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Tens of thousands of farmers drove a tractor convoy into the Indian capital as the nation celebrated Republic Day on Tuesday amid agricultural protests that have escalated into rebellion and rocked the government.
The capital’s roads were lined with row upon row of tractors with Indian flags and agricultural unions. Farmers, wearing distinctive colored turbans, shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and what they call his “black laws.”
Thousands more marched on foot while dancing and singing, and in one place residents showered them with flower petals, some of whom recorded the unprecedented demonstration on their phones.
“We want to show Modi our strength,” said Satpal Singh, a farmer who arrived in the capital on a tractor with his family of five. “We will not give up.”
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Police in riot gear used tear gas and water cannons in two locations to push back protesters who tried to tear down barricades. Authorities also parked large trucks to barricade multiple routes so that farmers do not march into the capital.
Peasant leaders said that more than 10,000 tractors had to march through the capital for the demonstration and thousands of volunteers would try to help the police maintain order.
The protests were sparked by new farm laws passed by Parliament in September. The Modi government insists the laws will benefit farmers and boost production through private investment, but farmers fear cartelization and commercialization of agriculture will devastate their profits.
Manish Swarup / AP
A military band marches down Rajpath ceremonial boulevard during the Indian Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
The farmers first tried to march to New Delhi in November, but were stopped by the police. Since then, unfazed by the cold night winter temperatures, they have ducked with supplies of food and fuel and threatened to lay siege to the capital until farm laws are repealed.
The government has offered to modify the laws and suspend their implementation for 18 months. But farmers insist they will settle for nothing less than a complete repeal. They plan a walk to the Indian Parliament on February 1, when the country’s new budget will be presented.
The tractor rally overshadowed New Delhi’s Republic Day celebrations even as the annual military parade was reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Altaf Qadri / AP
Protesting farmers jump over barricades as police march to the capital during India’s Republic Day celebrations.
A small crowd gathered along New Delhi’s Rajpath ceremonial boulevard to see a display of the country’s military might and cultural diversity.
People wore masks and adhered to social distancing as police and military battalions marched along the parade route. Several states displayed their floats to showcase their culture, and the military displayed their latest gear during the parade.
Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on January 26, 1950.
Farmers are the latest group to alter Modi’s image of unflappable dominance in Indian politics.
Altaf Qadri / AP
Tens of thousands of farmers drove a tractor convoy to the Indian capital as the nation celebrated Republic Day on Tuesday in the context of agricultural protests that have escalated into a rebellion and rocked the government.
Since returning to power for the second consecutive term, Modi’s government has been marked by several upheavals. The economy has stalled, social conflicts have widened, protests against discriminatory laws have erupted, and his government has been questioned about its response to the pandemic.
In 2019, it brought together a coalition of diverse and disparate groups: minorities and majority, rights activists and journalists, communists and socialists, students and teachers, including the Opposition, once asleep, to form a popular march against a new controversial citizenship law. that discriminated against Muslims.
Manish Swarup / AP
Battle tanks move through the ceremonial Rajpath boulevard during the Indian Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
Now, in the form of farmers, he faces a growing rebellion from India’s most influential voting bloc.
Agriculture supports more than half of the 1.4 billion inhabitants of the country. But the economic influence of farmers has waned in the last three decades. Once they accounted for a third of India’s gross domestic product, farmers now account for just 15 percent of the country’s $ 2.9 trillion (NZ $ 4.04 trillion) economy.
More than half of farmers are in debt, with 20,638 suicides in 2018 and 2019, according to official records.
Altaf Qadri / AP
Police use tear gas to disperse farmers who marched into the capital during Indian Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, India.
The controversial legislation has exacerbated resentment among farmers, who have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, but who often complain of being ignored by the government.
Modi has tried to allay farmers’ fears by mostly dismissing their concerns and has repeatedly accused opposition parties of agitating them by spreading rumors. Some leaders of his party have called the farmers “anti-national”, a label often given to those who criticize Modi or his policies.
Devinder Sharma, an agriculture expert who has spent the past two decades campaigning for income equality for Indian farmers, said they were not only protesting the reforms, but also “challenging the entire economic design of the country.”
“The anger you see is aggravated anger,” Sharma said. “Inequality is increasing in India and farmers are getting poorer. Policy planners have not realized this and have sucked the revenue from the bottom up. Farmers only demand what is their right. “
