Kisan Diwas 2020: All you need to know about Farmers' Day amid protests

For nearly a month, a group representing farmers from across India are not on their fields but on the streets, surrounding the country’s national capital, Delhi, to fight for their ‘survival’. 

India’s BJP-led government recently passed three farm laws, which the government claims will help reform the agriculture sector. The three farm laws, according to the government, will help in bringing private investment to the farm sector, help the farmers sell their produce to anyone they wish to and loosen the hold of APMC ‘mandis’. 

However, the protesting farmers believe the laws are meant to dilute the MSP regime, which in turn will result in reduced crop prices. The farmers are also opposed to many other ‘reforms’ the laws propose to bring.

The central government on the other hand is of the opinion that the farmers are being misled by vested interests and opposition parties. Farmers want all the laws to be repealed while the government is trying to find a middle ground through negotiations. 

As the country's focus goes back to a sector that involves nearly half of India’s workforce and contributes nearly 16% to India’s GDP, we tell you what Kisan Diwas is and why it is celebrated.

Kisan Diwas 2020

Kisan Diwas 2020 or the National Farmers’ Day 2020 is a day to celebrate the ‘annadata’ of the country. India has always been considered as an agriculture-dominated country. A rich and resourceful land made it possible for Indians to adopt farming. But poor planning, factors related to population and government’s focus on other industrial sectors made farming unattractive. In the 1960's, the Green Revolution helped make farming attractive again, especially for the farmers in the northern region. 

However, despite farmers being a strong political base, the sector saw reduced income and its contribution to GDP fell from 54% in the 1950s to nearly 16% now as other sectors saw a rise in GDP contribution with a limited workforce.

Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was the prime minister of India for a short period between 1979 and 1980, is considered to be one of the tallest farmers’ leaders. During his time in office as the PM and also as the agriculture minister, he brought many farmer-friendly initiatives and schemes, which benefited the farmers. In his honour, his birthday, which falls on December 23, was chosen as the day to celebrate farmers’ day or Kisan Diwas. Singh was born in 1902 in Meerut. He was from a peasant family and believed in the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, given by former PM Lal Bahadur Shashtri.

India is self-sufficient now with the help of increased food production. However, government’s efforts to boost privatisation have worried the farmers of the country who are struggling with reduced income over the years, resulting in poverty and suicides. It’s time the country listens to them.