India: Police use tear gas as protesting farmers near Delhi

Thousands of farmers marched toward the Indian capital of New Delhi on Tuesday to demand higher minimum crop prices and fairer conditions.

Police were seen using tear gas to disperse protesters in Ambala, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital.

There were also reports of police dropping tear gas canisters from drones at key chokepoints and detaining some protesters.

Earlier, on Monday, police erected metal and concrete barricades along highways leading to New Delhi and banned public gatherings in the city.

Several farmer unions have called for a 'Delhi Chalo', or 'March to Delhi' protest, echoing the agitation which began in late 2020 against three farm bills that would have eroded government support for India's agricultural sector. The protest lasted over a year with hundreds of protesters killed, and culminated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national government repealing the laws.

They were the largest public disturbances and mass protests faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government since his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in 2014.

"We tried our best to solve our problems through discussions with the government, but they are insistent on oppressing us," Sarwan Singh Pandher, a top farmers' union official from Punjab, told reporters on Tuesday.

Security arrangements at the border

Long convoys of tractors gathered on borders between the capital and neighboring Haryana state on Monday.

In response, the police have set up barricades with metal spikes, temporary jails and alternative routes for ambulances, according to local media.

"We do not want to break any barricades. We want a resolution of our issues through dialogue. But if they (the government) do nothing, then what will we do? It is our compulsion," Pandher said.

News publications Times of India and ANI reported that police tested a tear gas-dropping drone system at Shambhu border near Ambala, north of Delhi, in anticipation of the protests.

Meanwhile the police have banned any public gathering of more than five people in Delhi.

Farmers in India have political heft due to their large numbers. The march scheduled for Tuesday morning comes months before the 2024 general elections in India and could turn into a key election agenda.

What are the farmers' demands?

The key item in the farmers' list of demands is a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. 

This  a condition the government had agreed to in 2021but farmers' unions accuse the government of falling behind on their promise.

The government of India announces support prices for over 20 crops every year — this sets the minimum price it will pay for the crops, but is not binding for private purchasers. However, state agencies only end up buying rice and wheat at the support level which benefits only farmers growing those two crops, thought to be around 6% of India's farmers.

Farmers are also demanding implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Swaminathan commission between 2004-06 which focused on farmer distress and the rising farmer suicides. The commission recommended pensions, debt waivers and farmer healthcare among other things.

After several rounds of talks on Monday, the government agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers registered during the 2020-21 agitation, the Press Trust of India reported, citing sources. Government ministers have also purportedly agreed to compensate any left out families of farmers who died during the protests.

Discussions on the remaining demands failed to yield results.

"Farmers from across the country are prepared to march on Delhi starting Tuesday if the government doesn't meet our demands," Pandher, the farmers' association leader, told AFP.

zc, mk/msh (AFP, Reuters)