In New Delhi, Indian farmers ready to ‘die’ but not give in to reforms
Indian police have closed several main roads around New Delhi, a day after thousands of farmers went on a deadly rampage in the capital to pressure the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reverse a series of controversial agricultural reform laws.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday ordered a security step-up across the capital and its vicinity.
On Tuesday, convoys of farmers on tractors smashed through barricades to converge on the city center during the annual Republic Day parade.
Police used baton charges and tear gas to disperse the angry crowd.
One farmer was killed. More than 80 were injured.
The tension marked a dramatic escalation in a standoff between the government and thousands of farmers camped out on the outskirts of the capital since late November.
It was a major embarrassment for the Hindu nationalist government, whose biggest challenge has been the farmer protests since coming to power in 2014.
The farmers are mainly from the Sikh-dominated Punjab province and the neighboring Haryana.
Many of them are in their sixties or above. They have braved the harsh winter in the north for the past several weeks to camp out in the open with their tractors and trailers parked bumper to bumper.
Dozens have died, mainly due to the cold with temperatures falling to 4 degrees Celsius.
It was September 2020 when Modi’s government passed three laws meant to "overhaul procurement procedures" and "grant" farmers more options to sell their products.
The farmers believe the proposed amendments will create an opportunity for large private companies to enter and exploit the entire agriculture sector.
Modi has called for dialog, but several rounds of negotiation have failed to break the standoff.
“We’re ready to die. This government has been ignoring us for long but they can no longer do that,” said a Sikh farmer at Delhi demonstration on Tuesday.
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