South Asia Citizens Web

The Kisan Sansad, which was held on 23rd and 24th of January, 2021 at the Guru Teg Bahadur Memorial at Singhu, Delhi, had a wide variety of participants from different stakeholders in the agri-policy space.

The Left parties demand that the central government must stop being obstinate and immediately convey to the farmers unions that these agri laws will be repealed in the forthcoming budget session of parliament that is meeting this week.

At the outset, let us point out why common citizens do not talk about the Court’s conduct. Because they fear attracting contempt of court. However, some of us believe that we will be failing in our constitutional duty, if we do not stand up and give expression to what has been troubling millions of people in the country over the last two years, particularly the response of Indian judiciary to the abrogation of Article 370, the annihilation of the “state” of Jammu and Kashmir and the enactment of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019.

Jean Drèze argues that the three farm laws, particularly the APMC Bypass Act, could be better termed as Agri-Business Promotion Acts. He describes the limits of free markets, why regulation is needed to restrict concentration of market power, how markets exclude equity considerations, and why globally their is a demand for collective marketing institutions in agricultre. He argues that the farms laws would result in an oxymoronic ’dual-regulation’ of agricultural markets which would be a far worse outcome than the status quo; APMCs and Mandis are a natural way of regulating agricultural markets and if they are not entirely efficient, equitable, or sustainable, then they should be reformed and supplemented instead of jumping from the frying pan to the fire.

The video was a recorded message for the Kisan Sabha at Guru Tegh Bahadur Memorial on 23 January.

The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), India - in unison with anti-nuclear peace movements worldwide, notes with deep satisfaction and heartily welcomes the UN-sponsored Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) coming into force on January 22 2021, as a consequence of 51 signatory nations - the last of them being Honduras in last October, ratifying the Treaty, in accord with the terms of the Treaty itself.