - Indian politician * Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...

and H S Phoolka.

Supporters

Samyukta Kisan Morcha has relationships with over 500 national farm and workers' unions with which it coordinates its action. Protests echoing the demands of the SKM, and in coordination with its actions and programs have taken place in large number of states including Maharashtra,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. In addition, increasing number of trade union organizations have extented their support to program and actions of the SKM.

References

External links

* * {{Agriculture in India Nonviolent resistance movements Organizations established in 2020 Agricultural organisations based in India Organisers of 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest