Farmers Protests against WTO in Mumbai

More than 50,000 farmers from 14 states of India including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttranchal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Maharashtra belonging to different farmers unions participated in a huge Rally against WTO in Mumbai. The Rally was organised by Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements, which is a coalition of farmer unions from across the country, which include the Bhartiya Kissan Union (All India), the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, the Shetkari Sangathana (Maharashtra), the Madhya Pradesh Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, the Tamil Nadu Farmers and Workers Party, and the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Labourers Union. The main leaders who spoke at the Rally include Mr. Mahender Singh Tikait, Mr. Yudhvir Singh, Mr. Vijay Jawandia, Dr. Sunilam, Ms. Chukki Najundaswami, Mr. Selvam Muthu, Mr. Rakesh Tikait and others.

One of the main demands of these farmers is to take out agriculture from the purview of the World Trade Organisation. They also demand for an increase in the import duty on agricultural commodities and reinstating Quantitative Restrictions to protect Indian farmers and farming. The farmers submitted a five-page memorandum to the Mumbai