The chaos in Delhi’s ITO, seen through the cracked windshield of a damaged car

A senior BJP leader admits the farmers had popular support till January 26. That’s why the RSS intervened and nudged the government to find a “middle ground”—that’s how the offer to keep the laws in abeyance came about. “However, the violence has been a self-goal,” he says. Ashwani Mahajan, co-convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), another Sangh outfit, says the anarchy witnessed on Republic Day is not healthy in a democracy. “The government was being reasonable and flexible. Bringing in lakhs of people in an agitating mode was absolutely uncalled for. The farmers should have acc­epted the offer of suspending the laws. They too have to be receptive and cannot insist on repeal of laws. They lost an opportunity to find solutions,” he tells Outlook.

It’s natural that the BJP, finding itself on the wrong side of a popular protest coming out of the heart of rural north India, is amb­ivalent about the core issues—even if the RSS shares some of the farmers’ concerns. But the government has a point, and has derived a moral advantage in a situation where it was scarce. “The onus now rests with the union leaders to convince the Supreme Court that they were not responsible for the violence in Delhi and that ‘outsiders’ had hijacked their peaceful rally,” says a senior government functionary. The farmer leaders too are aware they have lost an edge they had. Those spearheading the agitation are back at the drawing board, re-strategising, trying to keep a brave front.

Some unions are not keen to get into further confrontation. Sensing that the narrative could be going against it for the first time, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation handling the protests, insists “the movement will continue peacefully, and further steps will be discussed and decided soon”. They are sticking to the “outsiders” theory and renewing their pledge to “peaceful” means. Yogendra Yadav, part of regular media briefings on behalf of the protesters and active on social media, was all chagrin as he rendered a heartfelt apology for what happened in Delhi. But both those keen to see the movement in a bad light and those on the other side, clearing themselves with conspiracy theories, miss a point. The leadership is actually being led. Just like the anti-CAA protests of a year ago, these are classic leaderless protests. There will be some bad apples and some rosy-cheeked ones who like to be on TV. But this is not about them. Not when the whole orchard is out there.