The Three Farm Laws passed by the Union Government of India in 2020 triggered a historic farmers’ struggle in the country. For more than a year, thousands of farmers sat in protest against these laws at the Delhi border. The echo of the struggle was felt across the country.

The passage of the Three Farm Acts attempted to reverse a number of public support structures institutionalised in Indian agriculture since the green revolution of the 1960s. They aimed to, i. replace the dominance of regulated market structures (mandis) with private markets, ii. provide a regulatory framework for contract farming in Indian agriculture, and iii. remove the stock limits for traders, processors, and exporters of agricultural products in order to attract more private investment in storage and warehousing.

The Acts elicited a huge response from farmers, particularly those directly affected by the APMC Amendment Act. These laws were also challenged by those who feared that this was the first step towards the abolition of minimum support prices (MSP), which farmers in many parts of India see as the last line of protection from income collapse. The overall fear with regard to these Acts, was the growing clout of private corporations in Indian agriculture.

After more than a year-long struggle by the farmers, the Union Government had to repeal the Laws in November, 2021. The struggle is indeed historical in more than one ways. It was able to attract the solidarity of large sections of Indian society, and played an unprecedented role in expanding the scope of democracy in India. What, however, are the possible long term political implications of this historic agrarian movement? To deliberate upon this aspect, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies is organising a Public Lecture by Prakash Karat, Polit Bureau Member, and Former General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist), on February 17, 2022 (Thursday), at 5:00 PM IST.