About half a dozen Indian Muslim organizations participated in these rallies
Siyasat.net web desk
Washington( DC) : Indian-American community specially Sikhs and Muslims in a show of solidarity with protesting farmers in India organised rallies in several major US cities (Washington DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Denver ).
Farmers in India have protesting against a new draconian laws introduced by the right-wing BJP government.
In Washington DC over 400 cars and trucks participated in the rally in front of the Indian Embassy building, The rally blocked all roads around to Embassy for several miles for about 3 hours. Several speakers drew the attention of the Indian government to the oppressive new laws that have the effect of letting corporations acquire major stake over farming and in fact phase out the small farmers. The corporations will set the prices for all farm produce and the law prevents farmers from appealing to the courts or govt. Thus corporations will have monopoly on farming and farm products. The new laws also allow corporations to set wages for farm labourers with no right for appeal.
There are several pro-corporate and perceived anti-farmer provisions in the farm laws.
The law will pave the way for systematic dismantling of the APMC mandis, which have stood the test of time and have provided farmers the remuneration to keep themselves afloat. The farm laws open the field to an alternate set of markets/private yards, where the buyer will have no statutory obligation to pay the minimum support price (MSP). Since the said markets/private yards will not be charged any market fee/levy; the agricultural sector will see the gradual shifting of trade from the APMC mandis to these private yards,
Indian Americans of all shades participated in these car rallies in a large numbers, a good number of them were Sikhs who are a major farming community in India.
About half a dozen Indian Muslim organizations participated in these rallies. In Washington DC, the Association of Indian Muslims of America led the Muslim contingent. They put banners and hoardings on a RV truck and joined the rally.
Many onlookers joined the rally, shouted ‘Muslim Zindabad’ and thanked Muslims for their support to the protesting farmers.
AIM, NAIMA, CAPI, ASPAIRE, CMRI, JFA, SASI and Majlis Ash Shura are some of the groups which led the rallies.
Organisers said the caravan protest taking place on Sunday in the Bay Area – along with similar recent protests in New York, Houston, Michigan, Chicago, and Washington, DC – was meant as a show of solidarity, as Sikhs around the world urge international condemnation of the farm bills.
“Without farmers, there is no food. Without farming, there is no livelihood for the millions of people in Punjab who have relied on farming as a source of income for generations.”
“These issues are deeply intertwined, and we will raise our voices to ensure that the families from Punjab who are putting their lives on the line to protest in Delhi can do so without facing threats from the Indian government,” said Naindeep Singh, executive director of the Jakara Movement.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for the last eleven days at the borders of Delhi against three farm laws.
Dubbing these laws as “anti-farmer”, these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislations would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.
However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
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