Tractors to Delhi

Thousands of farmers overwhelmed police in central Delhi on January 26, India’s Republic Day, eventually storming the city’s historic Red Fort.

Angry with agricultural reforms which they see as benefitting large private buyers at the expense of smaller growers, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped peacefully at sites on the outskirts of Delhi for more than two months.

What began as a parade of tractors and farmers protesting around the city’s fringes on Republic Day turned into chaos when some farmers diverted from the agreed routes, breaking through barricades and clashing with police, who responded with tear gas and batons. The violence left one dead and hundreds injured.

A tableau from Uttar Pradesh state is displayed during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, January 26, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Farmers take part in a tractor rally to protest against farm laws on the occasion of India's

City police had given farmers unions permission to pass along three routes on the outskirts of Delhi, but barred them from entering the central part of the city where the Republic Day parade is held. The agreement with the police was to let protesters pass through after the parade had ended. However, the agreement unravelled as protesters broke away from the planned rally.

Farmers cross a barricade during a tractor rally to protest against farm laws on the occasion of India's Republic Day in Delhi, India, January 26, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui — Farmers cross a barricade during a tractor rally to protest against farm laws on the occasion of India's Republic Day in Delhi, India, January 26, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqu

How big were these protests

People and tractors had been arriving at Delhi’s borders from several parts of the country for the past several days. At Singhu, one of the three entry points, the police estimated that 6,000-7,000 tractors had gathered, the largest of the three contingents. However, farmers unions said as many as 200,000 tractors had gathered for the rally across the outskirts of the city.

Agriculture employs about half of the workforce in India’s population of 1.3 billion and unrest among an estimated 150 million landowning farmers is one of the biggest challenges to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014.

Scroll down to see the scale of lining up 7,000 tractors which the police stated were present at one of the entry points

رئيسة التحرير: عالية كريم

Tractors to Delhi

How big were these protests