On the occasion of the Human Rights Day celebration, the Indian President, Smt. Droupadi Murmu said, “There is no peace without justice and there is no justice without peace”. But on the other hand, the Rajasthan government was finding a way to maintain peace by adopting the lathi-charge method without justice to the farmers, who were protesting against the ethanol factory in Tibbi, Hanumangarh district.
Is it justifiable to suppress the voice of the aggrieved farmers without listening to their demands, which they were raising peacefully for the last 15 months?
On Human Rights Day, December 10, when all over the world the people and governments were celebrating the occasion and our honourable president was reminding the world that human rights cannot be divorced from development, the Rajasthan government was trampling down the human rights of the Tibbi farmers by forcefully using canes and rubber bullets as alleged. The police and government administration plead that the farmers’ agitation became irresistible, which resulted in chaos and direct conflict with the police force. The Hindu, an English daily, on December 11, reports on its website that the Police resorted to lathi charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the farmers at a ‘Mahapanchayat’ near the factory premises. The agitating farmers entered the factory compound and ransacked the building materials used for construction. The crowd, which turned restive after the lathi charge, torched about 10 vehicles and damaged three bulldozers.
The farmers ask- ‘Why didn’t the state government heed their peaceful agitation, which was continuing for the last 15 months? What was the government waiting for? Was it testing the patience and strength of the farmers? Is the ignoring attitude and unheeding behaviour of the government not responsible for the whole episode? Isn’t using brutal Police force for creating fear an attack on the voice of the people?’
Communist Party of India (Marxist) states, “Now the government is answering questions not through dialogue but through force, fear and brutality; attack on farmer leaders is an attack on the voice of the people.”
Strongly condemning the police action, Govind Singh Dotasra, the Rajasthan state Congress president, tweeted, “I strongly condemn the brutal police lathi charge on the farmers’ protest in Tibbi, Hanumangarh. The news of injuries to Youth Congress State President and MLA Abhimanyu Punia and several other farmers fighting for the rights of farmers is painful and contrary to democratic values.”
Dotasra alleged, “The BJP wants to suppress the voice and rights of the farmers. The government should understand that suppressing farmers’ voices will not resolve their problems but will only make them more vocal. The Congress Party, as always, will stand with the farmers and continue to fight fearlessly to protect their rights.”
Ashok Gehlot, a former chief minister of Rajasthan, asks, “Why does the BJP government have such hatred for farmers? Congress will always fearlessly raise the voice of farmers.”
Rahul Kaswan, a Member of Parliament from Churu, Rajasthan, tweeted, “In the lathi charge on farmers along with the public representatives, the state BJP government wants to crush the farmers’ demands through police repression, which is against the democratic system. Farmers across the country and the state are already facing a crisis, and this brutal attitude reflects the government’s anti-farmer mentality. The government should not make the mistake of underestimating farmers. We all stand firmly with the farmers protesting for their legitimate demands.
Why are the Farmers opposing the Ethanol Factory?
FARMERS MAHAPANCHAYAT- PHOTO CREDIT CPIM LEADER BALWAN POONIA.
As per media reports, ‘A Maha Panchayat’ of the farmers was held against the ethanol plant being set up for Rs. 450 crores by a private company in Rathi Khera village panchayat near Tibbi. The farmers of the nearby areas have been opposing the factory’s construction for more than 15 months with the contention that it would lead to air pollution and water toxicity in the region. Farmers fear that the operation of ethanol factory will cause serious damage to the environment, health and local livelihoods, leading to growing protests and concerns in many places.
Farmers’ concern is that the strong odour and smoke emitted from the factory poisons the air, causing breathing problems and eye irritation. Chemical-laden sewage from factories enters rivers and groundwater, contaminating drinking and irrigation water. This depletes water sources and increases the risk of the water table going down. It will cause Eye irritation, difficulty in breathing, and other respiratory illnesses. Contaminated water and air pose a risk of serious illnesses, affecting the local population. Farmers say that both their land and life are in danger, due to which agriculture may be ruined.
The All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) State Committee, Rajasthan, has also come forward in support of the agitating farmers and strongly condemned the police repression against farmers. AIKS State Joint Secretary, Dr. Sanjay “Madhav,” stated that the indiscriminate use of tear gas, lathi charge, and aerial firing against peacefully protesting farmers has proven that the Bhajan Lal government, rather than the BJP-RSS, is working solely in favour of the interests of capitalists, against the interests of farmers, labourers, and the general public.
The Kisan Sabha has accused the state government and administration that the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti continued to request talks throughout the day, but the officials present on the spot deliberately escalated the situation.
AIKS State Committee has warned the state government to refrain from taking repressive action against farmers and demanded that the state government immediately hold talks with the protesting farmer leaders, meet their demands, and provide free treatment to the injured, otherwise, a movement will be launched across the state in support of the Tibbi farmers.
In a democratic country, like India, the government is supposed to work for the upliftment of the public, keeping in consonance with them. Forceful development against the will of the people does not go ahead in the long run, and it not only ruins the peace of the masses, but also loses the credibility of the government among the people. Democracy does not mean ‘Dandacracy’ (A system that runs on baton administration), the ruling governments should always keep it in mind.