Task of saving the life fasting farmer leader Dallewal deserves priority attention

By Bharat Dogra 

Farmers’ leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast since November 26, 2024 and his deteriorating health has become a cause of serious concern, engaging the attention also of the Supreme Court of India which has been trying to ensure that medical help is available in any emergency situation.

Justice Surya Kant clarified on January 2 that the court’s efforts to hospitalize the fasting leader are aimed at protecting his life. The judge also criticized the Punjab government and some others for creating a different impression.

On the same day his companion judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the Central government’s reluctance to clearly state that its doors are open to consider the genuine grievances of farmers.

Earlier it was widely reported in the media that Mr. Dallewal has conveyed his willingness to end his fast if the central government invites him to hold talks on farmers’ demands.

On the other hand the central government had also stated earlier that it will go along with the Supreme Court’s efforts to settle the issue.

Now the Central government can take together the recent comments of Justice Bhuyan and the earlier statement of Mr. Dallewal to take a significant step forward for saving the life of Mr. Dallewal by inviting him for talks.

After all, one of the most frequent steps taken by governments in democracies to resolve any difficult situation, particularly when it is on the verge of becoming more difficult, is to invite the other side for talks. There is no sign of weakness in this, certainly no surrender or bowing under pressure. No unreasonable demand is being accepted under any kind of pressure; there will only be an invitation for talks with an open mind and in a spirit of sincerity.

On their part the close supporters of Mr. Dallewal should also persuade him to end his fast as early as possible and save his life and energy for helping farmers in facing numerous challenges ahead.

There are many organizations of farmers and they have their own areas of influence and strength. No organization can claim to be the only one to speak for the farmers of the entire country. With this well-established understanding, when the situation so demands, any organization can be invited to discuss its demands and its understanding of the problems of farmers and their solutions. From any sincere interaction, at least some good can be expected to emerge, even if all problems are not sorted out and all demands are not met.

Problems of the farming sector are multi-dimensional and have many regional variations. At the same time problems of big, medium, small and marginal farmers can differ too, and not to be forgotten are the concerns of landless farm workers. Solutions are needed at many levels—ensuring welfare and protection of farmers and farm workers while minimizing their indebtedness, reducing the ever-rising costs of farming and its ever-rising dependence on expensive external inputs, protecting soil and conserving water, protecting biodiversity and animal welfare, increasing resilience of farming communities, climate change mitigation and adaptation, providing significant spaces for landless peasants, improving sustainability and overall well-being of rural life.

The most hopeful aspect of farming related changes is that it is possible to combine all these objectives and pursue them together in highly creative ways, combining modern science with traditional wisdom. This is a task so creative and exciting that once it is well under way, people will not like to leave their villages and instead some of the most creative people in cities will be eager to go to villages.

This great challenge and task cannot be captured in narrow or one-dimensional demands, whether it is MSP or anything else. Neither the government nor the farmers’ movements have been able to come close to evolving a mutually consistent agenda of the various essential tasks and responsibilities ahead.

Hence a good way for future government talks with Mr. Dallewal and his colleagues or with any other farmer organization would be for the two sides to agree on the need simultaneously for pursuing welfare of farmers, protection of environment and biodiversity and then decide, agreeing also that the needs are not the same for all parts of the country, on how best to take forward the multi-dimensional agenda in various regional contexts, following a decentralized approach. At a more immediate level, the task of saving the life of Mr. Dallewal deserves priority attention just now.

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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include "India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food", "Man over Machine", "Protecting Earth for Children" and "A Day in 2071"