NEW DELHI (AP) – Tens of thousands of farmers drove a convoy of tractors to India’s capital as the nation celebrated Republic Day on Tuesday amid agricultural protests that turned into a rebellion and shook the government.
The capital’s roads were lined with rows of tractors carrying Indian flags and agricultural unions. Farmers, wearing distinctive colored turbans, shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and what they call “his black laws.” Thousands of people marched on foot while dancing and singing, and at one point were carried away with flower petals by residents, some of whom recorded unprecedented rallies on their phones.
“We want to show Modi our strength,” said Satpal Singh, a farmer who marched in the capital with a tractor with his family of five. “We will not surrender.”
Police in riot gear used tear gas and water cannons in two places to push protesters who tried to tear down barricades. Authorities also parked large trucks to barricade several routes so that farmers would not head into the capital.
Farmers’ leaders said more than 10,000 tractors would travel through the capital for the rally, and thousands of volunteers would try to help police maintain order.
The protests were triggered by the new agricultural laws that Parliament passed in September. Modi’s government insists that the laws will benefit farmers and stimulate production through private investment, but farmers fear that cartelization and marketing of agriculture will destroy their incomes.
Farmers first tried to go to New Delhi in November, but were stopped by police. Since then, motionless by the cold winter temperatures overnight, they have scattered food and fuel supplies and threatened to besiege the capital until agricultural laws are repealed.
The government offered to amend the laws and suspend their implementation for 18 months. But farmers insist they will be content with nothing less than a complete repeal. They plan a walk to the Indian Parliament on February 1, when the country’s new budget will be presented.
The tractor rally overshadowed the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, even though the annual military parade was reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A thin crowd gathered near the ceremonial Rajpath Boulevard in New Delhi to watch a presentation of the country’s military power and cultural diversity. People wore masks and adhered to social distance as police and military battalions marched along the parade route. Several states displayed their rafts to present their culture, and the army presented its latest equipment during the parade.
Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on January 26, 1950.
Farmers are the latest group to upset Modi’s image of unwavering dominance in Indian politics.
Since returning to power for a second consecutive term, Modi’s government has been marked by several convulsions. The economy has outgrown, social conflicts have spread, protests against discriminatory laws have broken out, and his government has been questioned about its response to the pandemic. In 2019, he brought together a coalition of diverse and disparate sets: minorities and majorities, rights activists and journalists, communists and socialists, students and teachers, including the once-latent opposition, to form a popular march against a controversial new citizens’ law who discriminated against Muslims.
Now, as farmers, he is facing a growing rebellion from India’s most influential bloc.
Agriculture supports more than half of the country’s 1.4 billion people. But the economic influence of farmers has declined over the past three decades. Once 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 the farmers are in debt, with 20,638 who committed suicide in 2018 and 2019, according to official records.
The controversial legislation has exacerbated existing resentment among farmers, who have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, but often complain that they are ignored by the government.
Modi tried to allay farmers’ fears, largely dismissing their concerns, and repeatedly accused opposition parties of agitating them by spreading rumors. Some of his party’s leaders called farmers “anti-nationals,” a label often given to those who criticized Modi or his policies.
Devinder Sharma, an agriculture expert who has spent the past two decades fighting for equal income for Indian farmers, said he was not only protesting the reforms, but also “challenging the country’s full economic design”.
“The anger you see is aggravated anger,” Sharma said. “Inequality is growing in India, and farmers are becoming poorer. Policy planners have failed to achieve this and have sucked in revenue from the bottom up. Farmers only ask what their right is. ”