Letter to the Unknown Indian Kisan

Authors

  • Sandeep Kandikuppa Research Fellow, East-West Center, Honolulu
  • Pallavi Gupta Instructor, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawai’i, Manoa

Keywords:

peasant movements, India, agrarian distress, agricultural incomes, democracy

Abstract

This letter is an expression of gratitude, from two students of social movements in India who are currently working in the USA, to the thousands of unknown Indian kisans (peasants). In 2020-21, peasants from across the country protested and participated in a movement widely known as anti-farm law movement—which was, in turn, triggered by the passage of three laws, together known as the farm laws, that aimed to liberalize agricultural commodity production and marketing. But what started out as a movement with a limited purpose soon morphed into a statement against the high-handedness of the Indian state. Through this letter, we pay a tribute to the farmers who drew inspiration from diverse intellectual strands including Gandhiism and Ambedkarite philosophy to craft a profound statement to highlight the precarity experienced by the farmers and in defense of India’s democratic ethos.

References

Davis, Angela Y. Freedom is a constant struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the foundations of a movement. Haymarket Books, 2016. 47

Kandikuppa, S and Gupta, P. “Where do India’s farmers go from here?” The Diplomat. April, 8, 2022. https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/where-do-indias-farmers-go-from-here/

A collage of photos and materials provided by issue authors. These include: a photo of a landscape with stars shining above a curved snowy road disappearing into a wooded horizon along the coast of Gichigami/Lake Superior; a cutout of cursive text written by Caitilin McMillan’s mother that reads “to the world's best heart”; a photo of Neelofer Qadir’s hand holding colorful postcards in front of the blue water of Gris Gris, Mauritius; a handwritten letter in Spanish dated August 1983 from Alana de Hinojosa’s grandmother to her mother, Evelina “Bebe”, asking for her to come back home to Calexico, California; a black-and-white troll block print and a Valentine's Day card with porcupine quills piercing a red-and-black heart and the handwritten message “Happy Valentines Day! Contains two genuine porcupine quills, picked clean by ravens. Love, Elspeth”; a black-and-white photograph of Dr. Donald Deskins Jr. in a three-point stance wearing a football uniform; a colourful poster with doves and peace flowers and text that reads “Viva! Viva! Palestina!”; an orange envelope reading “don't you dare write back!” with a hand-drawn scowling figure; a screenshot of a Zoom grid of smiling attendees at the American Association of Geographers 2021 Desirable Futures sessions; and background text and images from valentines written by Elspeth Iralu.

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Published

2024-04-15

How to Cite

Kandikuppa, S., & Gupta, P. (2024). Letter to the Unknown Indian Kisan. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 23(2), 136–140. Retrieved from https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/2389

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2024): Desirable Futures

Section

Special Issue: Desirable Futures

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Sandeep Kandikuppa, Pallavi Gupta

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