From The Ground

While the farmer agitation against the government’s legislations on agriculture has been intense, ThePrint argues that the beneficiaries of such struggles have not always been small and marginal farmers. Farmer movements, more often than not, have resulted in furthering the interests of big farmers with very little accruing to marginal farmers, and farm labour. The story brought out the fact that, like the large and medium industry bodies in India, the farmers – big and small - should unite as a group. This unity will help them bargain for better and effective policy reforms, ensuring that the benefits are not to be restricted to a few.

In the wake of the farmer protests erupting across the country against the Farm Bills passed by parliament, Down to Earth finds that the agitations are not a recent phenomenona. There have been at least 50 major farmer protests in 20 states in the past nine months alone. This is a result of issues such as continued indebtedness, lack of effective crop insurance and remunerative prices. The story highlights the fact that the agrarian crisis and the fundamental issues that farmers face have been long in the making and not been addressed for years.

Asiaville covered the protests in Punjab and Haryana from the ground. The reporter spoke to agitating farmers in Punjab's Patiala, who putting aside the fears of COVID-19 voiced their dissent against the government’s move of - "favouring the corporates" through removal of MSP, implementation of contract farming and hidden dangers in the amended Essential Commodities Act. This ground report focused attention on the struggles and demands of farmers, when the mainstream media was acting as a "weapon of mass distraction" totally ignoring such critical issues.

The Wire published a five-part series on the Delhi Riots of February 2020. It went into what it perceived as a “concerted attempt” to present the communal violence in Delhi as the handiwork of a particular religious and ideological network. This was a critical series of stories which brought out the ambiguities of the actions of the Delhi Police and the contradictions in some of the ‘fact-finding committee’ reports on the violence in North-East Delhi.

Janjwar covered the Delhi riots from the ground and brought to light the violence and injustices inflicted on a particular section of community. A report from Shiv Vihar, an area in North East Delhi where many homes and a school were burnt down by violent mobs. The story highlighted the consequences of the pernicious role of the state when it turns a blind eye to communal violence.

Alt News worked in collaboration with Newslaundry to fact-check a viral claim that protestors at Shaheen Bagh were paid Rs 500 to protest. The story was impactful in dispelling rumours aimed at maligning the protestors.

The Caravan reports from the ground in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, where a makeshift platform became the centre-point of the nation’s attention. A motley bunch of women, students, civil society activists and common citizens led a protest against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). The Act offers refuge to persecuted religious minorities from India’s three neighbours but bars Muslims from its provisions. The deep-reported and researched story brought home the power of organised citizens to protest the injustices of the state's discrimination and denial of rights.