The angry screams of challenge exploded over the speakers. “We are not leaving, no matter what,” shouted the speaker, to applause from the crowd. “Reverse the black laws.”
For weeks, the atmosphere at the Ghazipur farmers protest camp on the outskirts of Delhi was lively. But on Friday morning it had turned to cold fury.
Since November, tens of thousands of Indian farmers have been camped there, and in two other locations along the highways leading to Delhi, to demand repeal of new agricultural laws that say they will destroy their livelihoods. While negotiations between farmers and the government continued, the police left them in relative peace for two months. But suddenly everything changed.
The state government ordered farmers to vacate the Ghazipur protest site, and on Thursday night, hundreds of police in shock equipment stormed the area to clean up the farmers, and water and electricity from the camp were cut off.
But farmers should not be moved easily. Their numbers increased and an estimate 18,000 tractors neighboring states mounted on the border. After an impasse that continued late into the night, the police backed down.
“We understand that the government will file lawsuits against us to intimidate us and try to create fissures among farmers, but we will not budge,” said Roop Lal, a farmer from Faridabad, Haryana, who was camped in Ghazipur.
Balwinder Singh, a 50-year-old farmer, was among those who ran into the countryside of Meerut, a city 80 kilometers east of Delhi, on Thursday night, when he learned of an imminent police crackdown. “The police’s attempt to remove the protesters last night was an attack on the dignity of farmers,” he said.
On Friday, tension and scenes of violence spread through the nearby Singhu protest camp, where a crowd of 200 men, mostly members of the Hindu nationalist group Hindu Sena, attacked the farmers, throwing stones at the protesters and destroying the protesters. their tents, screaming to clear the road. Chaos erupted when the police responded with tear gas and batons, although the retaliation appeared to be largely against the farmers.
Farmers’ protests proved to be one of the biggest challenges for the government of the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Farmers, who make up almost 50% of India’s workforce, say that agricultural laws passed by the government in September, without their consultation, put their livelihoods at risk and leave them at the mercy of large corporations.
Farmers, led by powerful unions, have remained adamant that they will not cancel protests until the laws are lifted. Nine rounds of negotiations with the government came to nothing.
Tensions began to rise on Tuesday, Republic Day of India, after a farmers’ march in Delhi turned violent. Thousands of farmers, many on tractors and on horseback, broke through the barricades around Delhi and stormed India’s historic Red Fort, with police responding with tear gas and batons.
A farmer died and more than 200 arrests were made, with many of them detained under draconian anti-terrorism laws. Police reports have also been made against journalists, activists and opposition politicians, accusing them of “sedition” and inciting violence in Fort Red.
The clashes initially appeared to divide farmers, whose protests had been peaceful until then. Several farmers’ unions condemned the violence and expressed concern that it would turn the country against their cause. Many said the violence was led by dishonest figures planted in the movement by the BJP.
But when word got out of a government order to clean up the Ghazipur camp, which was declared “illegal”, the farmers promised to stay until the laws were repealed. In a speech broadcast by news channels on Thursday evening, farmers’ union leader Rakesh Tikait burst into tears. “This government will destroy the farmers, the BJP henchmen will come and attack them with the police,” he said.
Security remained strong around the Ghazipur and Singhu camps on Friday, with police banning the entry of people and trucks carrying water. The anger against the government was strong among farmers who swore that no force would make them move. “In the last two elections, we voted Modi for power and he promised to make a farmer’s life better, but he betrayed us,” said Sukhi Singh, a landowner in the village of Mohana in Haryana.
“Under Modi, the situation of farmers was aggravated and the prices of fertilizers and seeds increased. The government has not yet reimbursed us for crops sold two years ago. “
Others showed solidarity. Kamaljeet Gill, the president of a taxi union, said the protests were to protect India. “We came in support of farmers,” he said. “If we keep quiet now, this country will be attacked by Modi’s corporate friends.”