The unfolding story behind farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh

With farmers' protest entering its eighth day in Madhya Pradesh, the unrest in BJP-ruled state escalated further today when Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was barred from entering Mandsaur district, on the borders of MP and Rajasthan.

Shortly after, he was released but Rajasthan police said that they would verify whether Gandhi broke traffic rules when travelling upto MP border. There were allegations that Gandhi rode pillion on a bike with two others.

Over the course of a week, Mandsaur and other adjacent districts of Madhya Pradesh were witness to scores of farmers agitating for fair prices for their produce. It reached a crescendo when police opened fire on Tuesday, killing at least six farmers and injuring several others.

Mandsaur city and Piplia Mandal, two key districts of the state, have been declared curfew zones with farmers taking to pelting stones and engaging in violence and arson against the state police.

In the wake of this violence, state opposition party Congress and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh called a bandh across the state on Wednesday to lodge a protest against police brutality in Mandsaur.

Internet services were completely shut down in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neechman districts as state authorities feared the spread of rumours.

Farmers in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra began a protest on June 1 demanding an increase in minimum support price (MSP) for their farm produce as their primary demand.

The MSP is the price at which the government purchases food grains from farmers, irrespective of their market price. It helps to incentivise the farmers and boost the agricultural economy of the country. Recently, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis announced a farm loan waiver. Despite the promise, farmers, who are more keen on a fair price for their produce, are on a 'Rail Rokho' protest in Mumbai.

Shifting Blames
Predictably, both the BJP and the Opposition have been pointing fingers at each other over the violent protests. While MP Chief Minister Chouhan is reported to have supported the farmers through his tweet, Rahul Gandhi publicly criticized the government's inability to control the situation.

This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country#Mandsaur #MadhyaPradesh https://t.co/HQsjluDUPg

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 6, 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi summoned a meeting of Union Ministers yesterday to discuss the farmers' protest, the outcome of which hasn't been disclosed yet.  With Gujarat assembly elections around the corner, Modi could face a tough battle ahead if farmers don't stand down.

Timeline
Only three days into the protest, on June 4, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a farmer group involved in the agitation retracted after a meeting with CM Chouhan. This angered the other major organisations involved- Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bharatiya Kisan Union -- who decided to spur the agitation further.

On 5 June, Chouhan announced that the government will procure onion at Rs 8 per kg. He also declared that Rs 1,000 crore price stabilisation funds would be provided to procure the agricultural produce at MSP.

What the Numbers SayAccording to National Crime Records Bureau data, there were 5,650 registered cases of farmer suicides which accounted for 43 percent of total suicides in India.

Maharashtra recorded the highest number of suicides followed by Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka constituting for 45.5 percent, 15.9 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.

The report also said that the primary reason for farmer suicides was bankruptcy and indebtedness, acting as the prime reason for 21.5 percent of the cases.