THE Pratirodh Diwas or Resistance Day against the three Anti-Farmer Bills on September 25, 2020 has by far been the most widespread action and met with the biggest response from peasants in recent times. It saw massive participation across the length and breadth of the country.

IN these times of pandemic, a new phrase has entered our lexicon of contemporary discourse – ‘new normal’. There is an imperative need to understand this phraseology for comprehending its full import. Defining feature of this pandemic affected situation is the severe restriction on collective public action. Given the fact, that such restrictions are necessitated by requirements of containing the spread, the need for scrutinising actions and measures of the governments is imperative to counteract the current aggressive unilateralism.

THE BJP-led NDA government at the centre is leading the common people into an eventual bankruptcy with a plethora of anti-people measures. What is being pushed into circulation by the centre, is the rhetoric of jingoistic nationalism and communal agenda that dubiously hides the plight of toiling masses.

MASSIVE resistance has been built up by the peasantry against the three anti-farmer ordinances/bills. The intense struggles across the country and especially in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh also created enough pressure to force a union minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal to resign from the union cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. If the legislations are “pro-farmer” as Modi claims, why are farmers coming out in united protests against these measures?

THE recently published National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report brought into notice the issue of suicides by daily wage workers. The NCRB has started categorising daily wage workers in the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides’ data since 2014. Though the number of suicides by daily wage workers has been continuously increasing since then, this was widely covered only this year.