India to repeal controversial farm laws that led to protests

In a surprise announcement, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Nov. 19 his government will withdraw the controversial farm laws that prompted year-long protests from tens of thousands of farmers and posed a significant political challenge to his administration.

Modi made the announcement during a televised speech that was broadcast live. He urged the protesters to return home and said the constitutional process to repeal the laws will begin in December when parliament sits for the winter session.

"Let us make a fresh start," Modi said during the address.

The announcement came on the day of the Guru Purab festival, when Sikhism founder Guru Nanak's birthday is celebrated, and ahead of key elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Most of the protesters are Sikh farmers from Punjab.

The laws were passed in September last year and the government had defended them, saying they were necessary to modernize India's agricultural sector and would boost production through private investment. But the farmers protested, saying the laws would devastate their earnings by ending guaranteed pricing and force them to sell their crops to corporations at cheaper prices.

These perceived threats to their income terrified India's farmers, who mostly work on a small scale: More than two-thirds of them own less than 1 hectare of land.

Clauses in the legislation also prevented farmers from resolving contract disputes in court, leaving them with no independent means of redress apart from government-appointed bureaucrats.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the group of farm unions organizing the protests, said it welcomed the government's announcement. But the group said the protests would continue until the government assures them...