India to repeal three farm laws after huge protests: PM Modi

New Delhi: India will repeal three agricultural reform laws that have sparked almost a year of massive protests by farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday in a stunning U-turn.

"We have decided to repeal all three farm laws. We will start the constitutional process to repeal all the three laws in the parliament session that starts at the end of this month," Modi said in an address to the nation.

"I appeal to all the farmers who are part of the protest... to now return to your home, to your loved ones, to your farms, and family."

"Let's make a fresh start and move forward," he added, appealing to farmers on Guru Purab, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Farmers have been protesting the government's three farm laws.

The three controversial farm laws are:

• The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020, which provides for setting up a mechanism allowing the farmers to sell their farm produces outside the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Any licence-holder trader can buy the produce from the farmers at mutually agreed prices. This trade of farm produces will be free of "mandi tax" imposed by the state governments.

• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act of 2020, which allows farmers to do contract farming and market their produces freely.

• The Essential Commodities (Amendment), which amends the existing Essential Commodities Act.

Farmers' protest

Thousands of farmers — many of them Sikhs from the northern agrarian Punjab state — have been camped out on the borders of the capital New Delhi since November 2020 in one of the biggest challenges to Modi's government.

About two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion population draw their livelihood from farming and the sector has long been a political minefield.

Modi's government said the reforms would help fix a sector that it says is massively inefficient.

But farmers feared the changes would have left them at the mercy of big corporations. The protests took a violent turn in January when a tractor rally in Delhi transformed into a rampage that left one farmer dead and hundreds of police officers injured.

Last month, another eight people died in clashes in Uttar Pradesh state.

Violent Turn

The protests took a violent turn on Jan. 26, India's Republic Day, when thousands of farmers overwhelmed police and went on to storm the historic Red Fort in New Delhi after tearing down barricades and driving tractors through roadblocks.

One protester was killed and scores of farmers and policemen were injured.

Small farmers say the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business and that they could eventually lose price support for staples such as wheat and rice.

The government says reform of the sector, which accounts for about 15% of the $2.7 trillion economy, means new opportunities and better prices for farmers.

The government failed to convince small groups of farmers of its intentions, Modi said in a speech after greeting the country on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Many of the protesting farmers are Sikh.

"We welcome the announcement made by the prime minister, but we need to know the government's stand on our other key demand of making (minimum support prices) compulsory for all crops," said Darshan Pal, another farmers' leader.

Minimum support prices are state-set prices at which the government buys rice and wheat from farmers.

The expanded demand for minimum prices on all cropshas gained traction among farmers from across the country, not just the northern grain belt.

Opposition parties congratulated the farmers. Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, India's main opposition party, said their firm stand forced the "arrogant" government to concede.

"Whether it was fear of losing UP or finally facing up to conscience @BJP govt rolls back farm laws. Just the beginning of many more victories for people’s voices." Mahua Moitra, a lawmaker from the Trinamool Congress Party and one of Modi's staunchest critics, said on Twitter

Timeline: Farmers' protests against agricultural laws

Here is a timeline of events around the passing of the laws and the escalating protests:

June 2020: Three emergency executive orders are introduced, which Modi's cabinet says are aimed at giving farmers the freedom to sell directly to institutional buyers such as big trading houses, large retailers and food processors.

Sept. 17: India's lower house of parliament passes the orders. India's food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns, calling the legislation "anti-farmer".

Sept. 18: Modi defends the new legislation, saying it will "unshackle" millions of farmers and help them get better prices.

Sept. 20: India's parliament passes the bills, despite growing protest from opposition parties, who say farmers' bargaining power will be diminished.

Sept. 24: Farmers from some of India's big northern heartland states - key producers of wheat and rice - block railway tracks. Bigger demonstrations are held across the country the next day, with growers blocking highways leading to the capital New Delhi with trucks, tractors and combine harvesters.

Nov. 30: Modi resists calls to repeal the laws, dismissing as misplaced fears the government will eventually abolish the wholesale markets.

Dec. 1: In talks lasting several hours, ministers and representatives of the protesting farmers fail to break a deadlock over the farm laws.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks of the protests in a video message, saying his government had reached out to Indian authorities. In response, India's foreign ministry said Canadian leaders were "ill-informed".

Dec. 7: Thousands protest and block traffic converge on the Indian embassy and march around Trafalgar Square area in central London over the Indian reforms. Police arrest 13 over breaches of COVID regulations.

Dec. 8: Protests spread across India, as farm organisations call for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with the government.

Dec. 16: A 65-year-old Sikh priest commits suicide at one of the protest sites.

Dec. 17: The protests expand to the Sikh diaspora, with 250 to 300 Sikhs and other Indians taking part in a rally in Melbourne. Protests take place over a few days in nearly 50 different cities around the world.

Dec. 21: Farmers' leaders begin a 24-hour relay hunger strike. More than 30 protesters camping out in the open on key national highways have died, mainly due to the cold with temperatures falling to 4 degree Celsius, farmer leaders said.

Jan. 12, 2021: India's Supreme Court orders an indefinite stay on the implementation of the new agricultural laws, saying it wanted to protect farmers and would hear their objections.

Jan. 26: Farmers overwhelm police and storm into New Delhi's historic Red Fort complex after tearing down barricades and driving tractors through roadblocks. Police fire tear gas in an unsuccessful bid to force the protesters back. One protester was killed, a witness said, and Delhi police said 86 officers had been injured across the city.

Feb. 2: Singer Rihanna tweets using the hashtag #FarmersProtest, saying: "Why aren't we talking about this?!" Others follow, including Greta Thunberg and Meena Harris, niece of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. India's foreign ministry slams the comments, urging a proper understanding of the issues at hand.

Feb. 15: Politicians and activists condemn the arrest of Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old climate campaigner accused of sedition for helping edit an online document Sweden's Greta Thunberg had promoted in support of the protesting farmers. She is later granted bail, a court saying there was "scanty and sketchy evidence" of sedition in her efforts.

July 22: Farmers start a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, a large Mughal-era observatory near parliament in New Delhi, renewing a push for the repeal.

Sept. 5: More than 500,000 farmers gather in Uttar Pradesh state, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations.

Nov. 19: Modi says he will repeal the controversial laws farmers have protested against for over a year.