Ballia Mahapanchayat: Thousands of Farmers Gather in Mahapanchayat in Eastern UP

Sikanderpur (Ballia): Known for its rebellious character since the freedom struggle, the first ‘mahapanchayat’ held in Ballia district’s Chetan Kishor in Sikanderpur Tehsil on Wednesday, turned into a wave of anger against the Narendra Modi government for neglecting the historic land that freed itself from British Raj on August 19, 1942 — the land of Mangal Pandey, the hero of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny and also of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.

The lone sugar mill in Rasra region has been closed since 2013. As a result, sugarcane growers have to carry their produce to an adjacent area, Ghosi, in Mau district.

Farmers and youth of Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, who participated in the mahapanchayat, in huge numbers, are angry that their complaints and problems are being ignored despite the district having given a decisive mandate to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

In a bid to give a boost to the over 100-day-long farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s new farm laws in rural areas, where many people are still unaware about the implications of the laws on their livelihood, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a body of at least 40 farmers union, is spreading out to create awareness among farmers in UP’s most backward regions.

The mahapanchayat in Ballia, one in the series that has been taking place in the past few weeks, was backed by Left parties to discuss the future of the ongoing farmers' protests in Eastern Uttar Pradesh

The organisers made arrangements for 10,000 people at Chetan Kishor ground. But the presence of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait —  a prominent face of farmers' protests and a crowd-puller – drew more people that could be accommodated at the venue.

The mahapanchayat saw the participation of marginal peasants, including women from various villages of Ballia and adjacent districts of  Azamgarh, Deoria, Varanasi and even neighbouring state of Bihar. The participants included academicians, lawyers, student leaders, young artistes and senior citizens.

The Message — ‘Farmers Matter’

The protesting farmers are confident about their objectives — the government must withdraw the three disputed agricultural laws and make minimum support price (MSP) legally binding. They echoed in a similar voice 'Farmers matter'.

Speakers at the mahapanchayat said it is the same land from where former prime minister and socialist leader Chandra Shekhar had orgainsed a movement against the then finance minister Manmohan Singh for inviting foreign investors into India. 'Baghi' (rebellious) Ballia will roar again against Modi and would bring it on its knees for 'cheating' farmers in the name of three farm laws, said some farmers. 

The major concern among farmers is the lack of running cost, which is the primary source of investment for them. They said electricity rates, water supply and fertiliser costs have always been a burden for them, adding that they were not able to sell crops to the government due to lack of proper channels and procedures.

"The key concern of farmers in Purvanchal is not MSP, rather they have been concerned that the government first needs to cater to the basic needs of farmers before introducing any new laws. Transportation, water supply, fertiliser, seeds, chemical and electricity costs are some of the biggest concerns for these small farmers and they want the government to first help them resolve these issues," said Ajit Rai, in-charge of the Bharatiya Kisan Sabha for the Purvanchal region. 

"The costs of cultivation arising from the use of inputs—seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, irrigation, human labour, machinery and credit, are increasing. Due to this, most marginal peasants are leaving farming and migrating to metro cities as labourers," said Rai, adding that besides the high rate of seeds, the cost of other items, such as fertilisers and insecticides, have also increased.

"Although the UP government opened seed counters at state-owned centres, very few farmers are availing this facility because most of them do not have adequate information about government’s schemes. Besides, middlemen and shopkeepers leave no stone unturned to harass farmers," the BKS leader said.

Echoin similar sentiments, Lilawati Bharti, a landless farmer from Maniar village, accompanied by 70 other women of All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), said: "The laws will definitely have an impact on farmers and will adversely affect landless workers even more." Bharti’s six-member family is completely dependent on farming.

Braving the scorching heat, Sarita Devi, another landless farmer, walked around 35 km to reach the spot to listen to Tikait, who is holding back to back mahapanchayats across the state. Sarita also runs 'Swayam Sahayata Samuh',  a non-profit self-help group that helps women who are facing financial constraints due to coronavirus induced-lockdown.

"The self-help group owes debts due to the lockdown and women who took money from organisation are unable to pay. Now banks are sending notices to their homes. When Prime Minister Modi and his government can waive loans for capitalist friends, why not for poor women?" said a distraught Sarita, adding: "I would rather commit suicide than surrender. The battle begins now and will continue till the end of my last breath."

2021 — A Year of Movement 

On the call of SKM, farmers from Eastern Uttar Pradesh started reaching Sikanderpur early morning to join the stir, even as security forces posted at the protest site thinned out overnight. Hours later, after Tikait reached the stage, he was greeted applause and whistles as delivered his half-hour-long speech. T The atmosphere turned electric.

Tikait said 2021 would be the year of the movement. "A long fight will be fought and success will be achieved," he said, stressing that the fight has to be organised with full force. He called upon farmers to repair their tractors and trolleys and be prepared for the “call to leave for Delhi which could be given any time."

Asking farmer leaders not to divide the movement into regional lines, Tikait said: "This mahapanchayat in Purvanchal was the need of the hour, as the government keep claiming that this is a movement of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. Now farmers of Ballia and adjoining districts have joined the stir. It will give sleepless nights to the government," the BKU national spokesperson said. 

Sriram Chaudhary, one of the key organiser of the Sikanderpur mahapanchayat, said: "If farmers lose, it means not only farmers but labourers of this country will also lose the hope. This battle will be long and 'Baghi' Ballia stands with their Delhi counterparts shoulder to shoulder," he said, demanding that MSP, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, should be implemented.