Dilli Chalo: the Past and Future of the Farmers' Struggle
Over the past week, many of us have been watching intently as Punjab’s kirti-kisaan once again march on Delhi to confront India’s ongoing authoritarianism–calling on officials to take concrete steps on the unfulfilled demands of the Farmer’s protest since 2021. As we watch jarring footage of India’s violent repression of protestors, it is important that we reflect on the reality of what is happening–beyond just surface level talking points or reactionary responses.
Understanding and Confronting Indian Violence
We should not be shocked by Indian state violence or let our politics simply get bogged down into a victim narrative existing in a vacuum.
India is a violent “ethnic democracy” that maintains its dominance over the subcontinent by vacillating between hegemonic and violent control against non-Indian/Hindu communities. When these communities step outside the realm of ‘hegemonic control’ to challenge their assimilation and exploitation, the state employs ‘violent control’ through state violence and fascist mobs to reassert its domination. The Indian state will also deploy violence where the boundaries of state control, nationalism, and manufactured consent are faced with the bold challenge of a radical political mobilization and alternative.
Although there are numerous streams and factions within participants, the Kisaan Morcha is not a simple liberal protest for reform of the Indian state. It is an exercise in building autonomous power from the grassroots and imagining an alternative future in the womb of militant struggle. This militancy does not mean violence or force for the sake of self-gratification disconnected from organized politics, it is a principled refusal to remain bound and restricted by the rules of power imposed by the very hegemon being resisted.
Revolution, Not Reform
There are very clear, immediate demands being made by the Kisaans but this issue is not simply about maintaining the status quo of India’s imperialist exploitation of Punjab and farmers across the subcontinent. As demonstrated numerous times over the past several decades, the solution of the current agrarian crisis requires the radical reorganization of political power in the subcontinent and the eradication of Delhi’s imperialist structure in the region (ie. the Indian state) itself.
The massive political mobilizations across Punjab over the past 5-10 years have been the result of the deep rooted churning of Panth-Punjab against India’s system and structure.We cannot get bogged down in the farmers’ demands without engaging with the politics of the demands: their origins, the root issues, and the alternatives articulated in the demands.
Reflecting on the Past and Future
For those of us displaced from Punjab and scattered around the world, it is imperative that we meaningfully engage with the struggle and delve into the issues beyond social media rhetoric.
Rather than a narcissistic mode of pseudo-radical politics simply fixated on internal polarization and claiming ideological purity, we must boldly and creatively engage with the halaat (conditions) on the ground to move the struggle forward effectively. This means gaining a concrete analysis of the grassroots realities of the issues and the mobilization itself. This includes learning who the different factions involved in the mobilization are and what ideological and tactical tensions they represent within the mass movement. Rather than sectarian dogmatism and internal polarization, those committed to radical transformation need to study the dynamics of mass struggle: how do we identify adversaries, allies and sympathizers and how do we use this knowledge to move the struggle forward.
The focus must be on organizing and building a potent political force capable of confronting Delhi’s imperialist structure across the subcontinent.
We compiled a list of resources to support naujawan in this endeavor to critically engage with the origins, genesis and ongoing dynamics within the ongoing morcha today.
Deg Teg Fateh!
Panth Ki Jeet!
The Significance and Radical Potential of the Kisaan Morcha
The Political Economy of the Kisaan Morcha
Internal Dynamics: Factions, Tactics, and Conflict
January 27-30, 2021: Reflecting on Problems, Consequences and Lessons
Jagjit Singh Dallewal and the internal dynamics of Kisaan leadership
Reflecting on “Comrades”, “Naujawan”, and “Panth”: Naujawan Reflections on tactics and leadership