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Excellent news - the timing is right ... The largest farmer's protest in the world, in India, just recently partially ended after a year+ long non-violent prot

Excellent news - the timing is right ... The largest farmer's protest in the world, in India, just recently partially ended after a year+ long non-violent protest with the indian government backing down and conceding to their demand to repeal farm laws that favoured corporates and didn't address farmer's concerns. ( https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/fam-laws-are-being-repealed-because-they-failed-the-test-of-democracy https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/fam-laws-are-bei... ). Civil activists around the world will get a big boost and draw inspiration from this. Trade Unions in Public Sector Units that the indian government wants to sell to private entities are also planning to go on a national strike soon. I see all this as a natural correction of political imbalance that had shifted too far to the right, around the world, in the last 2 decades ... political unrest results when the extreme left or the right gain an upper hand.

aero-glide2 5y ago
As someone who interned at two Indian government PSUs, I can't wait for them to get privatised. You wouldn't believe the amount of inefficiency and laziness.
- Hokusai 5y ago
  > laziness That seems quite judgemental, each time that I see someone calling others lazy is just a case of not understanding others circumstances and hardships. Walk a mile in their shoes...
  - bryanrasmussen 5y ago
    I mean interning at something seems as close to walking a mile in the shoes as one can reasonably be expected to get. Often when we condemn others or something it is because we don't understand all the factors involved, but not all the time - sometimes laziness and other bad features are primary cause of what we observe.
  - screye 5y ago
    My dad spent his entire life as a Bureaucrat. The OP is right. The laziness is endemic seeps through every aspect of Govt. work. He hates the laziness and corruption in the system so much, that explicitly banned both his children from ever working in anything having to do with the Govt. A good bunch of my friends are engineers in large govt. infrastructure projects. They corroborate my dad's claims. > Walk a mile in their shoes Replying in kind, got it 'straight from the horse's mouth' (sorry, i was feeling cheeky)
- webmobdev 5y ago
  > the reforms were good Please read the article I linked to, to understand why the farmer's objected to these farm laws. The biggest problem was that democratic and parliamentary norms were not followed in passing those laws. Can you believe that a game changing law like this, was passed abruptly, without any review by any parliamentary committee or even a discussion in the Parliament!? That is why people became rightly suspicious of the intentions behind the laws, and highlighted loopholes in it that seemed to be designed to benefit the corporate, at the expense of farmers and consumers.
screye 5y ago
That is an incredibly biased reading. The farm laws were among the most progressive changes the farms had seen in the last century. It was politically hijacked despite having been previously supported by the same opposition who was currently leading the agitation. India is politically incredibly left as a nation, and IMO the right simply isn't right enough. If India can even reach a Bernie or Warren level.of capitalism, it would be a dream come true. Sadly, we are stuck in a system that glorifies blind socialism despite it having continuously kneecapped the economy decade over decade. I hope the PSUs get sold off. The farm bills pass (wishful thinking) and India finally manages to claw back some power from this kafkaesque beaurocracy.
- ksaxena 5y ago
  What I find strange is the support that the Indian (opportunistic) left's narrative gets in US media including niche tech communities like HN. Any one who has grown up in India in the past 50 years has witnessed the devastation caused by Socialism in this country. Socialism did not make India equal - it made India's bureaucracy and politics a cesspool of corruption that did enormous damage to India's poor. Anybody on this community who wants a crisp, fair view of the situation should spend a minute reading this editorial from India's largest newspaper before commenting: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/swaminomics-farm-retreat-casts-doubt-on-other-economic-reforms/articleshow/87827463.cms https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/swa...
- webmobdev 5y ago
  > It was politically hijacked despite having been previously supported by the same opposition who was currently leading the agitation. That's either ignorance or a plain lie. Rahul Gandhi, one of the leaders of Congress, has been a vocal opponent of the farm laws from day 1. Here's his speech in Parliament on it - https://old.reddit.com/r/india/comments/li5iey/rahul_gandhis_protest_speech_in_parliament/ https://old.reddit.com/r/india/comments/li5iey/rahul_gandhis... ... At no point has the opposition Congress ever supported the law. In fact, it was never even given an opportunity to do so! This law was suddenly introduced as an ordinance, and bludgeoned through Parliament with the sheer majority of the government, without even a discussion in Parliament. Despite requests, it was not even sent to any Parliamentary committees. Worse, the government hadn't even consulted anyone, and the law had a lot of glaringly loopholes for the obvious benefit of the corporate sector. A agree completely with you that reforms are much needed in India's agriculture sector. And PM Modi could have easily implemented many of them if he had just followed democratic process and consulted everyone. The farm laws passed by him was sloppy too - many parts of these law were bound to be overturned by the Supreme Court too, as it infringed on the rights of states in our federal setup.
deleted 5y ago
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roenxi 5y ago
Something like 40% of Indians work in farming. Compare that to, say, the US at 1%. There is probably a nicer way to say it, but the strategic priority of India should factor in the end of small-time farmers. There are a lot of people working in agriculture who need to be redeployed to something more productive. Unless the plan is to live in poverty forever.
- foxhop 5y ago
  That's absurd, food is the most important product of the economy. Local food is the most important product of a local economy. Many small farm holders means more variety and less monoculture. I grow food myself, it's hard work and very important for our futures. Link in profile.
- webinvest 5y ago
  And go where? To other minimum wage jobs that pay 22 rupees an hour (35 cents an hour)? Most labor is relatively worthless in India. This is because India suffers from The Tragedy of the Commons.

aero-glide2 5y ago

As someone who interned at two Indian government PSUs, I can't wait for them to get privatised. You wouldn't believe the amount of inefficiency and laziness.

Hokusai 5y ago
> laziness That seems quite judgemental, each time that I see someone calling others lazy is just a case of not understanding others circumstances and hardships. Walk a mile in their shoes...
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  I mean interning at something seems as close to walking a mile in the shoes as one can reasonably be expected to get. Often when we condemn others or something it is because we don't understand all the factors involved, but not all the time - sometimes laziness and other bad features are primary cause of what we observe.
- screye 5y ago
  My dad spent his entire life as a Bureaucrat. The OP is right. The laziness is endemic seeps through every aspect of Govt. work. He hates the laziness and corruption in the system so much, that explicitly banned both his children from ever working in anything having to do with the Govt. A good bunch of my friends are engineers in large govt. infrastructure projects. They corroborate my dad's claims. > Walk a mile in their shoes Replying in kind, got it 'straight from the horse's mouth' (sorry, i was feeling cheeky)
webmobdev 5y ago
> the reforms were good Please read the article I linked to, to understand why the farmer's objected to these farm laws. The biggest problem was that democratic and parliamentary norms were not followed in passing those laws. Can you believe that a game changing law like this, was passed abruptly, without any review by any parliamentary committee or even a discussion in the Parliament!? That is why people became rightly suspicious of the intentions behind the laws, and highlighted loopholes in it that seemed to be designed to benefit the corporate, at the expense of farmers and consumers.

screye 5y ago

That is an incredibly biased reading. The farm laws were among the most progressive changes the farms had seen in the last century. It was politically hijacked despite having been previously supported by the same opposition who was currently leading the agitation. India is politically incredibly left as a nation, and IMO the right simply isn't right enough. If India can even reach a Bernie or Warren level.of capitalism, it would be a dream come true. Sadly, we are stuck in a system that glorifies blind socialism despite it having continuously kneecapped the economy decade over decade. I hope the PSUs get sold off. The farm bills pass (wishful thinking) and India finally manages to claw back some power from this kafkaesque beaurocracy.

ksaxena 5y ago
What I find strange is the support that the Indian (opportunistic) left's narrative gets in US media including niche tech communities like HN. Any one who has grown up in India in the past 50 years has witnessed the devastation caused by Socialism in this country. Socialism did not make India equal - it made India's bureaucracy and politics a cesspool of corruption that did enormous damage to India's poor. Anybody on this community who wants a crisp, fair view of the situation should spend a minute reading this editorial from India's largest newspaper before commenting: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/swaminomics-farm-retreat-casts-doubt-on-other-economic-reforms/articleshow/87827463.cms https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/swa...
webmobdev 5y ago
> It was politically hijacked despite having been previously supported by the same opposition who was currently leading the agitation. That's either ignorance or a plain lie. Rahul Gandhi, one of the leaders of Congress, has been a vocal opponent of the farm laws from day 1. Here's his speech in Parliament on it - https://old.reddit.com/r/india/comments/li5iey/rahul_gandhis_protest_speech_in_parliament/ https://old.reddit.com/r/india/comments/li5iey/rahul_gandhis... ... At no point has the opposition Congress ever supported the law. In fact, it was never even given an opportunity to do so! This law was suddenly introduced as an ordinance, and bludgeoned through Parliament with the sheer majority of the government, without even a discussion in Parliament. Despite requests, it was not even sent to any Parliamentary committees. Worse, the government hadn't even consulted anyone, and the law had a lot of glaringly loopholes for the obvious benefit of the corporate sector. A agree completely with you that reforms are much needed in India's agriculture sector. And PM Modi could have easily implemented many of them if he had just followed democratic process and consulted everyone. The farm laws passed by him was sloppy too - many parts of these law were bound to be overturned by the Supreme Court too, as it infringed on the rights of states in our federal setup.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

roenxi 5y ago

Something like 40% of Indians work in farming. Compare that to, say, the US at 1%. There is probably a nicer way to say it, but the strategic priority of India should factor in the end of small-time farmers. There are a lot of people working in agriculture who need to be redeployed to something more productive. Unless the plan is to live in poverty forever.

foxhop 5y ago
That's absurd, food is the most important product of the economy. Local food is the most important product of a local economy. Many small farm holders means more variety and less monoculture. I grow food myself, it's hard work and very important for our futures. Link in profile.
webinvest 5y ago
And go where? To other minimum wage jobs that pay 22 rupees an hour (35 cents an hour)? Most labor is relatively worthless in India. This is because India suffers from The Tragedy of the Commons.