Why You Should Care About The India Farmer Protests
A few years ago, I considered leaving the world of yoga. I struggled with feeling like I didn’t belong in the yoga community and that I was appropriating this ancient Indian practice. I wondered if I, as a white woman, had any place at all in teaching this ancient Indian practice. Maybe if I had come to that thought 10 or 15 years earlier, when I was newer to yoga, it would have been easier to run away. But after two decades, the practice of yoga had fully woven itself into my heart and into my life. Yoga is a spiritual life practice, not an exercise program. It is the philosophy and lifestyle of yoga that appeals to me most. I realized that my desire to run away from yoga was really an escape so I would feel safe and avoid discomfort. I realized it would be better to be an imperfect yoga teacher, dedicated to doing better, than to not be a teacher at all.
And so, I choose to continue to teach yoga as I commit to my own inquiry in how to be a better teacher. There is no one perfect way to do this, and I am sure to make lots of mistakes.
In the newsletter Anti-Racism Daily, cultural appropriation is defined as “the act of using objects or elements of a non-dominant culture (when white people use objects, clothing, elements from Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color) in a way that doesn’t respect the original meaning, give credit to the original source, or reinforces harmful stereotypes.” In order to effectively decolonize yoga—to not appropriate it, I need to become more and more aware of Indian culture, tradition, history, and spirituality, and always give credit to my teachers and traditions.
India's Farmer Protests
Understanding and learning about the current political injustices happening in India is a component of decolonizing. So I want to write about why you should care about the Indian farmers protests happening right now. India provides us with so many gifts. In terms of commodities we use many kitchen spices such as ginger, turmeric, cardamom, chili, rice, tea, and more. Much of the world's cotton is also grown in India. Many wellness supplements and Ayurvedic medicines come from India. Our world is so deeply interconnected, and our actions have a ripple effect across the globe. Our purchases of these items affects the farmers and their families, and not always in a positive way.
Indian farmers account for more than half of the population and earn approximately the equivalent of $140 dollars per month. The government recently made amendments to its laws that the farmers feel will destroy their already meager livelihoods and create opportunities for large, private companies to enter and exploit the entire agriculture sector. Farmers in India have been struggling with extreme debt and poverty for decades. Suicide rates among Indian farmers are some of the highest in the world. There have been almost 300,000 suicides by farmers since 1995, and an average of more than10 per day. There is a clear link between Indian farmer suicides and the monopoly on genetically engineered seeds. These suicides are ripping apart families across India. For the past five months, the farmers have been protesting against these laws and have been met with state violence. Clearly, this topic is far more complex than I can cover in this newsletter. If you want to learn more, click on the links I have provided, and maybe here, and here.
It is essential to give voice to the people who are suffering, and listen to what they have to say. We are complicit if we choose to look away.
Farmers are at the very root source of community nourishment. Our respect for farmers in the USA has been growing, and we are beginning to better support our own local farmers. But we can work to spread this support across the globe. If we are to purchase imported spices, rice, cotton, and tea, we need to make sure they are fair trade and equitably sourced. If it is possible for your budget, support companies that provide a fair trade cooperative farming. I always belive we have great voting power with our dollars.
Here is a list of a few fair trade companies:
And here is an organization helping the protestors on the ground:
I share this writing and information to help spread the word, and also to keep myself accountable. I can do a better job at making informed purchases. If you learn of companies, information, and programs to help spread equitable farming practices, please let me know. I will be turning this information into a blog post where we can keep that list growing.
Transformation is a slow moving process, and requires humility and a willingness to be imperfect.
But life isn’t about how perfectly we do something; life is about how graciously we learn from our mistakes and start again.
