ABSTRACT
The Punjab as a ‘model province’ of colonial and post-colonial India has witnessed turbulent and testing times. Its agrarian character and structure determined power equations at local and national levels. Recruitment to the army and a large share in the total agrarian production provided strong bases to peasants. The British through legislation tried to subvert equations. The peasants reacted sharply in 1907. The colonial legislation was vetoed. The post-colonial independent state in India invested hugely to create Punjab as ‘food basket of India’. However, over time many farmers faced deprivation and impoverishment as reflected in high debt levels and a spate of suicides. The farm laws enacted in September 2020 only created fears of further impoverishment and dispossession. The farmers resorted to agitation which compelled the central government to rollback farm laws as the colonial dispensation did in 1907. This chapter compares the two agitations to highlight their main characteristics, contrasts and outcomes.
