What Happened in New Delhi on Republic Day
Earlier this month, farmers rejected an offer by the government to suspend the laws for 18 months, saying that they would only accept a complete repeal.
Farmers had been planning to protest on Republic Day for quite some time and the government had told the Supreme Court that any such protest would be an “embarrassment to the nation”.
Farmers had been given specific routes and timings for the protests, but a sizable group tried to force entry ahead of schedule, using tractors to push against barricades. Many then went off the course, converging on the historic Red Fort. Although most were evidently proceeding with clear intentions to storm the fort, some were under the impression that they had been given permission to do so and continued following the crowd.
Once people began to deviate from the planned timings and route, skirmishes resulted between protestors and police. The police used lathi charge and teargas while protestors were seen using swords and attempting to run over police officers with tractors.
Most notably, a Nishan Sahib flag (holy for the Sikh community), was unfurled at the Red Fort. Controversy erupted as to whether the Indian flag had been taken down in the process. To clarify, the tricolour at the Red Fort was not removed, however, videos emerged showing how the man hoisting the Nishan Sahib flag threw down an Indian flag when it was passed to him. Khalistani flags were also seen at the site.
One of the men who hoisted the Nishan Sahib flag said:
“We have been protesting for the last six months but the government didn’t bother to listen to us. Our ancestors have charged this fort several times in history. This was a message to the government that we can do it again and more than this if our demands are not met.”
This came just two weeks after banned terrorist outfit Sikhs for Justice announced a reward of 250 000 USD to anyone who could put a Khalistani flag at the Red Fort on Republic Day. The outfit has since supported the Red Fort siege and has now called for a siege of the Parliament when the Budget Session begins.
Twitter then suspended over 500 accounts “to protect the conversation on the service from attempts to incite violence, abuse, and threats that could trigger the risk of offline harm by blocking certain terms that violate our rules for trends”.
One civilian died after their tractor overturned. Over 300 police personnel have been injured – one officer is in the ICU.
So far, the Delhi police has already filed several FIRs in connection with the violent protests. In one of the FIRs, 37 farmer leaders including Medha Patkar, Buta Singh, Yogendra Yadav were held responsible for violence.
Two farmer unions have also since withdrawn from the protests.
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