800 researchers and students signed a letter to support the farmers protest against the farm laws in Bengaluru

Photo Credits: PTI

As many as 800 students along with researchers and teaching faculty in Bengaluru and the institutions throughout the country have signed a letter expressing their support to the farmers over the three controversial farm laws passed by the Centre.

They iterated on the move as a result of the government’s “failure to follow due process and its apathy towards genuine concerns”.

Their letter stated, “As citizens and members of the academic community, we are deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in the farm sector. The seasonal nature of farming renders farmers deeply vulnerable to exploitation at the time of harvest. We strongly believe that real reforms are sorely needed to protect the livelihoods of the millions of farmers who bring food to our plate despite enormous hardships.”

The signatories emphasized on the ‘failure’ of the government in several aspects which includes the failure to follow the protocols, to consult the real stakeholders, inability to address the genuine concerns of the farmers and also did nor acknowledge the right to peaceful dissent.

The signatories revealed, “We are particularly concerned that these reforms render small farmers vulnerable to exploitation by large-scale buyers by creating unregulated markets,” adding that the situation was a ‘golden opportunity for the government to listen to its people’

The signatories include 284 students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), 58 from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and 24 from the Assam Agricultural University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research had 21, University of Hyderabad – 21, 17 from Indian Institute of Technology, 16 from Jadavpur University, 13 from the Indian Statistical Institute, six from Indian Institute of Astrophysics and Indian students abroad.

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