Peasant organisations
Also called: Farmers' organisations, Kisan unions · Topic: Civil Society, Pressure Groups, NGOs and Self-help Groups · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Peasant organisations are pressure groups of farmers. They campaign on minimum support price (MSP), which is the price at which the government promises to buy certain crops. They also campaign on credit, power, water and land. They use rallies, sit-ins and lobbying. Organised farmers have real political power in India because they are so many.
Example
Major peasant organisations include:
- the All India Kisan Sabha (1936)
- the Bharatiya Kisan Union, whose leader Mahendra Singh Tikait held the Boat Club rally in Delhi in 1988
- Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana
In 2020-21, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of about 40 unions, held sit-ins at Delhi's borders. Parliament then passed the Farm Laws Repeal Act on 29 November 2021.
Don't confuse with
- Political parties: farmer unions press for demands but do not contest elections to form a government. Many are linked to parties as their kisan wings.