Farmer protests in India escalate into massive strike involving 300 mln people

passed in Parliament in a brazenly anti-democratic manner without structured debate and voting, threaten India’s food security, undermine Indian agriculture and our farmers, pave the way for dismantling the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and place Indian agriculture and markets at the mercy of multinational agribusiness corporations and domestic conglomerates,” lawmakers said in a statement. After negotiations with the government failed to yield results, protest leaders called for a “Bharat Bandh” — a nationwide shutdown. The strike has been backed by ten agricultural and industrial trade unions, as well as representatives from the energy sector. Workers from the banking, insurance, and transport sectors are also expected to join, halting work for 12 hours in support of the protest. In addition to demanding the repeal of the three farm laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price ...