In my post in January 2021, following the farmer protests at the Red fort, I had penned this piece where I postulated that anyone and everyone who has ever tried to "win" over the Lal Quilla has suffered subsequent defeat and obliteration.
- Shahjahan - the builder of the fort
- Nader Shah - the Persian emperor who's dynasty was wiped out after his win over the Lal quilla
- The Maratha's who lost at hands of the Durranis after the fort fell into their protection
- The British who lost power in India after they chose the fort as the venue of INA trials
- A peaceful anti-farm law protest was attacked in Bihar.
- A Bharat Bandh called on 27 September had limited nation-wide impact.
- Violence in multiple smaller rallies turned public perception against the movement.
- A tractor march to Parliament on 29 November 2021 was suspended.
- And while, the government repealed all three farm bills late November, attempts to use the protests to unseat the government and make a dent in BJPs numbers in the 2024 general elections completely fizzled out.
And in practice — the spirit of the repealed farm laws has been pushed through in many NDA/BJP-ruled states even if not as a coordinated legislative package or in the exact form of the repealed central Acts. Many states — including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Assam — have amended their APMC Acts to allow private players to procure outside mandis. Similarly, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have allowed contract farming under their own versions of contract farming rules or executive orders.
The last of the 3 farm laws was around Easing stock limits on essential commodities - while States couldn't repeal this law since it was a Central provision, many BJP-ruled states have not enforced tight stock limits on private players since the repeal of the farm laws.
What this means in effect is that even without a national law:
- Private players can operate procurement centers outside mandis in many BJP/NDA-ruled states.
- Farmers can engage in direct supply contracts with companies.
- State enforcement against storage and speculative hoarding has been lax, aligning with the repealed ECA reform.
Thus, the core intent of the farm laws — liberalization of agricultural marketing — has been retained in these states through amendments, executive orders, or administrative leniency, despite the central repeal. The key difference however (post-repeal) is the absence of public fanfare or centralized coordination to contain the political damage from the protests and without appearing insensitive to farmer sentiments. Effectively, while not re-enacted in name, the Modi administration and its allied state governments have substantially pushed the core reforms through state level intervention.
My personal opinion is that these reforms are critical; with Trump breathing down on the government's neck in name of Tariff wars, one of the key negotiation points for the US is giving its own farmers access to Indian markets. While until now the government has not given in to the pressure, but there will come a time when India will have to relent to stop shielding its farmers from International markets. It is only prudent that Indian farmers get ready for that time and modernization, aggregation, corporatization, investment in technology led farming - all are a part of the much needed changes which will ultimately enable Indian farmers to compete with global counterparts.
Aside, getting back to the topic we started with, the hoisting of the Nishaan Sahib at the Red fort precipitated the fall of the farmer movement against the Modi government just like all other previous suitors of the Lal Quilla suffered ultimate disintegration.
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