There is little doubt that the repeal of the three contentious farm laws that were hastily passed in September last year is a victory for the farming community, and the triumph justly connotes the popular saying, “Farmers are the backbone of the Indian economy.”

 However, the about turn made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is nothing but a sheer political opportunism with an eye on the forth-coming assembly elections in the key States of UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand, and as well in the wake of the BJP’s recent dismal performance in bypolls.

The rollback of the farm laws shows how politically difficult it will be for India to overhaul a sector that supports about 60 per cent of the country’s population.

The farmers’ victory is a tribute to their unprecedented struggle that it not only withstood the multi-fanged State repression, but, in fact, increased its defiant resistance massively for a year.

The ruling BJP must have learnt a hardhitting lesson that a community, which is strongly united for a cause, can never be defeated.