ONLY AND ONLY a government that is secretly in a pact with farmer organisations can give the kind of response to the farmers’ agitation that you are seeing on your television screens.

The only other possibility is that stupid minds are handling this in the PMO and the South Block.

Farmers are getting tens of hours of national prime time television, they are in front and centre of the national discourse, and the media is either reporting honestly the concerns of the farmers or exposing itself completely as being the stooge of corporates and government hand-outs.

What would the farmers have achieved if they had landed up at the Ramlila Grounds in Delhi?

At the most, an hours long rally, lot of media attention and speeches by farmer leaders saying the same things – the farm bills are anti-farmer and the govt should guarantee the MSP regime and state backed procurement.

That’s what they are already achieving with remarkable effect, backed by the kind of visuals that are now flashing across international television channels.

The government has only sent a message to other struggling groups – that they need to learn from Punjab and Haryana farmers, have that kind of determination, and be prepared to dig in their heels, and stick to the command and discipline of the leadership.

The movement is throwing up new leadership, and the existing leadership is proving how battle hardened it is.

The myth of Modi charm has been blown to smithereens, the pro-farmer inanities stand exposed, and the intransigence of the government has brought together tens of farm unions which had myriad differences but are learning to work together.

Whosoever is advising the Modi government on the handling of the farmer movements should be sacked right away, and the farmer leaders involved in decision making should be requested to do stints at management institutes to teach our upcoming managers something about achieving success in the face of every resistance possible.

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