Why farmers' protest in Delhi is different from Anna Hazare's IAC of 2011

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare recently made a call to farmers all over the country to hit the streets in solidarity with the ongoing farmers' agitation in the national capital. He said such agitations do not happen again and again. He also said the farmers should be wary of the proposals made by the government to them and should stand firm on their demands.

It was apt indeed for Hazare, the face of the India Against Corruption movement, to come out in solidarity with the farmers since the agitation against the farm laws has inspired many to see similarities with the anti-corruption campaign of 2011 and wonder if the farmers' unrest is the Narendra Modi government's IAC moment.

However, while there are similarities between the two protests, several aspects of the farmers' agitation sets it apart from the Anna Andolan.

A big similarity between the farmers laying siege of Delhi and the Hazare-led agitation is how both rocked Delhi while finding a resonance with people across the country. Just as the IAC movement had forced the government to invite its representatives to the negotiating table, the farmers have managed to compel the Modi government to hold talks with them. And just as the first round of talks between the Manmohan Singh government and the anti-corruption activists had ended in failure, the negotiations between the Modi regime and the farmers have so far failed to break the deadlock.

Like the IAC movement, the farmers' agitation has received support from celebrities, found an articulation in the popular discourse and resonated in the social media space in the form of commentary, memes and jokes. A hunger strike by the farmers was in keeping with the agitation copybook, which was followed by Hazare and his fellow protestors.

Emphasising the feeling of deja vu is the presence of two of the most important dramatis personae of the IAC movement—Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav—in the scheme of things now.

Kejriwal, who was the force behind the Anna Andolan and is now the chief minister of Delhi—the arena of the farmers' agitation—has sought to come across as the most vocal sympathiser of the farmers from the political fraternity. He has been the only chief minister to have visited Singhu Border, the epicentre of the farmers' protest. He observed a day-long fast in solidarity with the farmers, and for good measure, said that just as the participants in the IAC campaign were labelled as disruptors and Naxalites, the current ruling dispensation is trying to defame the farmers by calling them anti-national.

On the other hand, Yadav, who had a fallout with Kejriwal not long after the IAC movement wrapped up and the Aam Aadmi Party was born, has been mobilising farmers' voices as part of his organisation Swaraj Abhiyan and is a prominent face at the forefront of the farmers' protest.

It is also interesting to see how the Modi government deals with the farmers' protest in the backdrop of the view that this may be its IAC moment. The UPA had ultimately given in to the demands of the IAC campaign and passed the Lokpal law. By the indications available so far, the Modi regime is not in favour of rolling back the laws even as it is open to bringing in amendments to assuage the concerns of the farmers. Modi's dilemma is that if he agrees to the demand for the three contentious farm laws to be rolled back, he will end up looking pliable. However, if the farmers' protest carries on, it may erode the authority of the Modi government and prompt other disenchanted sections of the society to get into protest mode.

However, there are differences between the two agitations. Unlike the Anna Andolan, which had Hazare as its face, the farmers' protest is led by a collective of farmers organisations. Also, the IAC movement was distinctly political in nature, with its members taking a distinct stand against the politicians and their stated aim being to cleanse the politics of the country. Moreover, if Kejriwal launched a political party, figures such as Kiran Bedi and Baba Ramdev quickly aligned with the BJP, strengthening the charge that the campaign was politically motivated.

On the other hand, the farmers have steadfastly disallowed political leaders and organisations from sharing stage with them even as the Modi government has tried to project their agitation as being political in nature. There has been talk of a Congress conspiracy and some of the farmers' leaders being aligned with the Left parties.