Tens of thousands of protesting farmers marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India’s capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort.
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As the country celebrated Republic Day, they waved farm union and religious flags from the ramparts of the fort, where prime ministers annually hoist the national flag on the country’s August independence day holiday.
Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons and set up barricades in attempt to prevent the protesters from reaching the center of New Delhi, but the demonstrators broke through in many places.
People watched in shock as the takeover of the fort, which was built in the 17th century and served as the palace of Mughal emperors, was shown live on hundreds of news channels. Protesters, some carrying ceremonial swords, ropes and sticks, overwhelmed the police trying to stop them.
The farmers have been protesting for nearly two months, demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers.
The contentious legislation has exacerbated existing resentment from farmers, who have long been seen as the heart and soul of India but often complain of being ignored by the government.
“We want to show Modi our strength,” said Satpal Singh, a farmer who drove into the capital on a tractor along with his family of five. “We will not surrender.”
Thousands more farmers marched on foot or rode on horseback while shouting slogans against Modi. At some places, they were showered with flower petals by residents who recorded the unprecedented protest on their phones.
Leaders of the farmers said more than 10,000 tractors joined the protest, and authorities tried to hold back the rows upon rows of tractors, which shoved aside concrete and steel barricades. Authorities also used large trucks and buses to block roads, but thousands of protesters managed to reach some important landmarks.
Police said one protester died after his tractor overturned, but farmers said he was shot. Television channels showed several bloodied protesters.
The government insists that the agriculture reform laws passed by Parliament in September will benefit farmers and boost production through private investment.
Still, the government has offered to amend the laws and suspend their implementation for 18 months. But farmers insist they will settle for nothing less than a complete repeal. They plan to march on foot to Parliament on Feb. 1, when the country’s new budget will be presented.
The protests overshadowed Republic Day celebrations, in which Modi oversaw a traditional lavish parade along ceremonial Rajpath boulevard displaying the country’s military power and cultural diversity. Authorities shut some metro train stations, and mobile internet service was suspended in some parts of the capital, a frequent tactic of the government to thwart protests.
The parade was scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic. People wore masks and adhered to social distancing as police and military battalions marched along the route displaying their latest equipment.
Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950.
Police said the protesting farmers broke away from the approved protest routes and resorted to “violence and vandalism.”
The group that organized the protest, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, or United Farmers’ Front, blamed the violence on “anti-social elements” who “infiltrated an otherwise peaceful movement.”
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