8 More Protesting Farmers Injured as Haryana Police Uses Tear Gas Shells
Police Prevent 101 Farmers from Entering Delhi on Foot with Their Demands
December 9, 2024
Three protesters at a previous farmers' protest. Photo: Ravan Khosa, used under a Creative Commons license.
Eight more farmers sustained injuries on Dec. 8 when Haryana police discharged tear gas shells at protesters attempting to enter Delhi on foot to voice their demands for legal guarantees for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and other longstanding grievances. The incident is the latest in a series of crackdowns this month, which have already resulted in injuries to at least 15 other farmers.
The eight injured protesters were part of a group resuming their “Delhi Chalo” march from the Shambhu border protest site.
A farmers’ leader, Sarwan Singh Pandher, confirmed the injuries, stating that one of the injured was rushed to a hospital in Chandigarh, and that the group decided to temporarily halt their march following the incident, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The marchers encountered heavy security measures, including multilayered barricades, barbed wire and iron nails deployed by the Haryana police. Tear gas shells and water jets were used to disperse the group as they attempted to cross the barriers.
The group of 101 farmers is being called “jattha,” a Punjabi word for “group.” Due to claims that farmers are carrying weapons and have brought heavy vehicles, the farmer union involved in the protest decided to create a group of only 101 farmers who would walk to Delhi on foot.
The police told media that the marchers needed permission due to prohibitory orders in that area, claiming that they have a list of 101 farmers provided by farm unions. However, the names of the protesting farmers do not match the names on that list, according to the police.
“We will first identify them and then we can allow them to go ahead. We have a list of the names of 101 farmers, and they are not those people. Also, they can’t move ahead in mass as the local (Ambala) administration has prohibited any procession on foot, vehicles or through any other mode,” a Haryana Police official told IANS.
A farmer leader, Tejveer Singh, questioned the Haryana authorities’ objections to a peaceful foot march. Singh said authorities had assured earlier that peaceful marches on foot would be allowed, according to Hindustan Times.
Farmers have long been demanding legal guarantees for MSP for all crops, citing exploitation in the absence of a robust pricing framework.
Currently, MSP is announced for 22 crops, but critics argue that this does not cover the entire stock produced. Protesters also demand pensions for agricultural workers, debt waivers, and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where four farmers and a journalist were killed after being run over by a vehicle during a protest, and subsequent retaliatory violence led to three more deaths.
On Dec. 5, at least 15 farmers were injured during a similar crackdown at the Shambhu border, where police reportedly used rubber bullets alongside tear gas.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), explained the economic challenges faced by farmers due to the absence of a legal MSP. In an interview with The Indian Express, he pointed out that the lack of price guarantees has discouraged diversification into crops like maize and cotton, as seen in Punjab, where cotton cultivation has dropped to an all-time low of 90,000 hectares. Limited procurement by the Cotton Corporation of India hit the farmers, he said.
Farmers engaged in multiple meetings with Union Ministers and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in February to negotiate their demands. The Centre proposed purchasing five crops—maize, urad, masoor, arhar and cotton—at MSP for five years. However, the offer was rejected by farmer unions, who are seeking broader and more permanent legal guarantees, according to the Express.
Pandher expressed disappointment over the central government’s lack of direct engagement.
