Agricultural reform in India: why is the Modi government backtracking?

Audio 19:30

Farmers celebrate the Prime Minister's announcement of the repeal of three farm reform laws that have sparked huge protests for nearly a year.

AFP - NARINDER NANU

By: Clémentine Pawlotsky

1 min

The Indian government is doing an about-face.

After a year of massive protests by angry farmers, New Delhi will repeal three agricultural reform laws passed in September 2020. The announcement was made on Friday, November 19, 2021, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who called all farmers participating in the protests to return home.

“

,” he said.

This is the first time that the head of the Indian government has given in to a social conflict.

How to explain this unexpected turnaround?

Can the political opposition profit from it?

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Decryption with

- Catherine Bros, 

professor and researcher in Economics at Gustave Eiffel University, specialist in India, invited to the University of Oxford and researcher affiliated to the Institute for Research for Development 

- Ingrid Therwath,

 journalist at 

, doctor of Political Science, specialist in India. 

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• India

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