SENATE RESOLUTION

8625

BySenators Das, Billig, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Hobbs, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Lovelett, Nobles, Saldaña, Salomon, Stanford, Wellman, and Wilson, C.

WHEREAS, The tradition of holding space for the Sikh community has been expanded to include the diverse Indian community, within our state, and around the globe. We recognize the contributions, impacts, and lived experiences of not only Sikh community members, but also Indians and Indian Americans. The farmer's protest has shown the resiliency of, and dedication to, preserving culture, community, and intergenerational well-being; and

WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate acknowledge and respect the contributions of farmers, in India and across the world, in feeding nations and fostering trade; and

WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate acknowledge that it is home to individuals who have family members that are farmers in their ancestral countries; and

WHEREAS, Washington state has many cultural and economic ties to India, including more than 60,000 Indian Americans living in the state; and

WHEREAS, We acknowledge the protests taking place against these bills in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan, and many other states which have resulted in over 1,000,000 farmers protesting outside the capital city of New Delhi since November 2020; and

WHEREAS, We acknowledge the death of over 200 protestors due to the harsh conditions under which they protest, yet they remain resolute in peaceful demonstrations to repeal the laws pertaining to agricultural reform; and

WHEREAS, We acknowledge that democracy hinges on the unalienable rights of citizens to dissent, demonstrate peacefully, and exercise an unimpeded right to freedom of speech and expression;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate support the rights of Indian farmers and farm laborers to peacefully seek redress from their government and honor the nonviolent protest of Indian farmers and farm laborers.