SKM said the attempt by RSS to vilify the farmers’ struggle is nothing but RSS working as the political agent of the corporate interests and betraying the farmers and workers of India. SKM appeals to the people to understand and rebuff the landlord-corporate arguments being broadcasted by RSS who’s ideology of establishing Hindu Rashtra – a theocratic state, is hostile to the idea of modern democratic nation state and challenges the secular democratic constitution of India.
Groundxero | March 20, 2024
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had strongly denounced the RSS for saying that the farmers’ struggle is aimed at disrupting the country and to promote separatism and terrorism in Punjab and Haryana and to spread anarchy. Responding to these allegations made by the RSS, SKM — an all-India platform of farmer unions, which led the historic famers movement against the three pro-corporate farm laws enacted by the Narendra Modi government — in a statement said the gross allegation made by the RSS against the farmers’ struggle is without any substance and called them a part of corporate efforts to paint any dissent against the anti-farmer, anti-worker corporate policies of the Modi government as ‘disruptive’ and hence ‘anti-national’.
The RSS has used the term “disruptive forces” to characterise the farmers of Punjab and Haryana who are fighting against the corporatisation of agriculture, and demanding legal guarantee of MSP on all crops, waiver of farmer’s debt, etc. among other things. The controversial allegations against the farmers’ struggle were made by RSS General Secretary Dattatraya Hosabale, while presenting the annual report 2023-24 of the organization at the start of a three-day meeting of the All-India Pratinidhi Sabha, RSS’ highest decision-making body, on last Saturday in Nagpur.
In the report, while lauding the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya as a sign of national unity, Dattatraya Hosabale urged RSS cadres to ensure 100 per cent voting in the General Election to be held between April 19 and June 1 and flagged “disruptive tendencies at play in Punjab and Haryana”. The reference was to the ongoing farmers’ agitation in Punjab and the 2023 communal violence in Nuh. Dattatraya Hosabale said “Separatist terrorism has once again raised its head in Punjab. Just two months before the Lok Sabha elections, efforts to spread anarchy started especially under the guise of farmers’ protest in Punjab.”
The SKM said that the farmer’s movement has succeeded to bring back the livelihood issues of millions of farmers and workers in the election agenda instead of Ayodhya and other religious disputes and that is what annoyed RSS. It accused the RSS resolution for being silent on livelihood issues including unemployment, price rise, privatisation of public sector and instead attempting to denigrate the farmers’ movement that fights corporate loot as ‘anti-national’. SKM demanded RSS explain its stand on farmers’ demands of MSP@C2+50% for all crops for guaranteed procurement and loan waiver for farmers and provide minimum wage of Rs 26000 per month to the workers.
“The Modi Goernment has waived loan arrears worth Rs.14.68 Lakh crore to the corporate companies but not a single rupee of the farmers. As per the recent RBI data, the lowest daily wage to workers – Rs 221 to Rs. 241 per day – well below the national average of Rs 349 – is being paid in the BJP ruled states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. These are the real issues of livelihood of the majority of the people that needs to be debated in the election” said SKM in the statement. SKM said “In the contemporary period, the Kisan movement is fighting valiantly against the corporate-communal Narendra Modi regime that is facilitating corporate loot of the people especially farmers and workers.”
SKM said the attempt to spread canard and vilify the farmers’ struggle is nothing but RSS working as the political agent of the corporate interests and betraying the farmers and workers of India. SKM accused the RSS for always been anti-farmer, never demanding land reforms and siding with the interests of the landlord class. Pointing out that the Kisan Movement in India has an outstanding history of always raising and fighting with supreme sacrifice, and reminding the role of the farmers struggle against the landlord-imperialist regime during the colonial period which enabled the people to attain independence, SKM appealed to the people to understand and rebuff these landlord-corporate arguments being broadcasted by RSS whose ideology of establishing Hindu Rashtra – a theocratic state, is hostile to the idea of modern democratic nation state and challenges the secular democratic constitution of India.
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has also condemned attempts by the RSS to denigrate the ongoing farmers’ protest in Punjab and Haryana by terming them as “anti-national.” AIKS in a statement said “This canard spread by the betrayers of the freedom struggle is out of vengeance against the incessant SKM-led united movement of the farmers which has forced the Narendra Modi-led BJP government to withdraw the pro-corporate farm acts”.
The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, SKM (Non Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are leading the current phase of the farmers’ agitation, and had called for ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13, to put pressure on the Modi-led Union government into meeting their several demands, including enactment of legislation ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for all crops. The farmers were not allowed to cross Punjab borders by Haryana Police and were met with unprecedented state repression and brutality.
A 21-year-old farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, was killed at Kannouri border of Punjab of suspected ‘Bullet Injury’ and many others injured in tear gas shelling from drones and firing of rubber bullets by Haryana police on 21st February as protesting farmers made a fresh attempt to resume their march to Delhi from the Punjab-Haryana borders, where over 10,000 farmers with tractors and trolleys have been camping for the nine days since 13 February. The farmers, who had to face concrete barricades, iron nails and police brutality had put their march on hold, and had warned that they will resume their march to Delhi if their demands are not met.
On Tuesday, both SKM (Non Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, separately denounced RSS for describing the latest protest on the Punjab-Haryana border as a bid to spread anarchy in Punjab. They asked if the farmers’ stir demanding legally guaranteed fair price for their crops is ‘separatist’, then why did the Modi-government held talks with them.
You can read some of our reports on the current phase of the farmers’ struggle in these links.
Modi Government Desperate To Not Allow Farmers Into Delhi
SKM writes to PM, condemns State repression unleashed on ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest
21 Point Charter of Demands: Gramin Bharat Bandh and Industrial/Sectoral Strike
One Farmer Dies of ‘Bullet Injury’, Several Hurt in Tear Gas Shelling, ‘Delhi Chalo’ March on Hold
Kisan Mazdoor Maha Panchayat at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan calls for a United People’s Movement