Thousands of farmers are marching on tractors and trucks to India's capital New Delhi to press the government to meet their demands, including guaranteed prices for their produce and debt relief.
Police in Haryana state, which borders Delhi, fired tear gas at farmers on Tuesday to prevent them from approaching the fortress-turned-capital, reviving memories of farmers' 16-month agitation two years ago. Ta. Multiple entry points into the capital have been sealed off with barbed wire, spikes and cement block barriers.
Authorities have banned large gatherings in Delhi and suspended internet services in several districts of Haryana ahead of a march to Delhi called by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other northern states. .
Here's more to know about the protests.
Who is participating?
Besides organizations from Punjab and Haryana, trade unions from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are also participating in the march, supporting the beleaguered agricultural sector that is central to the country's food security. It is calling for government intervention to support the sector.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee are spearheading the protests. More than 200 farmer unions are participating in the Delhi march, organizers said.
SKM played a key role in the 2020-2021 protests, which forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal three farm laws. Farmers feared that corporations would benefit at their own expense. Farmers have accused the Modi government of not fulfilling its promises to farmers since then, including doubling income.
SKM called for nationwide rural and industrial strikes to express disapproval of the government.
What do farmers want?
Farmers are demanding a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) to act as a safety net for the farming community. Agricultural loan forgiveness. And they say the policy rollback is hurting farmers.
MSP is the cost of the government purchasing crops from farmers and provides farmers with a guaranteed income for their crops during market uncertainty.
It is required to fix MSP at least 50% higher than the cost of production of any crop.
Farmers are campaigning against the planned privatization of the power sector. Currently, the state government provides electricity subsidy to farmers, which helps reduce input costs.
They are also demanding compensation for farmers who died during the 2020-2021 protests.
“There have been around 750 martyrs in this struggle,” said Bijo Krishnan, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha organization, which is participating in the current protests.
While farmers often end up in jail for not repaying outstanding loans, companies' bad loans worth Rs 1.5 million have been quietly written off over the past decade. I have never seen them sitting in Jantar Mantar. https://t.co/hCL3AEE2Ks
— Devinder Sharma (@Devinder_Sharma) February 13, 2024
Another demand is the removal of a Union minister whose son was accused of hitting a farmer with his car in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district in October 2021.
The protests also aim to ensure that promises made by Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2021 are fulfilled.
“Three bills have been withdrawn, but the BJP-ruled states are trying to bring them through the back door. Even in the recent budget, they are trying to privatize post-harvest activities,” Krishnan said.
The Modi government set up a committee to address agricultural issues, but it did not include representatives from the major grain producing states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The committee has made little progress.
Meanwhile, farmers continue to struggle with long-standing problems. Thousands of Indian farmers die every year due to debts caused by crop failures. Agricultural production is decreasing due to reduced water sources due to extreme weather and climate change.
How did the BJP government respond?
Government delegations have been negotiating with the protesting farmers, but with no results. Indian police on Tuesday used tear gas and detained several farmers who clashed with police on the Haryana-Punjab border. Police also dropped tear gas canisters from drones at one of the border points in the northern state of Haryana leading to Delhi.
Devinder Sharma, an Indian agricultural expert, said farmers have been cut off from the capital as the border between Delhi and Haryana has been fortified by authorities.
“How can we keep them out of the country? From the capital? From decision-making?” he asked.
What were the 2020-2021 protests about?
In the initial protests, farmers protested against laws passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party government that allow farmers to sell their produce directly to bulk buyers and facilitate contract farming.
Prime Minister Modi said the laws were aimed at emancipating farmers, but the laws prompted the resignation of Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who called the laws “anti-farmers”. Prime Minister Modi was forced to withdraw three farm laws in 2021.
The Modi government has promised to set up a committee of farmers and state officials in 2022 to find ways to ensure support prices for all agricultural products. Farmers have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government of falling behind on its promises.
How will the protests affect India's elections?
The march comes months before a general election in which the Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to win.
“We don't know how these protests will progress or if they will lead to a viable solution,” Sharma said, adding, “If these protests drag on, it will only impact the election.”
Farmers make up two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people and account for nearly a fifth of its gross domestic product, according to government statistics. Farmers thus form an influential voting bloc, and political parties seek to gain their support.
Krishnan said the Bharatiya Janata Party was accused of “anti-farmer and anti-worker policies”.
Seeking farmers' votes, the Modi government last week awarded the country's highest civilian honor to Chaudhry Charan Singh, a former prime minister and farmer leader, and MS Swaminathan, a pioneer of the agricultural revolution in the 1960s and 70s. was awarded.