Hundred Days Into the Worlds Largest Protest: Where Are We now
Why it started, how it's fairing, and what the response has been like
Last week marks 100-days since farmers took to the streets of New Delhi to call the Modi government to act. In September 2020, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, passed three bills regarding the farming industry without the consultation of the farmers. These laws could ultimately lead to the mass destruction of the lives of the local farmers — that is 58% of India’s population.
A little bit of history.
In the 1960s, India’s farmers were struggling to earn money through their practice, and famine rose. The government decided to pair up with Americans to figure out a way to intervene and increase food grain production, in what is known as the Green Revolution. However, while increasing food grain production, they overused chemical fertilizers and pesticides causing some land to become infertile. While many crops suffered, foods such as rice and wheat production took off, creating a food surplus.
During this time, India developed a marketing system to establish set rules and regulations that would ensure fair pricing. The pricing system called Minimum Support Prices (MSP) was derived which are minimum established prices at which the…