The Indian government is still discriminating against Sikhs today. Currently in northern India, originating in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, there is a Farmer’s Protest. The north of India, specifically Punjab is referred to as the ‘breadbasket’ of India as it is home to a large portion of the country’s agricultural production and it has a majority Sikh population.

The Indian government passed three new laws in September 2020, which essentially deregulated the agricultural industry. What this means is that when farmers are selling/treading their products, the private businesses, the buyers, have the upper hand in the deals and they control the prices as well as any taxes related to the transaction. The reason this is a problem for the farmers is that before the laws were implemented the farmers were given a fixed income from the government based on production levels and sold their produce at government-regulated prices. This gave the farmers long-term security because they felt like no matter what they would be able to profit off of their crops. However, the new laws mean the private businesses buy directly from the farmers, which means they are likely to push lower prices for the produce, as well as end the government regulation of agriculture entirely.

Since November 2020, farmers have taken to the streets to call for the repeal of the bills. The protesters have travelled to Dehli, India’s capital, and during their travels (and once they got there) they were met with a heavy presence of law enforcement. The law enforcement in India has a history of being corrupt and violent with the Sikh community. It never stopped, the men and women protesting have been brutally beaten and even killed by the police. Those who are arrested were detained and remain that way with no formal charges brought up against them. The men arrested are treated the same as those on the streets, brutally beaten sometimes to death. The women arrested, such as activist Nodeep Kaur, are being beaten and sexually abused by male prison guards while in jail. Most of the protestors being attacked by the police are Sikh from Punjab. This is not just an issue of agricultural rights, this is also about the Hindu nationalism that governs India. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is known to have ties to the Hindu nationalist movement and his campaigns are based on Hindu nationalism. This is about Hindu nationalism and the hatred towards the Sikh community. This issue needs to be brought into the light and the Indian government needs to be held accountable for its mistreatment of an entire ethnic group.

The Farmers Movement has gained attention from several activists, such as Greta Thunberg, as well as American celebrities, such as Rihanna. The Indian Courts have called for a pause on the implementation of these laws, however, this is not enough. Change has to continue to happen until the laws are repealed, and attention needs to be brought to the real reason why the government is mistreating the farming community.