NEW DELHI (AP) – Tens of thousands of farmers marched, rode horses and drove tractors to the Indian capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades to invade the historic Red Fort – a deeply symbolic act that revealed the scale of his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Government of Modi.
As the country celebrated Republic Day, the long-term protest became violent, with farmers waving union and religious flags on the walls of the fort, where prime ministers annually raise the national flag on the country’s independence holiday in August. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons and set up barricades in an attempt to prevent protesters from reaching central New Delhi, but protesters invaded many places.
People watched in shock at the acquisition of the fort, which was built in the 17th century and served as the palace of the Mughal emperors, was shown live on hundreds of news channels. The demonstrators, some carrying ceremonial swords, ropes and sticks, oppressed the police.
Farmers have been making peaceful protests for almost two months, calling for the withdrawal of new laws that they say favor large corporate farms and devastate the incomes of smaller scale farmers.
The controversial legislation has exacerbated the resentment among farmers, who have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, but often complain about being ignored by the government. As his protest gains momentum, he shakes the government like never before, as they form India’s most influential electoral bloc and are also crucial to its economy.
“We want to show Modi our strength,” said Satpal Singh, a farmer who drove to the capital on a tractor with his family of five. “We will not surrender.”
Farmers’ leaders said more than 10,000 tractors had joined the protest, and thousands of others marched on foot or on horseback shouting slogans against Modi. In some places, they received a shower of flower petals from residents who recorded the unprecedented protest on their phones.
Authorities used tear gas, water cannons and placed large trucks and buses on the roads to try to contain the crowd, including rows and rows of bulldozers, which cleared concrete and steel barricades. Police said a protester died after his tractor overturned, but farmers said he was shot. Several bloody protesters could be seen on television images.
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.
“We will do what we want. You cannot impose your laws on the poor, ”said Manjeet Singh, a farmer in protest.
The government insists that the agricultural reform laws passed by Parliament in September will benefit farmers and increase production through private investment. But farmers fear that this will leave those who own small plots behind as large corporations win.
The government offered to change the laws and suspend implementation for 18 months. But farmers insist they will settle for nothing less than a complete repeal and plan to march on foot to Parliament on February 1.
Farmers are the last group to disturb Modi’s image of undisturbed dominance in Indian politics.
Since returning to power for a second term, Modi’s government has been rocked by several upheavals. The economy has plummeted, social conflicts have escalated, protests have emerged against laws that some consider to be discriminatory and his government has been questioned about his 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.
But the latest protests – which started in the northern states that are major agricultural producers – have sparked a growing farmers’ rebellion that is spreading rapidly to other parts of the country, posing a serious challenge to the Modi government.
Agriculture supports more than half of the country’s 1.4 billion inhabitants. But the economic influence of farmers has diminished over the past three decades. Previously producing a third of India’s gross domestic product, farmers now account for only 15% of the country’s $ 2.9 trillion economy.
More than half of farmers are in debt, with 20,638 suicides in 2018 and 2019, according to official records.
Devinder Sharma, an agriculture expert who has spent the past two decades campaigning for income equality for Indian farmers, said they are not only protesting the reforms, but also “challenging the entire economic design of the country”.
“The anger you see is compound anger,” said Sharma. “Inequality is growing in India and farmers are getting poorer. Policy planners failed to realize this and sucked revenue from the bottom up. Farmers are only demanding what is their right. “
Modi tried to dismiss the farmers’ fears as unfounded and repeatedly accused opposition parties of stirring them up by spreading rumors.
The protests overshadowed Republic Day celebrations, in which Modi attended a traditional luxurious parade along the Rajpath ceremonial avenue, exhibiting the country’s military power and cultural diversity. Authorities closed some metro stations and mobile internet service was suspended in parts of the capital, a frequent government tactic to prevent protests.
The parade was reduced because of the pandemic. People wore masks and adhered to social distance while police and military battalions marched along the route displaying their state-of-the-art equipment.
Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on January 26, 1950.
The police said protesting farmers fled the approved protest routes and resorted to “violence and vandalism”.
The group that organized the protest, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, or United Farmers’ Front, attributed the violence to “anti-social elements” who “infiltrated a peaceful movement”.
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Rishabh R. Jain, AP video journalist, contributed to this report.