Farmers’ protests overshadow India’s Republic Day parade -ALJAZEERA

[Windjammer]

Photos: Farmers’ protests overshadow India’s Republic Day parade
Thousands of farmers break through barricades to enter New Delhi as India holds military parade to mark Republic Day.

A farmer covers his face to protect himself from tear gas during the protest in New Delhi. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
26 Jan 2021
Thousands of farmers in tractor convoys have burst through police barricades to take their protest against new farm laws to the heart of India’s capital as the nation was marking Republic Day with a military parade.
Police had sealed most entrances to the city with containers and trucks earlier on Tuesday and resorted to tear gas and batons as the farmers broke through.
Some protesters reached a major intersection 3km (1.8 miles) from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government leaders watched tanks and troops parade past and fighter jets fly overhead.
Modi waved to crowds and sent out Twitter greetings for the national holiday without mentioning the farmers.
He was driven back to his residence before any personal confrontation with the farmers, the biggest challenge his Hindu nationalist government has faced in its six years in power.
Authorities had agreed to let the farmers stage a tractor rally as long as they waited for the official Republic Day parade to end.
But flag-waving protesters on at least four major arteries climbed over or just pushed aside the barricades and concrete blocks and pressed on into the city.
Tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of the capital since November, protesting against new laws which deregulate produce markets.
Union leaders say the laws will allow private Indian conglomerates to take over the agriculture sector – the bedrock of the economy – displacing the existent system of purchases by the government at guaranteed prices.
Smaller farmer demonstrations were also held in other cities, including Mumbai and Bengaluru.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the crowd as he arrives for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
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Border Security Force soldiers on camels they march along Rajpath during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. [Jewel Samad/AFP]

The Republic Day ceremonies went ahead despite security concerns. [Jewel Samad/AFP]

The parade had been cut back this year because of the COVID pandemic, the number of spectators on the Rajpath boulevard leading up to the main government complex reduced from 125,000 to 25,000. [Manish Swarup/AP Photo]

Police use tear gas to disperse farmers who marched to the capital during India's Republic Day celebrations. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]

A farmer runs through tear gas fired by the police during a tractor rally as farmers protested against the government's recent agricultural laws. [Sajjad Hussain/AFP]
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Farmers scuffle with security personnel during the rally. Police launched one of their largest security operations in years to stop the demonstrators. [Sajjad Hussain/AFP]

Farmers try to remove a police barricade during the tractor rally. [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]

Farmers run after breaching a police barricade. Authorities had agreed to let tens of thousands of farmers stage a tractor rally as long as they waited for the military parade to end. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

A farmer stands on the top of a police vehicle during clashes with police in New Delhi. [Money Sharma/AFP]

Farmers use sticks to push away tear gas canisters fired by police during the protest. [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]

Nihangs or Sikh warriors on their horses take part in a rally to support protesting farmers in New Delhi. [Money Sharma/AFP]

Farmers entered the Mughal-era Red Fort as they continue to protest in New Delhi. [Sajjad Hussain/AFP]

Farmers take part in a tractor rally against the central government's recent agricultural reforms ,in Amritsar. [Narinder Nanu/AFP]

 

[Windjammer]

Chaos as Indian farmers enter Delhi’s Red Fort, clash with police
Clashes erupt as thousands of farmers hold ‘tractor rally’ on India’s Republic Day to demand repeal of new farm laws.

Farmers at the Red Fort as they continue to protest against the farm laws in New Delhi [Sajjad Hussain/AFP]
By
Bilal Kuchay
26 Jan 2021
New Delhi, India – Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have stormed the Mughal-era Red Fort complex in the national capital to demand the repeal of new farm laws, with the protest turning violent and resulting in at least one death.
A “tractor rally” called by the protesting farmers in New Delhi on Tuesday saw them clashing with police who fired tear gas and launched a baton-charge as the protesters broke barricades to march to the heart of the city amid Republic Day celebrations.
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For two months now, the farmers had been camping on the outskirts of New Delhi, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to withdraw the contentious laws passed in September last year.
Defying elaborate security arrangements in place for the Republic Day military parade, the protesters entered the Red Fort, where the predominantly Sikh farmers also installed a religious flag.

Protesters install Nishan Sahib, flag of Sikhism, on Red Fort pic.twitter.com/t5EcG296xE
— Aakash Hassan (@AakashHassan) January 26, 2021

It is at the Red Fort that the Indian tricolour is hoisted on August 15 every year by India’s prime minister to mark the country’s independence from the British rule in 1947.
At least one farmer, who remains unidentified, has died during the protest and farmers have refused to hand over the body to the police. The cause of death is not clear yet.

People stage a sit-in in central Delhi with the body of a farmer who died during the protest [Bilal Kuchay/Al Jazeera]The massive protests have also forced the shutting down of several metro stations, while internet services were suspended in many areas of the capital and its adjoining areas.

‘We will win or die’
Earlier on Tuesday morning, waving multicoloured flags and holding placards, the protesting farmers marched on tractors, cars, motorbikes, horses and on foot from the outskirts of the city, where they had been camping for two months.
“We will not surrender. We will win or die” read a placard, reflecting a sentiment that has galvanised the farmers against the new laws, which they say will destroy their livelihoods by allowing private companies to control the country’s vast agricultural sector.
As the farmers marched, men, women and children served them packaged water, fruits, juice and biscuits to them. People were seen recording the protest on their mobile phones.
Many student groups also came out in support of the farmers.

Tractors at Singhu border outside New Delhi [Bilal Kuchay/Al Jazeera]At Singhu border outside New Delhi, the epicentre of the weeks-long protest, hundreds of police and paramilitary forces were seen, some carrying sticks, assault rifles and tear gas, as a water cannon stood by.

Police blocked several routes to the capital with metal and concrete barricades, and trucks so that the marching farmers could only take the routes permitted by the authorities.

But the farmers decided to enter the capital ahead of the permitted time, resulting in police launching tear gas and baton attacks on them.

Farmers marching towards the centre of New Delhi [Bilal Kuchay/Al Jazeera]Virender Bhir Singh, a 52-year-old farmer, told Al Jazeera they had demanded a different route for their rally, but the permission was not granted.

“Police tried their best to stop us but couldn’t,” he said.

Tear gassing & lathicharging Kisans is unacceptable.
Why, after the Delhi Police & Samyukt Kisan Morcha agreement?
Why is the government provoking a confrontation.
They must allow the peaceful, agreed tractor parade to continue.https://t.co/oVwpEdWF6S
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) January 26, 2021

Gurbachan Singh, 73, from Amritsar in Punjab state who owns 12 acres (4.8 hectares) of land, slept on a tractor for the entire night, braving the freezing cold, so that he can take a lead in the tractor rally.
“They made these legislations and we will get them repealed,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the tractor rally was a “show of our togetherness and a show of strength”.
“I am not worried about my age and scared that I might get injured or hurt in the rally.”

Gurjant Singh slept on his tractor the entire night despite freezing cold [Bilal Kuchay/Al Jazeera]Gurjant Singh from Goindwal in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district has been at the Singhu border protest site for the last 10 days.

“We will go back to our homes only when these legislations are taken back,” he said.
Multiple rounds of negotiations between the government and the farmers’ unions have failed. Farmers have also rejected the government’s offer to suspend the laws for 18 months.
Singh fears the laws will take away his land and livelihood. He defended the traditional system of government-controlled markets for their produce, sold through a commission agent.
“In the time of financial crisis, we seek help from commission agents. Even if we go to the agent in the middle of the night, they will help us. Will the big corporates do that?” he asked.
“If we do not want these laws, why is this government enforcing them on us? These legislations should have been made with the consent of farmers but they are imposing the laws on us.”

 

[Windjammer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1353975938812317698

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Indian establishment chose the best timings for self goals. Not long ago, pogrom against Muslims were done right bang in the middle of Trump visit, and now their national day is basically fked up.

 

[Indos]

@jamahir Why does Modi want to industrialize the farming where Indian traditional farmer have shown good productivity and many countries rely on Indian rice from Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Bangladesh, and even Vietnam ????

 

[jamahir]

@jamahir Why does Modi want to industrialize the farming where Indian traditional farmer have shown good productivity and many countries rely on Indian rice from Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Bangladesh, and even Vietnam ????

The problem would not have existed if Modi wanted to truly industrialize and make scientific the Indian farming sector. He could have introduced collective farming, vertical farming and urban farming ( the last is being done in Venezuela, for example ).

What I have been able to understand is Modi wanting to do push the purchase of the farmers' output into the hands of capitalist corporations like of Ambani and Adani. These corporations wouldn't be bound to the MSP ( Minimum Support Price ) that the farmers currently avail at the government mandis ( farm produce markets ). The corporations will be able to ruthlessly not purchase from many farmers using some excuse or the other. This will render the farmer unable to sell his produce.

Outwardly it may seem that India is a big agriculture producer but at micro level it will be known that 50+ percent of Indian workforce is engaged directly as farmers or as landless farm labor yet the annual earning of India from agriculture is just about 18 percent. Further, farms in most of India are small, a single acre to a few acres, and the small loans taken by farmers put them into long-term economic distress because their meager earnings from their farms just about cover physical sustenance of their family for the month plus payment of the interest on the loan. This makes many of them to commit suicide out of frustration. Just between 1995 and 2015 more than 300,000 Indian farmers committed suicide because of such socio-economic distress. The farmers now feel that Modi's so-called farm reform laws will push more farmers to suicide.

This is a good article about the topic.

 

[Patriot786b2]

Tractor running over Indian Army jawans, perfect actions to begin year 2021.

 

[Dalit]

Modi is a gem LOL

 

[crigar]

Modi is a gem LOL

a true asset for ISI. ISI needs to help him winning next election as well

 

[kingQamaR]

All minorities in India will be getting a nasty violent revamp not just Indian Muslims. As they thought they are safe from Delhi central BJP

 

[Goritoes]

Army marches on its stomach, and today Modi is beating the crap out of those who feed not just their army but Govt and people. Modi Jee ki Jay, may he rule for many many years

 

[FuturePAF]

Army marches on its stomach, and today Modi is beating the crap out of those who feed not just their army but Govt and people. Modi Jee ki Jay, may he rule for many many years

Your right, they are getting beaten severely for the right to be honestly heard. If you search social media, there are images of farmers that have endured severe beatings by the police, and people wonder why they protected themselves from the police.

Moderators; I hope the following is in compliance with forum rules, as it doesn’t show blood or death, but I felt it needs to be seen, so people can understand what the farmers have been enduring.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1354780928309161985

 

[newb3e]

in other reak factually bs news civil war in karachi meejaeel dropped in gulshan tower liaquatabad Army using anti air guns and killing everyone! jai Modi g ki he has vowed to Promise Pakistanis!