Today’s Big Story
The latest horror in the ongoing farmer's protests occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday where 4 farmers were killed and several others were injured after a vehicle (which was part of a ministerial convoy) ran over a crowd of protesters.
In the violence that erupted after the vehicle ran over the crowd, 4 BJP workers were also killed. Photos and videos on social media showed vehicles set on fire as people lay covered in blood.
This has stirred up a huge political storm.
📯 What’s Going On?
You may wonder why a crowd of farmers had gathered in Lakhimpur in the first place. According to several media reports, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and Junior Home Affairs Minister Ajay Mishra were going to pay a visit. It appears that many farmers came to the venue in protest because of a provocative statement made by Junior Home Affairs Minister Ajay Mishra 8 days prior in which he says “I want to tell such people (the farmers) that they should mend their ways. If not, then we will mend them and it will take us all of 2 minutes." (translated from Hindi to English).
The twist in the tale is that his son, Ashish Mishra, was allegedly behind the wheel of the car that ran over several farmers. So ironically, the son of our Junior Home Affairs Minister - essentially in charge of internal security for the country - has now been booked for murder and for inciting violence.
Although videos prove Ashish’s presence at the spot, he is currently at large and no action has been taken against his father for speeches in which he openly provoked violence. Section 144 has been imposed in Lakhimpur Kheri district since Sunday, essentially locking down the entire district and preventing people from traveling to Lakhimpur.
🔍 What Does this Mean?
Many on the left are outraged by the house arrests and prevention of opposition members from visiting the site of violence or families of the victims and argue that the deaths be called by no other name than "murder."
Many on the right have termed these deaths a results of "clashes", "conflicts", and "protests turned violent" and argue that this was a result of an "out of control car" blaming farmer leaders for inciting violence.
"As protests against the alleged murder of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri grip the nation, Opposition leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Navjot Singh Sidhu, and Akhilesh Yadav, who are standing in solidarity with the farmers, had been detained by the police on Monday, 4 October. This is not the first time that the UP Police have locked down an entire district and prevented people from travelling to an area where some controversy has taken place. There is no legitimate precedent for such a move; indeed, when Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, he went to Mumbai in the days after the 26/11 attack and there were no restrictions on his political speeches there." - The Quint
“"...while anchors jumped to declare Aryan Khan guilty, they tiptoed around the daylight murderous violence at Lakhimpur Kheri. Needless to say, 13 grams of cocaine and Aryan Khan overpowered coverage of death and destruction in Uttar Pradesh." - Newslaundry
""...massive clashes had broken out between protesting farmers and the police in which the farmers resorted to violence and arson as the police tried to control the situation. Farmer netas claim that a few protesting farmers have been killed in the clashes.” - Times Now
"It is clear that in the middle of the farmer protest, peaceful Uttar Pradesh has been disturbed by the Lakhimpur incident and more chaos is yet to come. The Yogi Adityanath government sent Additional Director General of Police to the spot and deployed heavy security to control the law and order situation." - Aaj Tak
💭 Why Should I Care?
The Cauldron Boils Over
We don’t have a statement from the Prime Minister or the Agricultural Minister of UP on this as yet. But when you have a junior minister of home affairs making such incendiary speeches, provoking violence and threatening tit for tat, isn’t there sufficient ground for police action? And although an FIR against his son (accused for murder) has been registered, isn’t an imminent arrest important?
Senior Lawyer for the SC, Dushyant Dave, says that the extraordinarily provocative statements by the Junior Home Affairs Minister can easily be termed seditious and that the opposition should move the Supreme Court directly.
Also, on the issue of the UP Government preventing opposition leaders from reaching Lakhimpur it can be argued that this move is to:
a) prevent opposition leaders from scoring political points; or
b) to not draw further media attention to the event; or
c) allow the BJP to manage news headlines; or
d) all of the above.
The ruling party likely doesn't want farmer protests to make headlines and become the main point of discourse ahead of state elections. However, farmer protests are expected to intensify since they are no longer just about farm laws but increasingly also about seeking justice for the lives lost.
🙋Ask a Question
💡 Below the Fold
Over the weekend, I watched this lovely conversation between Sudha Murty and Twinkle Khanna and I’ve been incessantly bringing it up in my own conversations with anyone I’ve been talking to ever since. It is the most wholesome interview I’ve watched all year. It’s like all of these NYT bestsellers Grit, Atomic Habits and How Will You Measure Your Life have been distilled into one epic 22 minute video. Last month, Quartz published a very cool piece on What a Good Life Looks Like (also a highly recommended read). And not to take anything away from it but I really think Sudha Murty already knew the answer way ahead of her time and totally embodies what a good life looks like.
Side note: my brother and I promptly purchased some Infosys shares after we watched her interview. Maybe I’m supposed to give you a warning about investing in the market and how it’s subject to all sorts of risks but I don’t know…just live a little :)
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