Tikait plans to renew the agitation after May 10 so that the protesting farmers can use the breather

By no measure can one compare the ongoing farmers’ crusade with popular movements like the Satyagraha or Quit India that eventually led to India winning its Independence from the British. However, there is an uncanny similarity and it is inherent to any movement in general if it aims to survive for long. It seems that the farmer agitation’s most prominent face and voice, Rakesh Tikait, has taken a leaf out of India’s Independence movement and is adroitly following the strategy that Mahatma Gandhi believed in — Struggle-Truce-Struggle (STS) — as he has announced that the struggle against the Centre over the three contentious farm laws will pick up intensity after May 10. He has also proclaimed that the movement will continue for at least another eight months. The agitation, which has been going on for four months and reached its peak when a few anti-nationals among the protesters hoisted certain flags on the ramparts of the Red Fort on Republic Day, has now apparently lost steam. Obviously, Tikait, who is striving to make a political career for himself riding on the popular movement, doesn’t want the growers’ struggle to be lost into oblivion. He is doing whatever he can to inject fresh lifeblood into it but he also seems to be aware that mass movements have an inherent tendency to ebb after reaching a certain point. According to Mahatma Gandhi, the capacity of the masses to withstand repression, endure sufferings and make sacrifices is not unlimited and there comes a time when breathing space is needed to consolidate, recuperate and gather strength for the next round of the struggle. The truce period would enable the masses to recoup strength to renew the fight.

So, Tikait has said the farmers amassed at Delhi’s borders can harvest their wheat crops till May 10 and the movement will now gather speed only after that. He is well aware of the compulsions a grower faces and, himself being a farmer, knows the importance of timing in harvesting and sowing a crop. Despite several rounds of negotiations with the Government, no results have been achieved. The farmers are adamant on their demand for repealing the three laws and a legal guarantee on the MSP while the Government is not ready to concede. On the other hand, Tikait is using the opportunity of becoming a mass leader to the fullest. His visit to the poll-bound West Bengal last month turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt in that direction as he failed to garner much support against the BJP. Whether this movement will survive or succumb to the politics of those spearheading it, only time will tell. However, it is advisable for Tikait to drop all his plans of scoring brownie points in politics by milking the farmers’ protest. He’d better seek parleys with the Government and reach an amicable solution. It would be in the interest of both the farmers and the Government. This is not a Satyagraha but just a movement led by the strong lobby of middlemen and greedy politicians who have otherwise failed to make a mark in politics.