On Muharram day I found myself huddled in a yellow and brown Chennai conference room with lungis and mosquitoes. The National Conference on Agrarian Distress was on and Devinder Sharma was on screen, addressing 50-odd delegates. These were people representing over 50 farmers’ and water rights groups from across India.
Among them was the conference’s chairperson and ‘waterman of India’, Rajendra Singh, former Samajwadi Party MLA Krishna Kumar Singh and other DMK-affiliated people. Taking the lead, Rajendra Singh, alluding to the farmers’ revolution said, “We are here to unite north and south, we need to create a thinking for [a] better common vision for the future.”
P.V. Rajagopal, who participated in V.M. Singh’s splinter group’s press conference at Jantar Mantar on August 4 also spoke during the inaugural address. Rakesh Tikait was due to arrive by midnight.
On Onam day, Tikait and Yudhvir Singh joined the conference. The energy was high as Singh appealed to delegates, “Friends should work together keeping the past behind.” Many of the delegates, including Rajendra Singh, Rajagopal, etc. were part of the splinter group’s press conference. Perhaps this was an attempt to build bridges, not only with Tamil Nadu farmers, but also with the water rights movement, thought many at the conference.
The next two days featured long and multilingual – English, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and even some Telugu – discussions on farm and water issues. Yudhvir Singh, speaking in English said, “Three bills together aimed at snatching land and also monopolising the market and storage by a new company raj.”
The third day was Raksha Bandhan and a four-point resolution was passed and handed over to the farmers’ leaders to conclude the conference. A tentative, joint all-India Yatra was planned as well. But Narendra Chugh, a water right activist, raised an important issue: “What happens when we overthrow this government? What happens next?”
Many of the delegates thought entering politics was the only way left to bring real change. “Modi has challenged us directly and they will only listen once we hurt them electorally. Farmers have to win UP at all costs,” said K. Chellamuthu, a delegate.
Conversation went on until it was time to board the Kovai Express to Tiruppur. As luck would have it, Rajendra Singh was seated across from me. At 4 am, I asked him if the two movements aligned and if the farmers’ revolution would be successful in Tamil Nadu.“ The water warriors are also farmers and both these movements are also entwined. Many of the delegates have offered unconditional support to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and soon, we will organise the yatras together,” Singh said.
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The ‘waterman’ is a veteran organiser yet he paused a little on the Tamil Nadu question. “In a state where film stars are adulated, farm leader Rakesh Tikait will attract many people. The farmers’ revolution, given the right impetus, will proliferate fast,” Singh said.
I understood the depth of Singh’s statement as our convoy pulled into a beautiful coconut-grove, overlooking wind-mills and an electric substation. Amidst ecstatic drums and dance, the local MP welcomed the leaders and we all quickly took our seats at the most scenic meeting so far.
“Coconut, areca-nut, onion, paddy and chicken are the main produce from the area, K.S. Jagdish informed me. The farmers present at the meetings looked better than their northern kin. “I have lost about 30 acres to the power station and there are many like me in the meeting, who still are waiting for compensation. We demand that market prices be given for our lands,” Jagdish added.
By then, Tikait was on the dais. “The green flag will unite us all, farmers, fisherman and dairy farmers. We don’t need to bow to the corporates anymore. Today we demand [that] Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all produce be decided. Tamil Nadu is the birthplace of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), it is time our Tamilian kin reignite the fire.”
Tikait’s words were received with roaring applause. Soon, the meeting ended and we were served ‘north India’ lunch. We were ready for the last stop at Villupuram.
Tiruppur was only waking up, the sky was ocean-blue and people were flocking to various bakeries for their biscuits and filter coffee. Our white tempo-traveller was cruising at 60 km/h and for a while had been transformed into the official Tikait campaign bus. Trapped roosters on the road, Cuckooed. Villapuram was six hours away.
We reached Villupuram and were led to a mousse-yellow hall owned by local sugarcane farmers. Hundreds of farmers sat waiting and ready with their demands. During the next two hours, many of them discussed the crop losses, compensation issues and finally pledged support to the farmers’ revolution. But in order to dig deeper, I found N.V. Rajakumar, president of the sugarcane association.
“Although the DMK’s agriculture budget is a good step, the state of sugarcane farmers needs more. Out of 48 sugar mills in the area, 8 have filed for insolvency, 10 others are on the verge of bankruptcy. The debt owed by farmers is increasing each year. Hence farmers are answering Tikait’s call,” he said.
“Sugarcane farming [once] meant prosperity, but today it means debt and suicide. We have to change that … through [the] andolan (revolution) on Delhi’s border and in Tamil Nadu,” Tikait said. The meeting ended with lunch and selfies, and the Tikait Bus headed to Chennai for an organic dinner and the flight home.