New Delhi, Feb 16 (EFE).- Farmers in India began a nationwide strike on Friday to demand a law that would guarantee better prices for crops while their associations held negotiations with the government.
Punjabi farmers hold flags while sitting atop their vehicle on the third day of ‘Delhi Chalo’ (On to Delhi!) farmers’ protest at the Haryana-Punjab border point in Shambhu, 250 kilometers north of Delhi, India, 15 February 2024. EFE-EPA/RAJAT GUPTA
Under the slogan ‘Bharat Bandh’ (all-India lockdown), farmers suspended their agricultural activity between 6 am to 4 pm and blockaded roads to demand a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSP) for their products.
Anti-riot police deployed to prevent Punjabi farmers from reaching Delhi, during the third day of ‘Delhi Chalo’ (On to Delhi!) farmers protest at the Haryana-Punjab border point in Shambhu, 250 kilometers north of Delhi, India, 15 February 2024. EFE-EPA/HARISH TYAGI
“The protest will continue peacefully…We will not do anything else,” Sarvan Singh Pandher, one of the farmer leaders, told the media on Friday, shortly before the strike started.
The strike was being observed a day after farmers’ associations held a meeting with the Indian government on their demands.
Although the meeting ended without any agreement, the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, who was part of the negotiation committee, informed the press that it was “positive” for both parties and that another meeting was scheduled for Sunday.
Pandher added that if “no positive result” was obtained in the negotiations on Sunday, the farmers would resume their march towards the Indian capital, which was temporarily suspended on Thursday to facilitate the negotiations.
Thousands of farmers on hundreds of tractors on Tuesday began a massive march towards New Delhi from the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab, the latter being known as the ‘breadbasket of India,’ to press home their demands.
The authorities stopped the protests in both states on the first day, while protesters clashed with police in Haryana.
Police used barriers and fired tear gas to disperse the protesters in the state.
Backed by several associations, the farmers demanded, among other things, a guarantee of minimum support prices (MSP) on certain crops by law to protect their prices in the face of market fluctuations.
The implementation of minimum prices was one of the main demands during protests between 2020 and 2021, when thousands of farmers camped for almost 15 months outside Delhi, opposing an agrarian reform initiated by the Indian government.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to bow to pressure and repeal a newly enacted law, which farmers said gave too much power to big companies by deregulating the market.
Two years later, farmers’ associations say the government has not met all their demands. EFE
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