Millions of farmers in India have been protesting since three bills were passed in their parliament in September of last year deregulating the markets benefiting corporations over the farmers. With half of India’s workforce in agriculture, the repercussions of these bills could prove detrimental to millions of its people. Amidst this social upheaval, India is battling through a deadly, incapacitating fourth wave of COVID-19.
Suparna Sharma joins WORT Buzz hosts Jonathan Zarov and Ankur Malhotra to talk about both farmer protests and the deadly COVID-19 surge. Sharma is a a veteran journalist, film critic, and writer, based in Gurugram in the National Capital Region of Delhi. She has served in senior writing and editorial positions for many of the newspapers and other publications of record in India, including The Asian Age (where she currently serves as resident editor of the Delhi, Calcutta, and London editions), The Times of India, and the Indian Express. Her feature stories have covered a child-kidnapping racket, several major national disasters, and state elections.
(Photo courtesy Ninian Reid on Flickr)