India farmers’ protest: Supreme Court suggests government delay new laws; Sikh priest takes his own life
- Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting for three weeks against new agricultural reform laws
- A Sikh priest shot himself at a protest site, saying in a note he sacrificed his life to ‘express anger and pain against the government’s injustice’
Chief Justice S.A. Bobde also deferred a proposal by the court to set up a mediation panel until justices receive the government’s response and hear arguments from lawyers representing the protesting farmers, possibly next week.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said he will get back to the court after discussing the matter with the government.
The farmers have been blocking half a dozen major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi for three weeks and say they will not leave until the government quashes what they call the “black laws” passed by Parliament in September.
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This came as a 68-year-old Sikh priest allegedly shot and killed himself at a protest site on the outskirts of the capital. Police said they were investigating the circumstances.
Darshan Pal Singh, a Sikh leader, told reporters that police found a note from the priest in which he said he was sacrificing his life “to express anger and pain against the government injustice”.
Indian media reports have said he went to his car and apparently shot himself.
Police officer Ganga Ram Punia declined to provide details while an autopsy was being carried out in Karnal, a town in Haryana state.
Opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet blamed the government’s apathy toward the priest’s death and urged the government to meet the farmers’ demands.
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On Wednesday, justices on the court offered to set up a mediation panel after five rounds of talks between the government and farmers failed to end the impasse.
Protest leaders have rejected the government’s offer to amend some contentious provisions of the laws.
The protesting farmers say the laws will lead to the cartelisation and commercialisation of agriculture and make farmers vulnerable to corporate greed.
Nearly 60 per cent of the Indian population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.
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The government insists the reforms will benefit farmers and says they will enable farmers to market their produce and boost production through private investment.
On Friday, a farmers’ group filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking the repeal of the three laws. The Bharatiya Kisan Union, or Indian Farmers’ Union, argued that the laws were arbitrary because they were enacted without proper consultations with stakeholders.
A group of New Delhi lawyers has also filed a petition with the court seeking an order to the farmers to vacate the highways connecting northern states to the Indian capital.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
