NEW DELHI (AP) – Tens of thousands of farmers who stormed the historic Red Fort on Republic Day in India again camped outside the capital on Wednesday after the most volatile day of their two-month stalemate left a protester dead and more than 300 police officers injured.
The protests demanding the repeal of new agricultural laws have turned into a rebellion that is shaking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. On Tuesday, more than 10,000 tractors and thousands of people on foot or on horseback tried to advance to the capital, pushing barricades and buses that blocked their way and were sometimes greeted by police using tear gas and water cannons.
The brief acquisition of the 17th century fort, which was the palace of the Mughal emperors, broadcast Indian news channels live. The farmers, some carrying swords, ropes and ceremonial sticks, oppressed the police. In a profoundly symbolic challenge to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, the protesters who invaded the Red Fort raised a Sikh religious flag.
“The situation is normal now. Protesters left the streets of the capital, ″ New Delhi policeman Anto Alphonse said Wednesday morning.
Protesting groups of farmers are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the future course of action. Another march is planned for February 1, when the Modi government is expected to present the annual budget to Parliament.
Protest organizer Samyukt Kisan Morcha, or United Farmers’ Front, accused two external groups of sabotage by infiltrating his peaceful movement.
“Even if it is sabotage, we cannot escape responsibility,” said Yogendra Yadav, the protest leader.
Yadav said that frustration grew among protesting farmers and “how do you control this if the government does not take seriously what they have been demanding for two months”.
Several roads were closed again on Wednesday near the police headquarters and areas of Connaught Place after a protest by some retired Delhi police officers demanding a lawsuit against protesting farmers involved in the violence, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
Political analyst Arti Jerath said Tuesday’s violence would put farmers’ organizations on their feet.
“The Supreme Court has always said that farmers can continue the protest without disturbing life in New Delhi. Tuesday’s development gave the government the authority to go to the higher court and say that look is exactly what it feared would become violent. “
Tuesday’s escalation overshadowed Republic Day celebrations, including the annual military parade that has already been curtailed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities closed some metro stations and mobile internet service was suspended in parts of the capital, a frequent government tactic to prevent protests.
The farmers – many of them Sikhs from the states of Punjab and Haryana – tried to march to New Delhi in November, but were stopped by the police. Since then, not bothered by the cold winter and frequent rains, they have crouched on the edge of the city and threatened to besiege it if agricultural laws are not repealed.
Neeraja Choudhury, a political analyst, said the government had failed to anticipate what was to come and prepare properly. “If farmers are generally agitated in India, you cannot dismiss the protests as an opposition that incites farmers.”
Police spokesman Anil Kumar said more than 300 policemen were injured in clashes with farmers. Several of them jumped down a dry, deep drain in the area of the fort to escape the demonstrators, who were more numerous than themselves in various places.
Police said a protester died after his tractor overturned, but farmers said he was shot. Several bloody protesters could be seen on television images.
The police said protesting farmers fled the approved protest routes and resorted to “violence and vandalism”. Eight buses and 17 private vehicles were damaged, said the police, who opened four cases for vandalism against the protesters.
The government insists that agricultural laws passed by Parliament in September will benefit farmers and increase production through private investment. But farmers fear that this will turn into an agricultural enterprise and leave them behind. The government has offered to suspend the laws for 18 months, but farmers want nothing less than a total repeal.
Since returning to power for a second term, Modi’s government has been rocked by several upheavals. The pandemic has put India’s already faltering economy in its first recession, social conflicts have escalated and its government has been questioned about its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2019, the year that witnessed the first major protests against his government, a diverse coalition of groups met against a new contentious citizenship law that they said discriminated against Muslims.
“The government on the national security front has failed. I think this government seems to be quite blind to the type of security challenges it is creating for itself by alienating minority, Muslim and Sikh communities, ”said Arti Jerath, a political analyst.
India is predominantly Hindu, while Muslims account for 14% and Sikhs almost 2% of its nearly 1.4 billion inhabitants.