At least one protester has been killed and 300 police officers injured after tens of thousands of farmers, many tractors, took to the streets of New Delhi on Tuesday to repeal the controversial new agricultural laws.
After months of sustained but peaceful protests on the outskirts of the city, farmers staged the National Republic Day holiday, clashed with police, destroyed barricades and stormed the Red Fort, a 400-year-old beacon. In addition to the police officers, many protesters were also injured.
On Wednesday, the day after the chaos, the farmers returned to their camps on the outskirts of the city and promised to continue their protest and to return to the city on Monday for a march on foot to the Indian parliament .
Who are the protesters?
Many of the protesting farmers are members of the Sikh religious minority and come from the states of Punjab and Haryana. Farmers in other parts of the country held rallies in solidarity.
Since November, thousands of farmers have set up camp outside New Delhi, the capital, vigilant in sprawling tent cities and threatened to enter if the farm laws are not repealed.
The protest exposed the serious reality of inequality in much of the country.
More than 60 per cent of the 1.3 billion people in India are still mainly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, although the sector accounts for only about 15 per cent of the country’s economic production. Their dependence only increased after the coronavirus pandemic hit the urban economy hard, sending millions of workers back to their villages. For years, debt and bankruptcies have driven farmers to high suicide rates.
What do they want?
The protesters are challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his efforts to reform farming in India.
The protesters demanded that Mr. Modi must repeal recent farming laws that will minimize the government’s role in agriculture and provide more space for private investors. The government says the new laws will derail farmers and private investment, which will lead to growth. But farmers are skeptical and fear that the removal of state protection that they already consider inadequate will leave them at the mercy of greedy businesses.
Government support to farmers, which included guaranteed minimum prices for certain essential crops, helped India move beyond the famine crisis of the 1960s. With the fact that India has been liberalizing its economy in recent decades, Mr. Modi – who wants the country’s economy to almost double by 2024 – plays such a big role for the government as no longer sustainable.
Farmers, however, claim that they are struggling even with the existing protection. They say market-friendly laws will eventually eliminate regulatory support and leave them robbed, with the weakened economy offering little chance of another livelihood.
How did the violence break out?
Thousands of protesters rallied in New Delhi on Tuesday in what is expected to be a peaceful protest during holiday celebrations and a military parade overseen by the prime minister.
Some farmers broke with the main march and used tractors to break down police barriers. Many farmers wore long swords, triangles, sharp daggers and battle axes – functional but mainly ceremonial weapons. Most protesters apparently did not wear masks, despite the Covid-19 outbreak in India.
Police commanders deployed officers carrying assault rifles. They stand in the middle of main roads, and tear gas revolves around them with their guns aimed at the crowd. In some areas, video footage showed, police beat protesters with their clubs to push them back.
The farmers claim that the violence was fueled by the government and foreign elements in an attempt to derail their months of peaceful protest.
The farmers waved flags and taunted officers. They also violated the Red Fort, the iconic palace that once served as the residence of the Mughal rulers of India and hoisted it on top of the ramparts, a flag that is regularly flown at Sikh temples.
Local television channels showed farmers placing the body of a protester in the middle of a road. They claim the man was shot, but police said he was dead when his tractor overturned.
An Interior Ministry official has confirmed that the Indian government has temporarily suspended internet services over the areas that have been protesting for months.