Shambhu (India) (AFP) – The line of tractors stretches nearly far as one can see -- thousands of protesting Indian farmers heading to the capital New Delhi, determined to bring their anger and woes to politicians.
Issued on: 14/02/2024
Police fire tear gas to disperse farmers marching towards New Delhi during a protest demanding minimum crop prices, at the Haryana-Punjab state border
© Narinder NANU / AFP
Many have driven on slow-moving tractors across India's northern Punjab state to demand guaranteed crop prices, waving flags, honking horns and chanting protest slogans.
But they have been stalled halfway to New Delhi by a fortress-like wall of concrete.
Hundreds of baton-wielding riot police guard thick lines of barricades across the highway.
They are as determined to stop the farmers as the farmers are to smash through, using their tractors to push away the heavy concrete blocks.
From behind rolls of razor wire, police alternate between raking the crowds with water cannon and dropping tear gas from overhead by drone.
On Wednesday, the two sides stood uneasily watching each other from some 50 metres (55 yards) away, as government officials and farming union leaders talked.
Many have driven on slow-moving tractors across India's northern Punjab state to demand guaranteed crop prices, waving flags, honking horns and chanting protest slogans.
But they have been stalled halfway to New Delhi by a fortress-like wall of concrete.
Hundreds of baton-wielding riot police guard thick lines of barricades across the highway.
They are as determined to stop the farmers as the farmers are to smash through, using their tractors to push away the heavy concrete blocks.
From behind rolls of razor wire, police alternate between raking the crowds with water cannon and dropping tear gas from overhead by drone.
On Wednesday, the two sides stood uneasily watching each other from some 50 metres (55 yards) away, as government officials and farming union leaders talked.
Hundreds of baton-wielding riot police are guarding thick lines of barricades across the highway
© Narinder NANU / AFP
"We work long hours in the fields and still struggle to make ends meet," said 40-year-old farmer Sandeep Kumar, from Punjab state's Mohali district.
"But when we demand something from the government, we are met with pellets and baton charges."
Heera Singh, 55, his bloody foot wrapped in white gauze, said he was hit by a tear gas canister -- but insisted he would not go home to recuperate.
Kites against drones
Dull thuds of tear gas canisters dropped from above punctuate protest chants, and the choking stench hangs heavy in the air long after the thick clouds disperse.
The farmers say they launched their "Delhi Chalo", or "March to Delhi" -- recalling a January 2021 protest when they smashed through barriers and rolled into New Delhi -- because politicians are not listening.
"We have written letters and sent petitions, but the government has failed to respond," said farmer Bhupinder Singh.
"We work long hours in the fields and still struggle to make ends meet," said 40-year-old farmer Sandeep Kumar, from Punjab state's Mohali district.
"But when we demand something from the government, we are met with pellets and baton charges."
Heera Singh, 55, his bloody foot wrapped in white gauze, said he was hit by a tear gas canister -- but insisted he would not go home to recuperate.
Kites against drones
Dull thuds of tear gas canisters dropped from above punctuate protest chants, and the choking stench hangs heavy in the air long after the thick clouds disperse.
The farmers say they launched their "Delhi Chalo", or "March to Delhi" -- recalling a January 2021 protest when they smashed through barriers and rolled into New Delhi -- because politicians are not listening.
"We have written letters and sent petitions, but the government has failed to respond," said farmer Bhupinder Singh.
A farmer performs a fire breathing act during protests
© Narinder NANU / AFP
"We work so hard, but we don't save anything as input costs have gone up so much," Kumar added.
On their own, the farmers say they are ignored.
But together -- with two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people drawing their livelihood from agriculture -- they pose a potentially powerful force, with the protests coming ahead of general elections expected in April.
Thousands of farmers have crammed into tractor trailers hoping to reach parliament.
As drones hover above, the farmers fly kites, saying they are using them to "distract" the police.
"We have no arms like them," said 36-year-old farmer Karnail Singh, from Punjab's Tarn Taran district.
Others have soaked sacks in water, ready to be thrown onto tear gas canisters to dampen their impact.
While demands vary, most farmers say the key issue is ensuring a legal guarantee of a minimum price for crops.
The government in Punjab already pays a minimum price for wheat and rice, but the "system is ad hoc", said 37-year-old farmer Maan Singh.
"We work so hard, but we don't save anything as input costs have gone up so much," Kumar added.
On their own, the farmers say they are ignored.
But together -- with two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people drawing their livelihood from agriculture -- they pose a potentially powerful force, with the protests coming ahead of general elections expected in April.
Thousands of farmers have crammed into tractor trailers hoping to reach parliament.
As drones hover above, the farmers fly kites, saying they are using them to "distract" the police.
"We have no arms like them," said 36-year-old farmer Karnail Singh, from Punjab's Tarn Taran district.
Others have soaked sacks in water, ready to be thrown onto tear gas canisters to dampen their impact.
While demands vary, most farmers say the key issue is ensuring a legal guarantee of a minimum price for crops.
The government in Punjab already pays a minimum price for wheat and rice, but the "system is ad hoc", said 37-year-old farmer Maan Singh.
Police fire tear gas to disperse farmers on Wednesday; others have used water cannons to push crowds back © Narinder NANU / AFP"What we want is a law that makes it binding for the government to give us MSP (minimum support price) for all of what we grow," Singh said.
"The government buys only what it wants, forcing us to sell most of our crop to middlemen at much lower prices."
© 2024 AFP
Indian farmers march on capital in face of police repression
Farmers are demanding a minimum support price
Farmers on the march to Delhi confronting the police
By Charlie Kimber
SOCIALIST W\ORKER
Wednesday 14 February 2024
Tens of thousands of farmers on tractors and trucks have met vicious police repression as they move towards the Indian capital, New Delhi. A leading union has called for mass action this Friday by workers and small farmers to defy the authorities and keep up the fight to defend their livelihoods.
Police in Haryana state, which borders Delhi, fired tear gas at farmers on Tuesday to prevent them from reaching the city, which has been converted into a fortress.
The cops have sealed multiple entry points to the capital by building barriers of barbed wire, spikes and cement blocks.
Police had already arrested hundreds of farmers at various places. Madhya Pradesh police detained farmers who were heading to Delhi at the Bhopal railway station and in several other places on Sunday night.
The march on Delhi, called by farmers from Punjab and Haryana along with several other northern states, revives memories of the 16 months of farmers’ protests two years ago.
Farmers are demanding legal guarantees of a minimum support price (MSP), which acts as a safety net for farm incomes and relief from debts.
Debts due to crop failures mean thousands of Indian farmers die by suicide every year. Agriculture output has been reduced by extreme weather and dwindling water sources caused by climate change.
The farmers want the MSP fixed at least 50 percent higher than the cost of production of any crop.
They are also fighting against the planned privatisation of the electricity sector. State governments currently provide subsidised electricity to farmers. And they want compensation for the police murders of 750 farmers during the 2020-2021 protests.
Another demand is the dismissal of a federal minister whose son was accused of running his car over farmers in Uttar Pradesh state in October 2021. Organisers say more than 200 farm unions are participating in the March to Delhi. Union leaders have stressed their desire for peace.
Prominent union leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Wednesday, “Breaking barricades or getting into a confrontation with the cops and the government is not on our agenda. We only want the government to accept our genuine demands or allow us to reach Delhi to protest. This is our democratic right.”
But the state has responded with violence and repression. The protests could become a threat to prime minister Narendra Modi with a general election expected in April or May this year.
The 2020-2021 protests forced Modi to repeal three laws that favoured agribusiness and bankrupted small farmers.
But Modi then reneged on some of his pledges once protests died down. The SKM union, which is central to the protests now, has called for a nationwide rural and industrial strike on Friday this week against the government.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading the polls for the election and has used brutal anti-Muslim measures to shore up its rule. In January Modi presided over a lavish series of ceremonies consecrating a new Hindu temple on the site where the renowned Babri Masjid mosque stood for almost 500 years.
Hindu fundamentalist fanatics mobilised by the BJP and its fascist allies stormed the mosque in 1992. Modi seeks to make India a Hindu supremacist state which claims to stand for Hindus of all classes.
But he rules in the interests of the richest 1 percent of Indians who own more than 40 percent of all the country’s wealth. The bottom 50 percent, more than 700 million people, own just 3 percent.
The farmers’ protests are particularly worrying for Modi because they could be a focus for workers, farmers and the poor to unite across religious, ethnic and caste divides.
Wednesday 14 February 2024
Tens of thousands of farmers on tractors and trucks have met vicious police repression as they move towards the Indian capital, New Delhi. A leading union has called for mass action this Friday by workers and small farmers to defy the authorities and keep up the fight to defend their livelihoods.
Police in Haryana state, which borders Delhi, fired tear gas at farmers on Tuesday to prevent them from reaching the city, which has been converted into a fortress.
The cops have sealed multiple entry points to the capital by building barriers of barbed wire, spikes and cement blocks.
Police had already arrested hundreds of farmers at various places. Madhya Pradesh police detained farmers who were heading to Delhi at the Bhopal railway station and in several other places on Sunday night.
The march on Delhi, called by farmers from Punjab and Haryana along with several other northern states, revives memories of the 16 months of farmers’ protests two years ago.
Farmers are demanding legal guarantees of a minimum support price (MSP), which acts as a safety net for farm incomes and relief from debts.
Debts due to crop failures mean thousands of Indian farmers die by suicide every year. Agriculture output has been reduced by extreme weather and dwindling water sources caused by climate change.
The farmers want the MSP fixed at least 50 percent higher than the cost of production of any crop.
They are also fighting against the planned privatisation of the electricity sector. State governments currently provide subsidised electricity to farmers. And they want compensation for the police murders of 750 farmers during the 2020-2021 protests.
Another demand is the dismissal of a federal minister whose son was accused of running his car over farmers in Uttar Pradesh state in October 2021. Organisers say more than 200 farm unions are participating in the March to Delhi. Union leaders have stressed their desire for peace.
Prominent union leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Wednesday, “Breaking barricades or getting into a confrontation with the cops and the government is not on our agenda. We only want the government to accept our genuine demands or allow us to reach Delhi to protest. This is our democratic right.”
But the state has responded with violence and repression. The protests could become a threat to prime minister Narendra Modi with a general election expected in April or May this year.
The 2020-2021 protests forced Modi to repeal three laws that favoured agribusiness and bankrupted small farmers.
But Modi then reneged on some of his pledges once protests died down. The SKM union, which is central to the protests now, has called for a nationwide rural and industrial strike on Friday this week against the government.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading the polls for the election and has used brutal anti-Muslim measures to shore up its rule. In January Modi presided over a lavish series of ceremonies consecrating a new Hindu temple on the site where the renowned Babri Masjid mosque stood for almost 500 years.
Hindu fundamentalist fanatics mobilised by the BJP and its fascist allies stormed the mosque in 1992. Modi seeks to make India a Hindu supremacist state which claims to stand for Hindus of all classes.
But he rules in the interests of the richest 1 percent of Indians who own more than 40 percent of all the country’s wealth. The bottom 50 percent, more than 700 million people, own just 3 percent.
The farmers’ protests are particularly worrying for Modi because they could be a focus for workers, farmers and the poor to unite across religious, ethnic and caste divides.
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