India’s farmers in revolt in the middle of a pandemic
The blockade stretches as far as the eye can see, hundreds of bulky tractors and trailers parked on a highway leading into India’s capital carrying a distinct message for the nation’s government.
For more than a week, thousands of farmers have cut off major entrances into Delhi in massive protests against new laws that deregulate the buying and selling of agricultural goods.
While the government says the sweeping changes will spur investment, the farmers camped out in Delhi consider them an existential threat.
The laws will ‘‘ruin our children’s futures,’’ said Kalwan Singh, 72, a farmer from the village of Durana in the state of Haryana who travelled 169km in a tractor-pulled trailer with his son, grandson and a dozen others.
They brought flour, lentils, potatoes, wood for cooking and thin mattresses for sleeping. Singh said he’s ready to stay until the government repeals the new laws.
‘‘Even if it takes one month, two months, six months, we will win,’’ Singh said.
The farmers – who were met with barricades, water cannons and tear gas when they neared the city – represent a potent challenge for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Agriculture employs more than 200 million Indians – about 44 per cent of the workforce.
Modi is already facing a difficult juncture.
India has more than 9.5 million coronavirus cases – the second-largest outbreak in the world – and experts fear infections could accelerate in the coming months.
Despite several rounds of talks between the government and the protesting farmers, neither side appears inclined to blink. The farmers called for a new nationwide strike next week and pledged to block all roads leading to the capital.