
After ineffective discussions with the government, thousands of farmers were marching towards New Delhi, and tensions erupted close to the Indian capital as security forces used tear gas to scatter them. About 200 kilometres north of the city, in the Ambala region, protesters encountered a forceful police response as they demanded more help and promises.
Police erected barriers of barbed wire, spikes, and cement blocks to obstruct several entry points into New Delhi. Huge gatherings were outlawed in the city, while internet access was cut off in several areas of the nearby state of Haryana.
A farmer group leader named Sarwan Singh Pandher explained why the demonstrators were reluctant to breach barricades and stressed their wish for a peaceful conclusion. He did, however, emphasise their necessity if the government failed to join to their requests.
On Monday, union officials and government ministers were unable to agree on several important demands made by farmers, such as increased support prices, crop price guarantees, loan forgiveness, and other concessions. Pandher charged that the government had broken its pledge to double farmers’ incomes three years prior.
The sheer volume of tractors—hundreds of them—moving from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh towards the capital highlighted the political clout of farmers. Protests are once again a possibility ahead of the anticipated April start of the national elections.
On Republic Day in 2021, farmers broke over barriers and entered the city as part of a similar “Chalo Delhi” march. There were at least 700 casualties and the establishment of improvised camps as a result of this year-long protest against an agricultural reform law that presented a serious threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
Three controversial rules that farmers claimed would give private corporations power over the agriculture industry were overturned by Modi’s government in response to the intense outcry. It was agreed to set up a panel of government representatives and farmers to discuss support prices for all farm produce. Subsequent sessions, although, have not produced any results.
With roughly a fifth of the country’s GDP coming from agriculture, which employs two-thirds of the workforce, climate change is making matters worse for the sector. Many appeals for broad government support have been made again as thousands of farmers perish from debt, poverty, and crop failure.