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Mass farmers protest shakes India: "Moody, we will not give up"

Several protesters were injured as they tried to storm the Red Fort in New Delhi, as part of a protest convoy of tractors against government-sponsored reforms.

They demand the abolition of the laws completely, and are not content with freezing them.

This is one of the biggest challenges Modi has experienced, alongside an economic crisis and criticism of treating the corona plague

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• India

• New Delhi

• Narendra Moody

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Tuesday, 26 January 2021, 13:23

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In video: Clashes at farmers' demonstrations in India (Photo: Reuters)

Tens of thousands of farmers arrived today (Tuesday) in a convoy of tractors to the Indian capital in protest against government reforms that have grown into an uprising against the government.

Several of them were injured in clashes with police while storming the Red Fort in New Delhi.

The city roads were crowded with rows of tractors carrying state flags and farmers' unions, on the day the state celebrates Republic Day.

The skiers, wearing colorful turbans, chanted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "black laws."

Thousands more marched on foot, bursting into dance and singing.

At one of the hotspots they were greeted with flowers by the residents, some of whom documented the unprecedented rally on their cell phones.

"We want to see Moody show our strength, we will not give up," said Staple Singh, one of the farmers who marched to the capital with his tractor, alongside his family of five.

Security forces repulsed farmers trying to advance toward the checkpoints, and several large trucks blocked many lanes to prevent them from entering the city.

Farmers' leaders said more than 10,000 tractors would pass through the capital, and thousands of volunteers would try to help police maintain order.

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Disrupted Republic Day celebrations.

Tractor convoy advances to New Delhi, today (Photo: AP)

Demonstrations erupted after parliament passed agricultural reform in September.

Modi's government insists the laws are for the welfare of farmers and will increase productivity through private investment, but farmers fear that the concentration and commercialization of agriculture will destroy their profits.

In November they were halted in their attempt to reach the capital, but continued their protest despite the freezing weather and threatened to lay siege to New Delhi until the laws were repealed.

The government has proposed introducing changes to the laws and freezing their implementation for 18 months, but farmers are not willing to compromise on anything other than their complete abolition.

They are set to march on parliament on February 1, during a debate on the new budget.

The Tractor Rally overshadowed Republic Day, during which India marked the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950. The annual military parade was more limited this year due to the Corona plague, and few spectators wore masks and kept their distance while seeing India's best arsenal.

The farmers' protest is the latest in a string of crises Moody has experienced since winning his second term in 2019.

The nationalist prime minister has been accused of promoting discriminatory laws against Muslims and has come under criticism for his handling of the corona plague, and since the start of his second term the economy has plummeted and the social rift has deepened.

A full term in the barriers.

Moody at Republic Day parade, today (Photo: AP)

Farmers are considered the most important electorate in India, and about half of the country’s 1.4 billion inhabitants rely on agriculture.

However, the impact of the industry has diminished in the last three decades, and now accounts for only 15% of India’s economy, compared to a third in the past.

More than half of the farmers are in debt, and 20,638 committed suicide in 2018 and 2019, according to official figures.

Farmers see themselves as the heart and soul of India but feel that the government is not counting them.

Moody tried to reassure them by dispelling their concerns and blaming the opposition for simply spreading rumors.

Some leaders of his Nationalist Party called the farmers "anti-national," a label affixed to Moody's critics.

Devinder Sharma, an agricultural expert who has worked for the past two decades against the inequality experienced by farmers in India, said the protest was not only against the reforms, "but against the entire economic design of the country".

"The rage you are witnessing is complex. Inequality is growing in India and farmers are becoming poorer. Policymakers have failed to understand this and have pumped in the top-down revenue. The people are demanding only what they deserve."

The military parade to mark Republic Day, today (Photo: AP)

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