Drones, which are described as the wings of new technology, are used all over the world to help rescue operations, for swift delivery of medicines and food to the needy, to find troublemakers and ensure security, to spray pesticides in the farm, to take beautiful videos and photos from movies to social media posts, and for such other tasks to make work smooth and ease people's lives. But the other day, the Haryana police used drones for a very brutal purpose – to fire tear gas shells and scare away the farmers who had marched to the capital city to protest for their just rights! At the Shambhu border, the Haryana police also used eye-shattering pellet guns, which have been used against protesters in Kashmir for years, apart from conventional weapons. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has been deployed along the borders of Haryana and UP, with equipment needed to meet an enemy force. Ditches have been dug on the by-roads, and in many places, the roads have been converted into iron-nail paths to prevent farmers' tractors from entering.They have stockpiled hundreds of barrels of lube oil, enough to trip the horses in case Punjab's hardy farmers ditch the tractors and come on horseback. Huge concrete slabs, resembling the massive wall built by Israel to prevent Palestinians from crossing the border, have been raised. Supersonic weapons are stocked.
A month-long curfew has been announced in Delhi. Internet services in Haryana have been suspended without considering the inconvenience to students while the exams are underway, and the government has asked social media companies to remove the accounts of farmers' organizations and leaders. It is not the soldiers of the enemy country or the activists of illegal organizations, but the farmers that grow rice, wheat and grains to satiate the country's hunger, who came to Delhi to strike. It is not because there are selfie points of the Prime Minister in front of the ration shops that the country is free from hunger, but because the farmers toil hard braving snow, rain or sun. Farmers coming under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, an alliance of 250 groups, do not make any unjust demands, do not incite violence on the roads like in Sangh Parivar rallies, and do not spread hate or animosity. Their main demand is to comply with the assurances given by the central government in 2021, including the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which ended their epic protest then. It is devious of the government, which has cheated and failed to keep its word, to now prepare to use force of arms to confront the farmers amounting to crime against the people.
The ruling party's supporters are alleging that the farmers are coming to the capital for political purposes when the country is about to go to general elections. Union Agriculture Minister says implementation of MSP system with legislation immediately is not feasible. It is ironic for a government, which boasts that it has passed the Women's Reservation Bill, which will not be implemented in another few years, which inaugurated an incomplete temple on the ground in Ayodhya where Babri Masjid was destroyed, which hastily brought the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Uniform Civil Code, to feel it is for political aims when farmers ask for their rights. There are those who assess that when the farmers' anger reaches its peak through this struggle, the government may not hesitate to dramatically give 'guarantees' such as the MSP and use it for electoral gains. Other than spreading guarantees across the country, they have no diligence to implement them. The strike may be suppressed or settled. Threats, branding and guarantees may keep coming. Regardless of the course of the farmers' struggle, the country is in a decade where the farming community has received nothing but complete injustice and humiliation. The policies formulated with only the patronage of a few wealthy industrialists in mind have weakened the entire agrarian economy. We do not yet know what kind of disasters it will cause.