Violence on the Republic Day: The Representative Media

The celebration of Republic Day took a turn for the country’s capital Delhi when the farmer rally turned violent.

Farmer Rally

Farmers decided to start with a Republic Day Tractor Rally which was supposed to be a peaceful rally for their ongoing protest against the 3 farm bills passed.

The Republic Day

The farmer the rally was allowed with 3 routes and had 3,000 volunteers taking care of the same. It was then when some tractors changed their route and started heading towards the Red Fort and that’s when the clashes between the farmers and police broke out.

Highlights of the Event

One of the groups from Gazipur deviated from the decided route
This group reached ITO and clashed with the police
Another group from Singhu Border deviated from the rally and stormed Red Fort
The police fired tear gas and resorted to baton charge
At many places, the farmers outnumbered the police officers forcing police officers to back off
A video went viral showing paramilitary and police jumping down a 15-foot wall to save themselves from the Protestors carrying lathis
Video of a protestor hoisting Nishan Sahib (the flag of Sikhs) at the first available flag post at Red Fort also went viral.
It is being reported that more than 80 police officers are seriously injured
One of the farmer protestors died while protesting. According to a video his tractor rammed into a barricade turning it around leading to on-spot death while others claiming that he was shot dead.
The police have filed 15 FIRs for the violence that took place.
More than 50 million people faced no internet near the areas where the violence broke out for hours.

What do Farmers have to say?

Farmer Union Leaders did not expect the rally to turn out to be like this and were not happy with the way violence. Some leaders mentioned that they are looking into the matter and trying to find out who initiated the violence while others blame the young farmers. A senior leader from one of the unions mentioned that the hoisting of the flag was a wrong step as it is against the spirit of the protest. Farmers still are continuing with the protest as the idea of the protest – repeal of the farm bills and legal guarantee on MSP was is still unachieved.

What does the government have to say?

Neither the government nor BJP offered any words to the violence that broke out keeping their priority to recovering the law and order in the capital and treating the injured police officials.

Amit Shah, the Home Minister is to hold a meeting with the police officials to understand and inquire into the situations. Till the final inquiry, security has been raised throughout the capital city.

What started as a peaceful protest was escalated rather quickly where the 60 days protest might even come to risk for the farmers just because of a few acting out of anger. Many on social media are comparing the storming of the Red Fort with the storming of the US State Capitol.

Now the question is, will farmers be able to retain the support they were getting from people all around the world? Will the protest be that strong anymore or will things change?

Rhishabh Naredi

A blend of curiosity and writing got me into research about critical political decisions, the economy, and business policies. Always trying the stories which might make a difference in the way we look at things!

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