People's Archive of Farmers' Protests-pafp

In October 2025, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced a coordinated resistance to the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill and the Draft Labour Policy, viewing both as integral components of a wider neoliberal project that erodes public control, weakens labour protections, and centralises authority in the hands of the Union government.

The proposed Electricity Bill seeks to dismantle India’s integrated public electricity framework by promoting open access, removing cross-subsidies, and allowing private entry into state distribution networks. Such measures are expected to raise tariffs for rural and low-income consumers, destabilise state DISCOMs, and undermine federal fiscal autonomy.

Simultaneously, the draft Labour Policy expands fixed-term and contract employment, dilutes collective bargaining rights, and accelerates the casualisation of labour across sectors. Together, these measures mark a decisive rollback of India’s social and federal architecture, subordinating public welfare to corporate interests.

In response, ten Central Trade Unions and the SKM have launched nationwide campaigns that will culminate on 26 November 2025 with the submission of joint memorandums to the President of India. Their united stand frames electricity, labour, and agrarian justice as interconnected pillars of India’s democratic fabric. The movement calls for the withdrawal of both drafts and reaffirms that essential services and workers’ rights must remain under public, accountable, and federal control.

On the 16th of September, 2025, the joint leadership of CITU, AIKS, and AIAWU brought together representatives from across the nation for the National Convention of Workers, Peasants, and Agricultural Workers in New Delhi.

The convention emphasised the increase in crises due to the privatisation of essential services, neoliberal economic policies, and the increasing influence of corporations in the formulation of public policy. It also highlighted how democratic institutions are being undermined in the country, alongside an increased communal polarisation, and the negligence of the working-class and rural voices.

The delegates decided to step up coordinated efforts at the local and national levels, stressing the importance of worker-peasant unity as the cornerstone of democratic opposition. A call for further mobilisation through late 2025, leading up to Worker-Peasant Unity Day on January 19, 2026, is one of their main targets.

In India's continuous attempts to express class-based solidarity in reaction to structural inequity and economic centralisation, this convention represents a critical turning point.

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The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra continues to be the epicentre of India’s agrarian crisis. Despite relatively advanced agricultural practices compared to poorer states, Vidarbha records some of the highest farmer su***de rates in the country, with 479 cases reported in March–April 2025 alone. Most are concentrated among cotton farmers, trapped in cycles of debt, rising input costs, and volatile markets.
Cotton, once promoted as a breakthrough crop through Bt technology, has instead become a site of corporate monopolisation. Farmers are compelled to purchase seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides dictated by private companies, eroding autonomy and increasing dependence. Soybean, adopted as an alternative, has similarly been undermined by spurious seeds, new pests, imports, and tariff shocks, leaving cultivators without a reliable escape.

The Union government’s decision on August 19, 2025, to remove the 11% import duty and cess on cotton until December 2025 further threatens farmer livelihoods. Imported cotton, heavily subsidised in the U.S., is expected to drive domestic prices down, with the Cotton Association of India projecting record imports of 42 lakh bales. Farmer organisations argue that this policy accelerates distress in regions already facing acute vulnerability.

Against this backdrop, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which led the Delhi border protests, undertook a three-day tour of Vidarbha. Leaders visited su***de-affected families, addressed village meetings, and called for a unified statewide movement around core demands: loan waivers, fair MSP (₹10,075/quintal, C2+50%), farmer-friendly insurance, and resistance to corporate-driven policies. The SKM visit reaffirmed that without durable solidarity among farmers, efforts to resist corporate exploitation and policy failures will remain fragmented and ineffective.

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Severe floods have struck northern India, impacting Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir. Reports confirm that the monsoon has claimed over 500 lives across these states, leaving thousands stranded due to overflowing rivers, landslides, and damaged infrastructure.

Himachal Pradesh has been the worst hit, with more than 340 deaths, major landslides, and over 1,100 roads shut, including the Chandigarh–Manali highway. In Jammu & Kashmir, 132 people have died, the Jhelum river has crossed danger levels, and the Vaishno Devi yatra has been suspended. Haryana has reported eight deaths, school closures in 16 districts, and major breaches in embankments. Punjab, experiencing its worst floods in nearly four decades, has reported 37 deaths. More than 1,655 villages across 23 districts are affected, with over 3.75 lakh acres of farmland submerged, devastating crops and livelihoods. Hisar and Bhiwani districts of Haryana have also been affected.
Despite the scale of destruction, relief from the central government has been minimal. Punjab has declared itself a “disaster-affected state,”. Into this gap, local communities, Gurdwaras, Sikh organisations and artists have stepped in, distributing food, water, diesel, and essentials. The call for Mitti di Sewa (service with soil) saw people arrive with tractor-trolleys of sand to repair breaches.

Networks formed during the 2020–21 farmers’ protests are now playing a crucial role in relief mobilisation. Farmers and activists from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have coordinated aid convoys, demonstrating solidarity that cuts across state lines. Social media platforms such as Tractor2Twitter and protest-era accounts are providing real-time updates, guiding relief efforts, and questioning state inaction.

These floods, described as the most devastating since 1988, reveal both the vulnerability of Punjab and the resilience of people’s movements. Where the state has struggled, collective action and farmer solidarity have become the backbone of relief.

Amid mounting farmer and landowner protests, and shortly after the Punjab & Haryana High Court halted its operation, the Punjab government has withdrawn its Land Pooling Policy (originally notified on May 14 and June 4, and later amended on July 25). The decision, signed by CM Bhagwant Mann, follows assessments that the backlash had overshadowed other governance claims; the Housing Department will seek ex-post-facto Cabinet approval. Principal Secretary (Housing & Urban Development) Vikas Garg announced that the policy and amendments stand withdrawn and that all consequential actions (LOIs, registries, etc.) will be reversed. 

The scheme had identified 40,000+ acres and drew opposition from 115+ panchayats. In staying the policy, the HC flagged multiple legal and procedural defects: absence of SIA/EIA despite Supreme Court directives; a clause enabling compulsory acquisition that brings the scheme within the 2013 Land Acquisition Act; no rehabilitation plan for landless labourers, artisans, and MGNREGA workers; missing timelines, grievance redressal, and penalty mechanisms; and large, unbudgeted development costs (~₹1.25 crore per acre; ~₹10,000 crore for Ludhiana). 

The Bench also cited past pooling delays (e.g., Mohali plots pending even after a decade). Calling the targeted land “amongst the most fertile in the State of Punjab,” the Court warned acquisition could “impact the social milieu” and urged careful evaluation to balance development with environmental and social safeguards.
The policy was stayed “lest any rights are created,” the matter is listed for September 10, and the State has been directed to address all concerns and file its reply before that date. 

Links to referenced articles:
The Indian Express:
https://sl1nk.com/4ry1M

Counter Currents:
https://url-shortener.me/4ANC

Tags:
Farmers protest | farm laws | farmers March | farmers rights | rural India | agriculture India | land pooling policy | Punjab farmers | agriculture news | protest

After nearly 1,200 days of sustained resistance, farmers from 13 villages successfully prevented the forcible acquisition of 1,777 acres of fertile, multi-cropped farmland near Bangalore.
The struggle, which began in April 2022 under the leadership of late G.C. Bayya Reddy and supported by AIKS, KPRS, CITU, AIAWU, AIDWA, and other progressive organizations, involved daily protests, legal advocacy, and widespread solidarity from civil society, writers, artists, and Dalit organizations.

The farmers faced police assaults, arrests, and misinformation campaigns orchestrated by real estate interests but remained united under the banner of the Channarayapatna Anti-Land Acquisition Struggle Committee and Samyukta Horata Karnataka. On July 15, 2025, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah officially scrapped the acquisition notices, recognizing the struggle as historic.

This victory demonstrates the power of collective action and sustained resistance in defending agricultural land and protecting the rights of rural communities. It serves as an inspiration for peasant movements across India and highlights the continued importance of popular mobilization in shaping just land policies.

Link to referenced article: https://sl1nk.com/yPo1Y

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Join us for a book discussion at Oxford University!

Discussion on ‘A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 2020-21’, Routledge, 2025.
Edited by Shamsher Singh and Sabah Siddiqui

Participants:

Prof. Pritam Singh, Chair.
Pritam Singh has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and is Professor Emeritus at Oxford Brookes Business School. His major publications are Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy (2008/2019), Economy, Culture and Human Rights: Turbulence in Punjab, India and Beyond (2010), and Punjabi Identity in a Global Context (co-edited with S. Thandi, 1999).
In June 2015, he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award of World Political Economy of the 21st Century by the World Association of Political Economy in Johannesburg, and in May 2021, the University of California (Riverside) honoured him with “a Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished contribution to the Punjab Research Group in the UK to promote Sikh and Punjab Studies”.

Dr. Deepa Kurup, Discussant.
Deepa Kurup holds a DPhil/PhD in International Development from Somerville, University of Oxford. She was an Indira Gandhi scholar at Somerville College, University of Oxford. Her doctoral research was focused on the comparative political economy of social programmes in India. Her research interests include rural development and agrarian change.

Dr. Shamsher Singh, Book Co-Editor, Faculty of Sociology, FLAME University, India.

Date and time: July 2, 2025. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Venue: Seminar Room 3, Wolfson College, University of Oxford.

We are thankful to Prof. Barbara Harriss-White, FAcSS, Emeritus Fellow, Wolfson College for her support in arranging this event.

Join us for a book talk and discussion on the newly released book about the historic Indian farmers’ protest of 2020-21.

“A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 2020-21” is an edited collection that brings together some of the most detailed accounts from many perspectives of the protest. It goes beyond the superficial media lens and offers a detailed and rich account for voices from the various campsites. As a ‘people’s history’, it tells the stories of those who struggled.

Date and Time: Monday, 30th June 2025, 5.00 pm

Venue: King’s College London, Bush House (North-East), Room 1.02, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG

We look forward to your participation in this important discussion. Please register by using the QR code in the poster.

Join us as PAFP takes the virtual stage at International Archives Week 2025!

We are excited to be part of the Lightning Talks series kicking off , presenting under the theme Archives in Society: Changing Perceptions, organised by the International Council on Archives.

This presentation is part of the 7th edition of International Archives Week, held from 9–13 June, 2025, with the theme – Archives for Everyone.

Lightning Talks are short, high-impact sessions designed to share insights, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of archives.

Our talk, “Archiving People’s Movements: A Case of the Indian Farmers’ Movement (2020–21),” will explore the creation of the People’s Archive of Farmers’ Protests (PAFP)—a public digital archive documenting one of India’s largest social movements. The session will reflect on the importance of archiving resistance.

Date: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Time: 2:30 PM IST (11:00 CET)
Venue: Online via Zoom (registration link in bio)
Format: 10-minute talk + short discussion

All sessions are free and open to all. Register now through the link in our bio!