| The Detroit News
Detroit Metropolitan Indian Community Holds Automobile Rally in Support of Farmers in India
The Indian community in the Detroit metropolitan area holds an auto rally in support of farmers in India in Detroit, Michigan, on January 24, 2021.
Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
Hundreds of drivers roamed downtown Detroit as snow fell heavily on Sunday to show solidarity with farmers in India who are protesting laws that argue that they can devastate crop prices and reduce their earnings.
Thousands of Indian farmers have been demanding that the government repeal the laws for more than two months.
“The Indian government is stubborn,” said caravan organizer Amandeep Jhajj of Canton. “With that, we want to say to the Indian government, the power is in democracy and in the people, so they have to listen to the Indian people and the indigenous farmers.”
Supporters from across the Midwest, including Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, came to Detroit to join the rally.
The caravan started at Comerica Park, filling two parking lots, and ended traffic while the police escorted the cars through Woodward and Jefferson and finally ended at Belle Isle.
Donations were collected to send to farmers and protesters in India who occupied the main highways connecting the capital, New Delhi, to the north of the country for weeks.
American Indians have also held protests and rallies in Canton and Troy in recent months to express unity with Indian farmers.
The Washington Post reported that several dozen farmers in India died of heart attacks and illnesses as the protests spread. Four farmers died of suicide, the Post reported.
“Farmers’ leaders have more than 11 meetings with the Indian government, but no results. So all of these comings and goings endanger the lives of our extended families in India. Their lives, their future and their livelihoods depend on agriculture.” said Jhajj.
Farmers fear that the Indian government will stop buying grain at minimum prices guaranteed by three laws passed in September and that companies will lower prices. The government said it is willing to promise that guaranteed prices will continue.
Farmers say the laws will lead to cartelization and marketing of agriculture and make farmers vulnerable to corporations.
Farmers threatened to hold a demonstration on Tuesday, when India celebrates Republic Day if its demands are not met.
“I am the daughter of farmers. I come from a long line of farmers in India, although I was born here in the United States,” said Shelly Sahi, a Michigan resident. “One of the things I don’t like about what is happening in India is the undemocratic way of applying these laws that are essentially hurting the people who feed their nation.”
The situation worsened in November, when tens of thousands of protesters marched to New Delhi, where they clashed with the police.
The new regulations increase tensions there, with farmers complaining for a long time about being ignored by the government in its demands for better crop prices, exemption from additional loans and irrigation systems to guarantee water during periods of drought.
With almost 60% of the Indian population depending on agriculture for their livelihood, the growing rebellion of farmers has shaken the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies.
“As long as the protest continues, they will have the power to fight the government. The second that these protests, these peaceful protests, are stopped, the government will no longer be concerned with making the necessary changes to help farmers in India,” he said. Sahi said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.