In today&rsquo;s democracy, power and influence dictate who faces consequences. Governments and bureaucrats come down hard on the weak, the unorganized, and the financially disadvantaged because they know these groups lack the unity and resources to fight back. The latest example of this blatant injustice comes from Gujarat.
In Surendranagar district, authorities have filed criminal cases against 300 farmers, even going so far as to arrest one under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA). Their crime? Drawing water from the Narmada canal to irrigate their parched fields&mdash;fields that were deemed ineligible for irrigation from the canal. This act of survival has been met with draconian measures, treating farmers like hardened criminals. But are they really criminals? Are they history-sheeters that PASA, an act designed for habitual offenders, must be invoked against them?
The ruling party, both in Gujarat and at the Centre, once protested against the Congress government in the late 1980s for invoking the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) against farmers. Now, it commits the same anti-farmer atrocities. If stealing water to protect crops is a crime, then why are industrialists not booked for polluting rivers, air, and underground water?
Ahmedabad&rsquo;s industrialists have long discharged untreated hazardous chemical waste into the Sabarmati through the Sewage Treatment Plants&rsquo; mega pipeline. The Gujarat High Court, in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), as well as government reports and a High Court-appointed Task Force Committee report, have established this fact. Yet, not a single industrialist has been arrested under PASA or any severe sections of the IPC or the new Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita. Why?
The answer is simple&mdash;industrialists are protected by their unity and wealth. They have powerful associations, federations, and chambers that shield them. They fund political parties, ensuring that laws bend in their favor. Their financial clout grants them immunity. Meanwhile, farmers remain divided, financially weak, and politically neglected. Their elected representatives, instead of standing with them, serve their political parties and powerful lobbies.
Until farmers realize that their strength lies in unity, they will continue to be scapegoats. Every division among them only weakens their fight against systemic exploitation. The ruling class serves the mighty and crushes the weak. Justice, in its current form, is not blind&mdash;it merely turns a blind eye to the crimes of the powerful while punishing the powerless.
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Gujarat punishes farmers for water use while ignoring industrial pollution—double standards exposed

Farmers Jailed, Industrialists Shielded: A Tale of Injustice

Gujarat punishes farmers for water use while ignoring industrial pollution—double standards exposed

15:44 IST