Many have heard from me and wonder why Indian farmers are protesting.

This is a good question because it is about the biggest protests in India ever - and probably the most well-organized. 

For two months now, farmers have been living in large camps outside Delhi, blocking traffic and chanting slogans.

Among the tents are hospital cabins and even their own newspaper.

In huge kitchens, food is cooked for the strikers. 

The protests have been met with tear gas and water cannons, but farmers say they can continue for several months.

The government wants to liberalize agriculture

The immediate reason is that the government wants to liberalize agriculture through new laws that, among other things, allow foreign companies to trade directly with farmers.

But the farmers want to preserve the state-regulated system that has so far guaranteed so-called mini-prices.

Few deny that reforms are needed.

Agriculture accounts for almost half of all Indian jobs and if farmers get better, it could lead to a positive spiral of increased growth and reduced unemployment.

But farmers want to influence how the reforms are carried out, and there are several underlying reasons for their dissatisfaction.

Peasants are a crucial political force

One is about increased awareness.

Farmers have much better control over their rights today than just fifteen years ago when I started reporting from India.

More people speak English and through social media, knowledge about the world has increased.

Today, farmers are aware that they make up almost half of the Indian workforce, and thus a decisive political force - if they merge.

And that's exactly what they're doing now.

Indian farmers also have smartphones and WhatsApp, which gives them the opportunity to organize themselves in a completely different way than before. 

Economic challenges and burning dissatisfaction

It is also a matter of dissatisfaction among the peasants for a long time.

Already in the 2014 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised more money in the plank to all Indians.

But since then, the economy has declined, which has hit the farmers hard.

So in 2016, the government promised to double farmers' incomes by 2022. Several subsidies have been paid out, as well as debt write-offs, but inflation is eating up most of the increased incomes.

The uncertainty about the future is unbearable

Then add the climate change that is already affecting Indian farmers with full force.

Droughts and floods create a great deal of unpredictability with failing harvests.

In addition, when India shut down in March last year due to the pandemic, uncertainty about the future became unbearable for many.

The protests are therefore not just about the new laws, but can be seen as a cry to the rulers that many Indians are very afraid of unemployment, poverty and hunger.