Biden urged to condemn alleged violence in farm protests

A SIKH AMERICAN advocacy group has urged the US president Joe Biden to condemn alleged violence against the protesting farmers in Delhi on January 26.

New York based Sikh Coalition in its second letter to Biden urged the president to immediately register his response following reports after a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26, the Indian Republic Day, turned violent

The letter to the White House has asked the new administration to hold the Indian government accountable to its citizens’ civil rights, including the right to peaceful protest.

Since August, farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against three farms laws passed by the country’s parliament alleging that the laws will adversely impact the farming community of the country including an adverse impact on the current minimum support price system among many others.

Last week, the protesting farmers staged a “Republic Day parade” on their tractors. Upon entering Delhi, clashes erupted between police and protesters in various parts of Delhi, including the historic Red Fort.

In its second letter Biden, the Sikh Coalition urged, ‘…We strongly urge you to now condemn the recent acts of violence against the protestors–including the malevolent act of shutting off the internet, which is an often used government-sponsored attempt to silence dissent.’

‘We also urge the State Department to closely monitor the alarming frequency and severity of Indian government sanctioned-retaliation in response to democratically protected dissent. This should include the unwarranted investigations, charges, and arrests made against the farmers, protestors, and those who support the movement.’