On-going protests against India’s new agriculture law have overshadowed the Republic Day military parade.
An audience sat watching the Republic Day military parade spectacle in the center of the capital city to commemorate the introduction of the 1950 constitution after India gained its independence from the British Empire.
The annual Republic Day parade shows off the country’s ethnic and cultural diversity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling nationalist party has previously come under fire for passing legislation considered discriminatory against the country’s large Muslim population.
This year’s Republic Day was scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The grand military and cultural parade couldn’t help but be overshadowed by the tens of thousands of protesting farmers surrounding the city.
Tens of thousands of angry farmers rode tractors and horses towards New Delhi during the Republic Day parade to protest a contentious agricultural law which they say threatens their livelihood.
Riot police put up barricades in an attempt to hold of the protesters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been unable to quell the rising anger which is seen as a major threat to his government.
One section of the protest rally diverged from the pre-arranged route and ripped through the barricades forcing police to pull back. Protest organizers said that the other parts of the demonstration stuck to the route they had planned.
Police in the Indian capital fired tear gas after the protesting farmers pushed through the lines of control. Authorities had wanted to stop the protesters from entering the city during the Republic Day parade.
Thousands of farmers, many from the populous “breadbasket” state of Punjab in the north, have been camped out near the capital city for weeks. The unions have rejected offers to delay the implementation of the controversial law, demanding its full repeal.
Half of India’s population work in agriculture and represent a large voting block. However, their economic power has waned as other industries develop. Already struck by financial difficulties, farmer unions fear that the new law will allow big companies to buy up large tracts of land making it impossible for small landowning farmers to survive.
DW News
