An Imaginary NYT Report on Modi promising to recall farm laws
Mr Modi bows to pressure, calls off controversial farm laws
After a year of relentless protests from farmers and sections of civil society which choked the national capital, Mr. Modi announced on his monthly program Mann Ki Baat (My Thoughts) that the government would be repealing the hugely unpopular farm laws. It is a rare instance of vulnerability for Mr. Modi, the leader of a majoritarian government that looks to replace the secular ethos in India with a hard-line Hindu-only outlook.
Looking more like a religious guru than a modern politician in his address with his white beard and ostentatiously orange shawl, Mr. Modi announced that the Parliament would repeal the hugely unpopular laws. The controversial laws had elicited outrage across the globe. Vocal critics included slam poet Rupi Kaur, pop star Rihanna, influencer Mia Khalifa and comedian Trevor Noah. Neutral observers claim that over 250 million people participated in what has been called the biggest protest in history. Over 800 farmers died during the protests, including a tragic incident in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where a son of a minister in Mr. Modi’s government ran his car over the protesters, killing five, including a journalist.
A majority of Indians depend upon farming for their livelihood, and it's supposed that Mr. Modi’s announcement is to be a pre-electoral move before elections in the Northern state of Punjab, where Mr. Modi’s former ally - the Akali Dal, left them over the farm laws.
However, the rollback – by a government infamous for brooking no dissent – will not be enough.
Dismissing Mr. Modi’s appeal to farmers to “go home”, Mr. Tikait, the most visible face of the farm protests, said that the farmers won’t budge till all the demands - repealing of laws by the Parliament and guaranteed MSP (a minimum price for products), are met. Mr. Yogendra Yadav, a hugely popular opposition politician who spearheaded the protests, called it “inevitable”.
Critics had claimed that the farm laws would make the agrarian sector the fiefdom of big corporates in India, some of whom are from the same western state of Gujarat as Mr. Modi.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Congress party, which has given three Prime Ministers to the Country, including Mr. Gandhi’s father, grandmother, and great-grandmother, called it a triumph of satyagraha (holding firmly to truth) over Mr. Modi’s arrogance. Mr. Gandhi's response signals the coming of age of a politician, who has been accused of being a dilettante and was described as a “nervous student who lacked the aptitude or passion” by Mr. Obama. This might finally be the spark for Mr. Gandhi to build a credible opposition, a thing that has been sorely lacking since Mr. Modi won in 2014. Another popular opposition politician, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of the Eastern state of West Bengal, whose Trinamool Congress recently beat Mr. Modi’s BJP, called it the ‘victory of farmers’.
Experts believe that after the taste of this blood, the opposition will start circling the wagons to build a credible alternative to the current regime. In the past, Mr. Modi has managed to overcome deep resentment over several unpopular decisions including, the draconian Goods and Services Tax, the controversial citizenship law, and demonetization, which made the country’s entire existing currency illegal. But his inability to stick to his guns concerning the farm laws suggests that a chink is visible in his hitherto unbreakable armour. In fact, historians might remember today as the day we saw the first nail in the coffin of Mr. Modi’s regime.