2020 Strategic and Political Analysis-1

triank · Post by **triank** » 24 Dec 2020 22:44

one sardarji posts these pics:

another sardarji responds to the above with this:

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 24 Dec 2020 23:00

^^^ Heartening

Primus · Post by **Primus** » 24 Dec 2020 23:15

Ambar wrote:Primusji, the last few pages of responses to Mansinghji's questions and concerns will be a good start. Also recommend reading the following -

https://swarajyamag.com/topic/MSP
https://swarajyamag.com/topic/Farm%20Bills
https://indianexpress.com/article/expla ... p-6609668/
https://indianexpress.com/article/expla ... e-7102548/

Thank you Ambar Ji.

I am afraid though that it will indeed fall on deaf ears. For the sake of an old friendship I will have to 'censor' my responses. My own experience has been similar to those of others here. Sikhs in the US and elsewhere outside India have remained largely ignorant of the rapid decline of Punjab - a state from where I too originate, at least from the undivided version. The glory that was is sadly no more.

Many of my Sikh friends actually were quite proud of MMS, although they admitted that he could have stood up to SG, but just the fact that he was a Sikh and thus the first of their community to become the PM was enough to make them happy.

The gory conflict and terror of the early '80s is still permanently etched in their minds, but they do not see it in the same light. Gone is the tragedy of Kanishka, the selective murder of Hindus pulled out of buses and trains, the brutal assassination of the sitting Head of a Country by her own trusted bodyguards. What remains is a burning anger against the very people who gave their own sons into the faith for the protection of all.

I find it so ironical that while all Gurudwaras everywhere (even the little one in my neighborhood) have pictures or paintings of the atrocities committed by the Mughals as reminders of the horrors the community faced, the angst is now directed not at the descendants of the same people, but against those that stood shoulder to shoulder in the fight against a common enemy.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 24 Dec 2020 23:41

It is noteworthy that there seems to be no personal animosity. That is progress. The community needs to work out their demons in their own way.

Others need to be patient. If they can’t do that for this community, the past 300 years are wasted.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 25 Dec 2020 00:33

CR Patil explains the mathematics behind his aggressive page committee drive
https://www.deshgujarat.com/2020/12/24/ ... tee-drive/
Surat: Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil today while addressing the lawyers who enrolled as members of page committee of Surat BJP, explained how page committees can become key to elect BJP candidates in elections. Patil said there are 30 voters on one side of the page of voters list. If there’s 70 percent voting, 21 out of 30 votes would be cast. 5 page committee members would ensure 3 votes each from their own house. Thus the party would get 15 votes. Suppose rest of the six votes are gained by Congress. Even then, BJP lead would be by 9 votes per page. If there are 1,000 votes in each booth and there are 30-32 pages in each voters book, the party would achieve lead of 270 votes in booth. The assembly segment has suppose 300 booths, then 270 multiply by 300 would give 80,000 lead in the assembly election.

Patil said a party workers came to him with a page committee he had formed and said that he had included prestigious people from his page list to page committee. Patil said he liked the idea and suggested cadres to include doctors, lawyers and such professional who have great influence to page committee wherever such people are agree to become page committee member and also can spare time for the party.

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 25 Dec 2020 06:36

darshan wrote:
CR Patil explains the mathematics behind his aggressive page committee drive
https://www.deshgujarat.com/2020/12/24/ ... tee-drive/
Surat: Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil today while addressing the lawyers who enrolled as members of page committee of Surat BJP, explained how page committees can become key to elect BJP candidates in elections. Patil said there are 30 voters on one side of the page of voters list. If there’s 70 percent voting, 21 out of 30 votes would be cast. 5 page committee members would ensure 3 votes each from their own house. Thus the party would get 15 votes. Suppose rest of the six votes are gained by Congress. Even then, BJP lead would be by 9 votes per page. If there are 1,000 votes in each booth and there are 30-32 pages in each voters book, the party would achieve lead of 270 votes in booth. The assembly segment has suppose 300 booths, then 270 multiply by 300 would give 80,000 lead in the assembly election.

Patil said a party workers came to him with a page committee he had formed and said that he had included prestigious people from his page list to page committee. Patil said he liked the idea and suggested cadres to include doctors, lawyers and such professional who have great influence to page committee wherever such people are agree to become page committee member and also can spare time for the party.

Yes, the "panna pramukh" (page committee) concept came in to be extremely helpful in Tripura election where CPM-led Left Front was unseated by tireless works by karyakartas (led by none other than Sunil Deodhar).

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 10:12

It has begun.

expect much more of the same BS, going forward.

wonder how many APMC mandis the US has or how much of grain the US procures at MSP.

kanada has already taken the MSP system and the subsidy question to the WTO, citing it as an unfair trade practice.

hypocrisy much, from both the US and kanada

Seven US lawmakers, including Pramila Jayapal, write to Pompeo on farmers' protest in India

25th December

WASHINGTON: A group of seven influential US lawmakers, including Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, have written to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to raise the issue of farmers' protest in India with his Indian counterpart.

India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as "ill-informed" and "unwarranted", asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country.

"We have seen some ill-informed comments relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said earlier this month.

This is an issue of particular concern to Sikh Americans linked to Punjab, although it also heavily impacts the Indian Americans belonging to other Indian states, the lawmakers said in their letter to Pompeo dated December 23.

"Many Indian Americans are directly affected as they have family members and ancestral land in Punjab and are concerned for the well-being of their families in India. In view of this serious situation, we urge you to contact your Indian counterpart to reinforce the United States' commitment to the freedom of political speech abroad," they said.

In their letter, the lawmakers said that the US as a nation that is familiar with political protests can offer counsel to India during their current period of social disturbance.

"As national legislators, we respect the right of the government of India to determine national policy, in compliance with existing law. We also acknowledge the rights of those in India and abroad who are currently protesting peacefully against agricultural laws that many Indian farmers see as an attack on their economic security," the lawmakers said.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting on various borders of Delhi since November 26, seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September.

Dubbing these laws as "anti-farmer", these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislations would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

There have been multiple rounds of talks between representatives of the protestors and the Indian government but the logjam continues.

In addition to Jayapal, the letter has been signed by Congressmen Donald Norcross, Brendan F Boyle, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mary Gay Scanlon, Debbie Dingell and David Trone.

Over the past few weeks, more than a dozen US Congressmen have expressed their concerns on the ongoing protest by the farmers in India.

Earlier this month, Congressman John Garamendi, Co-Chair of the American Sikh Caucus, along with Congressman Jim Costa and Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee members of the American Sikh Caucus, sent a letter to Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, expressing solidarity with the protestors and defending their right to peaceful protest.

Democratic American lawmaker David Trone on Tuesday urged the Indian government to provide safety to the protesting farmers and hailed the recent offers of dialogue and a proposal from India's Supreme Court to set up mediation.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 10:32

Kati wrote:
darshan wrote:
Yes, the "panna pramukh" (page committee) concept came in to be extremely helpful in Tripura election where CPM-led Left Front was unseated by tireless works by karyakartas (led by none other than Sunil Deodhar).

In a place like bengal, for instance, won't this system paint a needless target on people's back for the murderous cadres of the commies and regional parties to target, and that usually ends in the killing/maiming of the BJP supporters under the guise of what passes for legitimate political activity in these parts.

the BJP need tireless, hardworking karyakarthas, not dead or crippled ones, no

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 25 Dec 2020 11:03

Law and order the British style.

West Bengal police unleash lathi-charge on BJP workers including women, more than 40 injured
https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/west-be ... s-injured/

Fake TRP ‘scam’: Mumbai Police now arrests BARC CEO, days after it arrested their COO
https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/fake-tr ... -barc-ceo/

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 25 Dec 2020 11:12

Netizens call for #EcoFriendlyChristmas ahead of the festival, urge PETA and other environmentalists to join the cause
https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/netizen ... -peta-ngt/

According to reports, every year in the UK alone, people end up eating over 270 million mince pies, drink 250 million pints of beer, 35 million bottles of wine and kill 10 million turkeys. In simpler words, it can be pointed out that people eat 80% more during the Christmas period.

Studies have revealed that over 1 billion pounds worth of food goes to waste during the Christmas period and over 700 million pounds worth of useless gifts are bought and exchanged. Food, clothing, gadgets and more go to waste during this period. Money that could have been used for better purposes like donating food to charity, education of underprivileged children, or even creating jobs for the unemployed.
...

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 25 Dec 2020 11:38

Modi Cabinet Approves Rs 59,000 Crore Investment For Scholarships To Scheduled Caste Students
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/modi-cabi ... e-students
...
Out of the total investment of Rs 59,048 crore, the Central Government would spend Rs 35,534 crore and the balance would be funded by the state governments. This replaces the existing committed liability system and brings greater involvement of the centre in this scheme
...
It is estimated that 1.36 crore students, who are currently not continuing their education beyond Class X would be brought into the higher education system in the next 5 years.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 25 Dec 2020 11:42

sanjaykumar wrote:It is noteworthy that there seems to be no personal animosity. That is progress. The community needs to work out their demons in their own way.

Others need to be patient. If they can’t do that for this community, the past 300 years are wasted.

That is like putting lipstick on a pig. What is shocking is that there was a build up over the last few years and Doval completely overlooked it. He entire focus is on one single Abrahamic group and this has come at huge losses and outcomes. Starting from Kartarpur corridor and even before. This was simmering for a few years.
We have a serious intelligence deficit. We saw that with the CAA protests, exposure on the eastern borders, now infiltration in our hill areas by another Abrahamic group etc. Faultline after Faultline is brewing but the key drivers of the conglomerate have not been neutralized. It's time for him to retire. Intel is not necessarily about bravado and showing ones face everywhere. Some of our best intel folks never had a picture up anywhere.
How can the intelligence establishment fail so badly? Is our intel run by Israel now? Once it was Russia.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 12:01

Writ Petition seeking deletion of t Secularism and Socialism from the Preamble to the Constitution has been filed in the SC yesterday by Satyapal Sabharwal, a topper who graduated in law last August, and myself. These two words were put in the Preamble during the Emergency.

via@Swamy39
3:46 PM · Dec 24, 2020

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 12:16

The paki cat is out of the bag and the truth of the balakot strike is confirmed by a malevolent paki and is finally out.

pappu's credibility, as usual, is once again in the crapper

Pak Commentator and Ex Foreign Office Zafar Halali speaks on record to accept Indian Air Force Surgical Strike and loss of 300 Pakis

WATCH Video

via@TheMeghdoot

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 25 Dec 2020 14:52

chetak wrote:The paki cat is out of the bag and the truth of the balakot strike is confirmed by a malevolent paki and is finally out.

pappu's credibility, as usual, is once again in the crapper

Pak Commentator and Ex Foreign Office Zafar Halali speaks on record to accept Indian Air Force Surgical Strike and loss of 300 Pakis

WATCH Video

via@TheMeghdoot

That twitter post has a carefully edited video. In the actual video he says the usual Paki line about us hitting only some trees etc.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 15:52

Bart S wrote:
chetak wrote:The paki cat is out of the bag and the truth of the balakot strike is confirmed by a malevolent paki and is finally out.

pappu's credibility, as usual, is once again in the crapper

WATCH Video

via@TheMeghdoot
That twitter post has a carefully edited video. In the actual video he says the usual Paki line about us hitting only some trees etc.

good to know, saar.

our guys can also do a video hit job on the pakis.

If true, my apologies for the fake news.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 15:57

Soon, it might be mandatory for restaurants and retailers to display whether they are selling Halal or Jhatka meat: Details

Soon, it might be mandatory for restaurants and retailers to display whether they are selling Halal or Jhatka meat: Details

The SDMC draft states that since consuming Halal meat is forbidden for Hindus and Sikhs, it should be their prerogative to know which meat they are being served so that they could make an informed choice.

25 December, 2020
OpIndia Staff

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation is planning to make it necessary for eateries and meat retailers in its jurisdiction to specify whether the meat they’re serving is halal or jhatka, reports TOI. The SDMC draft states that since consuming Halal meat is forbidden for Hindus and Sikhs, it should be their prerogative to know which meat they are being served so that they could make an informed choice.

The resolution which has been approved by the standing committee of the civic body on Thursday and would now be going to the house of the Parliament for approval, states that “thousands of eating places are working in 104 wards of 4 zones falling below SDMC and meat is being served in 90% eating places however it’s not displayed by them whether or not…(it) is halal or jhatka.” An identical state of affairs prevailed at meat retail shops, it read.

“According to Hinduism and Sikhism, consuming halal meat is forbidden and in opposition to the religions… Therefore, the committee resolves that this route be given to eating places and meat shops that it should be displayed mandatorily as to which meat is being bought and served by them…that halal or jhatka meat is available here”, furthered the resolution.

Most customers normally don’t take the trouble to find out at a restaurant whether or not the meat is halal or jhatka. The civic body might also ask for a declaration for customers to make an informed choice.

No intention to ban Halal meat but give the right to consumers to make an informed choice: SDMC
The resolution which was moved by the Chhattarpur councillor Anita Tanwar was tabled by the medical reduction and public well-being panel on November 9, 2020. Tanwar cleared that the intent behind the move was not to stop anyone from eating one form of meat but to respect the religious sentiments of the people. “This is not to ban one form of meat or the other. The change is to respect religious sentiments. Everyone is free to eat the kind of meat they want. Hindus don’t like to eat halal meat. If we put up a board at each restaurant, people will know what kind of meat is being served to them, he added.

Meanwhile, the Standing committee chairperson, Rajdutt Gahlot said that the target is to let the buyer know in regards to the sort of meat being served, in order that they’ll make a knowledgeable selection.

All eateries have to obtain an annual health trade licence from the corporation and the councillors want the condition to be a part of the process.

Speaking about the proposal, an SDMC official opined that even if it is approved it would be difficult to enforce it as there are more than 2,000 eateries in south Delhi and it would be a mammoth task to convince each as many might be reluctant to adopt it.

“If they mention one type of meat, some people may avoid it. Who would want to lose business?” he asked.

Yesterday we reported how the EU states have also been given the right by the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) to impose a ban on religious slaughtering like Halal and Kosher, of animals. Since Halal and Kosher slaughterings require livestock to be conscious when their throats are slit, the decision was taken on the grounds of animal humanity and rights.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 25 Dec 2020 16:33

https://swarajyamag.com/economy/heres-w ... al-reforms
Here’s Why Many Punjab Farmers Support Arhatiyas In Opposing Modi Government’s Agricultural Reforms-article worth reading

didn't know other than state govt paying hafta to Arthiyas, central govt also pays them hafta to procure produce.

there are reasons why farmers are supporting the arhatiyas. This is because the arhatiyas extend them loans for everything starting from buying seeds until the crop is harvested.

The fear now among farmers is that the arhatiyas will now end providing them loans and thus, they would have to face difficulties to meet any emergency needs.

This is despite the fact that these arhatiyas charge them huge interest for the money they lend.

“Since I turn to the arhatiyas for money, I cannot take my crop elsewhere. The sole reason why he gives me a loan is that I will have to take my crop to him,” said a farmer at Asia’s largest grain market Khanna in Punjab during this writer’s visit to Punjab and Haryana during peak wheat harvest season 10 years ago.

Another farmer near Jalandhar said his family needed money for hospitalisation of a member and it could get money only from an arhatiyas. “Many times we have approached banks for loans for cultivation, but we find the process painful and cumbersome. We have to visit them quite a few times,” the farmer said.

AIREA’s Setia said that arhatiyas extend loans to farmers in cash as well as kind. “These arhatiyas hand out slips to these farmers, who can use them to buy diesel or chemicals or clothes. Everywhere, the payment is settled by the arhatiyas,” he said.

The former AIREA president also said that successive governments in Punjab have favoured the arhatiyas system. “The Congress and Akalis have raised the commission of arhatiyas from 1.5 per cent earlier to 2.5 per cent now,” he said.

According to industry officials, this has actually empowered the arhatiyas to take advantage of the situation and dictate terms.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 18:39

^^^^^^^

They continue to have this option.

What about the rest of the country's farmers who have never had the luxury of MSP in their lives so far

will they continue to be excluded just to ensure that punjab's farmers keep benefitting for times to come at the cost of all other farmers and the idiot taxpayers who are footing the bill

or are the punjab farmers willing to share the MSP pie equitably with all other states as is only fair since the taxpayers of India are the ones' paying the bill

ManSingh · Post by **ManSingh** » 25 Dec 2020 19:11

How do the new laws distribute MSP equitably across the country or reduce the taxpayer burden?

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 25 Dec 2020 19:23

ManSingh wrote:How do the new laws distribute MSP equitably across the country or reduce the taxpayer burden?

The new laws allow farmers all over India to sell to anyone outside the Mandis who is willing to pay the best price for their produce. Experience so far shows buyers in states like MP coming to the farmer's door, paying upfront in cash, and bearing the transport costs of the produce to their godown. What problem do you have with this, I am not able to comprehend.

BTW, do you support Govt. spreading out MSP procurement across different states in proportion to the wheat / rice produced by them? That will be fair, no? Rather than majority of MSP purchases being selfishly cornered by Punjab farmers, leaving farmers in UP, MP etc. holding a lemon. Worse, Punjab farmers are producing rice for which their land is totally unsuitable.

Farmer suicides have almost disappeared in states where APMC system was abolished.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 25 Dec 2020 19:31

Bihar doesn't have MSP since 2006 , in absence of which their farmers have been selling fasal to mandi agents of Punjab because of assured MSP, in return arthiyas give them some price not equal to Punjab farmers.
That should answer the question on equitability

ManSingh · Post by **ManSingh** » 25 Dec 2020 19:34

sanjayc wrote:
ManSingh wrote:How do the new laws distribute MSP equitably across the country or reduce the taxpayer burden?
The new laws allow farmers all over India to sell to anyone outside the Mandis who is willing to pay the best price for their produce. Experience so far shows buyers in states like MP coming to the farmer's door, paying upfront in cash, and bearing the transport costs of the produce to their godown. What problem do you have with this, I am not able to comprehend.

My question was different. I specifically asked as to how the new laws would distribute MSP procurement equally across all farmers and how would they reduce the tax payer burden.

For your question, do you have data as to what price is paid to the farmer for doorstep procurement. The bihar experience of ending APMC's is that price paid to farmers is between 800-1100 Rs. This is below the agricultural futures ( international market prices ) of around 1400 and well below the MSP of 1975. There are several articles on this. I just randomly picked one:

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agr ... mers-74534

This is the problem.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 25 Dec 2020 19:40

we keep hearing of conversion racket quite strong in Punjab, perhaps this is endorsement of their power?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 20:08

Somewhere, the Hindus have lost the plot.

Today is Gita Jayanti, the biggest day when the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus was revealed by Bhagawan Sri Krishna to Arjuna & here we have Hindus wishing merry christmas which is a foreign religious cult day appropriated from the pagans by one of the popes & nowhere in the bible does it mention that christ was born on christmas.

Today is also Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

Narendra Modi @narendramodi·1h

Today, on the auspicious day of Geeta Jayanti, millions all over the world would chant verses from Chapters 12 and 15 of the sacred Geeta at 6 PM IST. Sharing a link where you can find the audio of Chapters 12 and 15.

http://mychinmaya.org/bhagavad-gita-all-chapters-audio/

Looks like it took a chorus of tweets on twitter to get this response from Modi, whereas, rolers and ropers are greeted early in the day for all and sundry "festivals" without any reminders.

Also, look at the break-up of 14 compulsory Govt holidays during 2021 for various festivals: 3-Secular, 1-Jain, 1-Sikh, 1-Buddhist, 2-Hindu, 2-Christian & 4-Muslim.

whilst one continues to remain a bhakth, one is sometimes disheartened at the inattention to details important to the Hindus.

By all means, one may wish merry christmas to anyone one pleases, but to forget or to keep mum on Gita Jayanti and Vaikuntha Ekadashi is like taking an axe to one's own ancient cultural and civilizational heritage.

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 25 Dec 2020 21:44

ManSingh wrote:How do the new laws distribute MSP equitably across the country or reduce the taxpayer burden?

It does not. The new farm bills are not about MSP, it is about creating a free market system with alternate avenues of sale. The MSP remains untouched as do the mandis but with better price elsewhere will result in reducing the burden on the exchequer to set aside Rs 250000 crores for MSP every year. At the end of the day the government was elected to treat everyone equally and fairly irrespective of which state they belong to, so MSP must be distributed equally across states. In fact i am in favor of bringing more produce under PSS if a fixed budget is set aside for MSP. Why should only the farmers growing commercial crops benefit from price guarantee where as someone growing vegetables or coconuts or areca is at the mercy of market driven demand and supply ? Whether we are for MSP or against it, fighting the market forces , thinking international and ignoring local has skewed the prices against the common man already suffering from chronic food hyperinflation. It doesn't make any sense when the MSP for a local produce is many a times higher than the wholesale prices in western countries when the average income of the consumer is 1/15th or 1/20th of some of those wealthy countries. You see this happen routinely with wheat, grams, oil seeds. This is akin to Saudi Arabia selling petrol to its citizens at the same price as the Netherlands.

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 25 Dec 2020 22:15

ManSingh wrote:
sanjayc wrote:
The new laws allow farmers all over India to sell to anyone outside the Mandis who is willing to pay the best price for their produce. Experience so far shows buyers in states like MP coming to the farmer's door, paying upfront in cash, and bearing the transport costs of the produce to their godown. What problem do you have with this, I am not able to comprehend.
My question was different. I specifically asked as to how the new laws would distribute MSP procurement equally across all farmers and how would they reduce the tax payer burden.

For your question, do you have data as to what price is paid to the farmer for doorstep procurement. The bihar experience of ending APMC's is that price paid to farmers is between 800-1100 Rs. This is below the agricultural futures ( international market prices ) of around 1400 and well below the MSP of 1975. There are several articles on this. I just randomly picked one:

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agr ... mers-74534

This is the problem.

Regarding what rate farmers get outside the mandis, why not let them take a decision themselves where to sell? You are pretending as if they are being barred from selling in Mandis -- the new laws are only giving them a choice where to sell -- whether in Mandi or outside -- and farmers are already voting with their feet.

Prompt Payment And Better Price: Madhya Pradesh Farmers Choose Businessmen Over Mandis To Sell Produce
Madhya Pradesh mandis have reportedly witnessed a 21 per cent drop in the incoming produce in the wake of the new agricultural reform bills and the amendments in the mandi act.

https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/prom ... ll-produce

I have a feeling you are actually against giving farmers the freedom to sell their produce anywhere else except the mandis controlled by venal commission agents. Whose interests are you representing? Are you in favor of giving freedom to farmers to sell their produce anywhere they wish - yes or no?

As things stand today, Punjab farmers are freeloaders.

Punjab Farmers Are Fighting To Protect Their Privileges; They Should Stop Pretending To Be Representatives of All Farmers

The current standoff between the farmers of Punjab who have laid a siege on the national capital and the government of India which has been forced to come to the negotiating table after being dismissive about the agitation has again proved Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s minority rule right: it takes a small number of stubborn people with skin in the game, or a common agenda if you will, to drive the society in the direction they want.

Perhaps the only thing that can stop them is if they are out stubborned by someone else, in this case, a strong government with solid majority in Parliament whose chief executive remains wildly popular.

It was the stubbornness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo that the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) movement didn’t get its way in thrusting its agenda on the country even after doing everything possible - from peaceful protests to rioting.

One hopes that this government won’t let Punjab farmers veto the long pending farm reforms from being implemented nationally, though there might be some nominal concessions here and there.

Now, stubbornness of democratic leaders in face of such massive protests is a terrible thing if the grievances of people are genuine. That wasn’t the case with the anti-CAA movement. Nor is that the case with the current farmer protests. So, when the facts are on your side, the numbers are on your side, and the reason for action is virtuous, then it becomes a moral obligation to stand up to the ones who are fighting for selfish interests.

Yes, Punjab’s farmers are fighting for their selfish interests. Let there be no two ways about it. Let’s look at the numbers.

This year, post the Rabi harvest season, the government agencies procured 382 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of wheat at Minimum Support Prices (MSP). 86 per cent of this procurement was from three states alone - Madhya Pradesh (129 LMT), Punjab (127 LMT), Haryana (74 LMT). One might assume that these states are the biggest producer of wheat in the country but that’s not the case.

Punjab’s farmers produced 175.6 LMT of wheat this year out of which they brought 127.62 LMT to mandis (keeping the rest for personal consumption) and managed to sell 127.12 LMT at MSP, i.e. 99.9 per cent.

Wheat production in MP stood at 336 LMT, over 90 per cent more than Punjab. Around 200 LMT is kept for state’s consumption while rest was brought to mandis and 129 LMT was sold at MSP.

Basically, while 72 per cent of Punjab’s total wheat produce was sold at MSP, the figure for MP was 38 per cent. Last year, it was less than 20 per cent. MP has emerged as a major wheat producer in recent years and the MSP system is being established slowly.

If it continues, then MP farmers will also start bringing most of their produce to mandis like Punjab’s farmers. The latter keeps only small amount for self-consumption because it’s profitable to buy from the market rather than keeping own produce at home which can be sold at much higher price in the mandi thanks to MSP. It’s only a matter of time that such bad incentive leads to same behaviour among MP farmers too.

And we have not even talked about the plight of farmers in Uttar Pradesh which produce almost one-third of India’s wheat but only 32 LMT of its wheat (around 10 per cent) is procured at MSP. Rajasthan farmers produce around half the wheat Punjab farmers do but their procurement at MSP is only 19 LMT - more than six times less than Punjab’s farmers.

The point is clear. Interests of Punjab’s farmers are not aligned with those of farmers in other states. So, this disinformation that this is a protest championing cause of all farmers should stop. The government spent Rs 73,500 crore for MSP procurement of wheat this year. Given that Punjab’s share out of this was over 33 per cent (while share in total India’s wheat production at around 17 per cent), Punjab’s farmers took Rs 25,000 crores when their fare share comes to half of that. We know the money doesn’t grow on trees, so the only way out is redistribution of subsidies, from Punjab’s farmers to those in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and elsewhere.

Second, Punjab’s farmers should also stop expecting Haryana’s farmers to join their protest in spirit of brotherhood. On Haryana’s side, some emotional fools still keep peddling ‘Punjab is our big brother’ nonsense when the fact is Haryana is now ahead of Punjab as far as economy is concerned.

Nonetheless, the reason why majority of Haryana’s farmers don’t have any feeling of brotherhood towards Punjab’s farmers is precisely because of selfish nature of the latter. It’s because of their vehement opposition that the Punjab government has gone back on its promise to share water with Haryana and both Prakash Singh Badal and Amarinder Singh have refused to build Satluj-Yamuna Link canal despite repeated orders from the Supreme Court.

You can’t bulldoze everyone for your selfishness and then expect others to have any sympathy for you.

Third, if anyone had an iota of doubt that Punjab farmers are protesting for their own interest, this should clear it for them: they are demanding that the ordinance promulgated by the Centre to deal with air pollution in Delhi and NCR regions is withdrawn or at-least have its provisions watered down. If Haryana can manage its stubble, why can’t Punjab? This is the tragedy of policy of giving concession and special treatment to one section of the society.

The Centre is right to bring these three laws. More than 90 per cent of the farmers don’t benefit from the MSP regime. It cannot allow a small irrational selfish minority to hold the interests of crores of farmers ransom.

But it must rethink the whole governance system which has centralised the decision making powers in hands of the union government. With great power comes greater burden of doling out subsidies on a massive scale.

While the appeal of playing messiah of gareeb kisaan is understandable, Prime Minister Modi must think seriously about making agriculture completely a state subject. Let the states decide which crops to incentivise, how to help the farmers and implement different solutions for their own unique problems. Let Punjab government allocate Rs 25,000 crore for wheat procurement (amount centre pays to Punjab’s farmers) out of its own coffers (which translates to over 16 per cent of the whole state’s annual budget). And then let’s see whether those who are becoming leaders of farmers put their money where their mouth is.

This is the best thing the government can do. It can get rid of its burden of providing food subsidy, running PDS system, procurement/storage costs, fertiliser subsidy and even MNREGA as agriculture economist Ashok Gulati has suggested. It will save itself a lot of headache and lakhs of crores in the process.

https://swarajyamag.com/politics/punjab ... ll-farmers

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 22:52

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Dec 2020 23:02

गीता जयंती, वैकुंठ एकादशी और तुलसी पूजन दिवस की सभी हिंदुओं को शुभकामनाएं।

And Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 25 Dec 2020 23:06

So how do Haryana farmers manage their stubble?

Why is Sutlej Jamna link canal on the front pages? More extortion?

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 25 Dec 2020 23:22

Great. Snap power to cellphone towers and there by affecting thousands of students and businesses that relies on internet to function ! We seem to have perfected the art of cutting off the nose to spite the face.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 25 Dec 2020 23:26

It is the medieval mentality-as in laying a town to siege.

Can't blame them, it's the culture.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 25 Dec 2020 23:28

Only if citizens discussed the existential threats to Bharat and Hindus as much as they do MSP. Let states that want to provide MSP and run mandis handle it at the state level. Not the center's problem when manifestos about getting rid of it have been supported by majority of Indian citizens for decades. Even much less supported causes get passed and no one hits the street. It certainly has nothing to do with poors as they have been getting screwed since 1947 and no one hits the street for their causes. It's only the ones that don't want to loose easy money.

The center needs to be very clear about the money coming from the center for anything. States take money but turn around and keep the center's agencies out or act against nation's security.

The center should reduce money going to the state in accordance to the damages being caused. Punjab had destroyed many railways property and IR should divert funds to more civil places first before spending more money in Punjab.

sudarshan · Post by **sudarshan** » 25 Dec 2020 23:39

Ambar wrote:Great. Snap power to cellphone towers and there by affecting thousands of students and businesses that relies on internet to function ! We seem to have perfected the art of cutting off the nose to spite the face.

Does this affect Delhi? If so - goody! Apparently they are indifferent to the traffic siege, let's see how they put up with it if the free internet supplied by their CM is being disrupted.

It also seems that the "farmers" are getting desperate. Wonder if the govt. has a back-up plan if they storm the parliament building next. Might be more exciting than Sonia "storming the well" with 44 MPs.

ManSingh · Post by **ManSingh** » 25 Dec 2020 23:50

Ambar wrote:
ManSingh wrote:How do the new laws distribute MSP equitably across the country or reduce the taxpayer burden?
It does not. The new farm bills are not about MSP, it is about creating a free market system with alternate avenues of sale. The MSP remains untouched as do the mandis but with better price elsewhere will result in reducing the burden on the exchequer to set aside Rs 250000 crores for MSP every year. At the end of the day the government was elected to treat everyone equally and fairly irrespective of which state they belong to, so MSP must be distributed equally across states. In fact i am in favor of bringing more produce under PSS if a fixed budget is set aside for MSP. Why should only the farmers growing commercial crops benefit from price guarantee where as someone growing vegetables or coconuts or areca is at the mercy of market driven demand and supply ? Whether we are for MSP or against it, fighting the market forces , thinking international and ignoring local has skewed the prices against the common man already suffering from chronic food hyperinflation. It doesn't make any sense when the MSP for a local produce is many a times higher than the wholesale prices in western countries when the average income of the consumer is 1/15th or 1/20th of some of those wealthy countries. You see this happen routinely with wheat, grams, oil seeds. This is akin to Saudi Arabia selling petrol to its citizens at the same price as the Netherlands.

Thanks for understanding. Your post makes sense. The laws are not about MSP. My understanding of these laws:

These laws are to reduce the payout from government coffers to improve its finances. Also the future, with a demand for a varied palate as the population it will require massive investment. The government does not want to invest or manage this infrastructure. So it makes sense to slowly start involving private firms who have experience or work on a for profit basis. This helps assigning fixed goals and assuring progress happens at a fixed pace versus government run institutions who do not have a very good track record. Other motives may include pressure from WTO to reduce subsidies.

For your other points:

1) It is not certain that prices to producers will be maintained during private procurement. Experience shows that it will be lower.

2) Prices will not be lower for consumers. Food grains and essentials fall in the region for inelastic demand. Also India is a sort of duopoly/monopoly/cartel type economy. It is not a fully competitive market. In fact CCI has recently said they have no legal basis to take action against monopolisation. Sorry for the technical terms. What this means is that the prices will always face an upward pressure unless the market is regulated.

3) The same cost skew is faced by producers too. Diesel, DAP or other agricultural inputs are not priced at 1/20 the prices of rich nations. I think we have lulled ourselves into a false sense of achievement with PPP terminology. As we match real world per capita income these anomalies will ho away.

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 26 Dec 2020 00:02

Jio Towers Are Demolished & Uprooted By Farmers Protesters Against Mukesh Ambani.The anger of farmers opposing new agricultural laws is increasing against Reliance. After closing the showrooms of Reliance Petrol Pump and Reliance Trends, farmers have now opened a front against Jio towers.

Farmers' organizations have started shutting down the power of Jio towers in many places.

In the village of Ikolaha in Khanna, on Sunday, the village panchayat and the villagers jointly locked the gate by disconnecting the power supply of the tower of Jio in the village.

These people say that the Modi government has implemented new agricultural laws to benefit those people, we will break their back by waging such a campaign against them.

The village sarpanch Mandeep Singh said that in connection with the farmers sitting in Delhi, the electricity connection of Jio Company's tower in Ikolaha village has been cut. After this, the towers of Jio located in Khanna and surrounding areas will be closed.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 26 Dec 2020 00:23

3) The same cost skew is faced by producers too. Diesel, DAP or other agricultural inputs are not priced at 1/20 the prices of rich nations. I think we have lulled ourselves into a false sense of achievement with PPP terminology. As we match real world per capita income these anomalies will ho away.

There is subsidy of various inputs- from R&D of agricultural varieties to fertilizer to electricity to MSP.

Muft which Khaana kisee noo shoba naee dend daa.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 26 Dec 2020 00:50

sudarshan wrote:
It also seems that the "farmers" are getting desperate. Wonder if the govt. has a back-up plan if they storm the parliament building next. Might be more exciting than Sonia "storming the well" with 44 MPs.

the govt is using the rope-a-dope tactic used by Muhammad Ali

a boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent to throw tiring ineffective punches.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 26 Dec 2020 00:55

@vimal ji

Farmers' organizations have started shutting down the power of Jio towers in many places.

this is dangerous ground to be fooling around on

Telecommunications is a central subject. The Modi govt could step in anytime, if pushed further.

and amarinder is losing control

sudarshan · Post by **sudarshan** » 26 Dec 2020 00:58

chetak wrote: the govt is using the rope-a-dope tactic used by Muhammad Ali

a boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent to throw tiring ineffective punches.

Had to look that up, hope that's true.

In other news, it seems Dr. Patil has written a book and is trying to promote it.

https://www.amazon.in/2019-Election-Sto ... B082PWL6WM

Please do the needful, it doesn't seem very expensive.