At the Border between Farmers and Rulers

Abstract

In the wake of the new agriculture policy (2020), farmers from many states have been protesting and camping along different borders of New Delhi, India's capital, for more than a year now. This article, initially delivered as a talk, discusses the motivations, the struggles, and the growth of the protests that have developed into a countrywide farmers' movement which is refusing to bow down to the pressures from the Government of India and its media apparatuses. It further discusses the self-motivated nature of the farmers' protests and what it may mean for the working classes as well as the landlord classes of Punjab and for protestors and farmers from other states. The author highlights the emancipatory potential of the ongoing farmers protests and the need to recognize the larger Brahmin ideology at work that lies at the very foundation of the Indian state.