During autumn of 2020, the Indian government, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, passed three laws, which collectively required the privatisation of the country’s large agriculture sector. While India’s highest court has temporarily suspended the laws, the fear of their eventual passage is still palpable. 70% of India’s rural households depend primarily on agriculture for their income and many of these householders are Punjabi Sikhs, who have been the victims of state violence in recent memory.

As described by Hartoush Sigh Bal, a political editor, the laws create a new payment framework that allows private merchants to purchase directly from the farmers. Prior to the passage of the law, private traders went through government marketing boards, which ensured fair crop prices. These marketing boards also purchase most of the surplus food grain. Taken together, this breakdown in the government marketing boards will lead to lower prices being paid to farmers. Not surprisingly, but unfortunately, the existential threat caused by these laws, and the general economic distress farmers have been under over the last few years, has caused a rise in farmer suicide.

Mass protests have now occurred both in India and around the world. At the Indian protests, many of the peaceful protestors have been targeted by the Indian police with force and brutality. A great proportion of the farmers being targeted by the police come from a Sikh and Punjabi background.

The Indian press has painted the farmers as terrorists throughout the protests despite the photographic and video evidence contradicting this narrative. A clear example can be seen by viral videos of protestors feeding the police officers on duty. The media are determined to portray the farmers in a negative light in order to avoid any discussion of the real issue, which is the clear human rights violations by the Modi government. For example, the effects of these farm laws violate the rights outlined in article 6.2 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), a treaty ratified by India.

In addition to the violation of international economic human rights treaties, the state police have committed mass human rights violations against political activists. Many peaceful, political protestors and journalists have been incarcerated by police in an attempt to gag the media for broadcasting or informing the public about the occurrences that are taking place on the ground. This not only infringes the right of freedom of expression, but also violates article 9.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which India has also ratified. Article 9.3 outlines the rules and regulations for detainees.

Nodeep Kaur’s arrest, in particular, has received global recognition. On 21 January 2021, Kaur was arrested while peacefully protesting outside a factory in Delhi. While detained, Kaur has been sexually assaulted and tortured. Such torture and sexual violence goes against many articles of international human rights treaties and further illustrates the clear human rights violations occurring in India today.

Manisha graduated in 2019 with a BA Politics and International Relations from Loughborough University. She is currently studying to achieve her Masters degree in Human Rights Practice where she has a key focus and interest in minority rights - specifically, gender and sex.

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