The Indian Farmers’ Protest of 2020–2021

‘Perhaps we shall never fully understand what happened in those heady days of 2020-21, when hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers assembled in Delhi, set up some of the most vibrant protest sites India had ever seen, and eventually forced the Modi government to repeal its corporate-sponsored farm laws. This insightful collection of essays and testimonies sheds new light on these events from different angles. It is an invaluable retrospective on one of the most inspiring social movements of our time.’ Jean Drèze, visiting Professor at the Department of Economics, Ranchi University ‘This impressive collection offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of India’s historic farmer protests. Bringing together leading scholars of rural India and drawing productively on the tradition of agrarian political economy, it provides not only a thorough documentation of the movement but insightful analyses of its causes and consequences. A must-read not only for students of rural India but for all those interested in the neoliberalisation of agriculture and agrarian social movements.’ Michael Levien, Professor, Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University ‘This edited volume does not only tell a story that had to be registered, but also deciphers the farmers’ protest movement of 2020-21 by exploring all its facettes, including its sociological dimensions in terms of class, caste, religion and gender. Comprehensive and analytical, it is bound to become the reference book on one of the most massive - and still understudied - act of ideological and social resistance to the rise of agro-business in today’s India.’ Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor, Sciences Po Paris and King’s College London ‘A rich, kaleidoscopic overview of one of the most significant protest movements in India in recent memory. This thought-provoking volume provides important insights, from aspects of the actual struggle with its diverse means and actors, to underlying trajectories and wider consequences of the mobilisation against the farm laws.’ Jens Lerche, Emeritus Professor, SOAS London