Farmer protests in Delhi over the years

Unlike the current protest, however, tractor-trollies were never used as a mode of transport, farmer union leaders said on Thursday, adding that governments always granted permission for staging protests well in advance.

2017 and 2018: 5 farmers killed; debt waiver sought

On August 10, 2017, several farmers from across India gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest against the killing of farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur in June that year while they were protesting seeking a fair price for their produce. Five farmers were killed in police firing and another was killed in custody after their protest demanding MSP for their produce, including onions, turned violent on June 6, 2017.

“A Kisan Yatra had been organised from Mandsaur to New Delhi to protest the killings, for seeking MSP, debt waiver…farmers from other parts too had joined. It was a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar on August 10, 2017, for which due permission was sought,” Avik Saha, national convenor of farming group Jai Kisan Andolan and national coordination committee member of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), told The Indian Express. The protesting farmers travelled to Delhi via bus/train and the protest was under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC).

In November 2017, Delhi witnessed a two-day ‘Kisan Mukti Sansad’. On November 20, farmers from 25 states gathered at Ramlila Maidan and marched to Sansad Marg, holding multicoloured flags, seeking bills on debt waiver. While the Mahila Kisan Sansad protest was held on November 20, the Kisan Sansad protest was on November 21. MSP was one of the most important demands raised and the event was held under the banner of AIKSCC.

A year later, in 2018, the Kisan Mukti March held in Delhi on November 29 and 30 saw the participation of over 10,000 farmers from across the country, with many from Bihar taking part. Participation from Punjab and Haryana was limited at the time. Farmers marched from five different locations in Delhi towards Ramlila Maidan on November 28, covering a distance of about 10-15 km to hold a public meeting. On November 29, farmers marched from the Maidan to Sansad Marg. Though Delhi Police did not permit this march, they relented after the foot march began. AIKSCC was the main coordinator of this protest march as well, Saha said.

2020 and 2021: 3 farm reform bills passed, then repealed

In September 2020, three farm reform bills were passed by Parliament, sparking protests, mainly in Punjab and Haryana. The AIKSCC organised a meeting on October 20, 2020, where the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which spearheaded the farmers’ agitation against the farm laws at the Delhi borders, was formed.

“From July 22 to August 13, 2021, we had organised a parallel Kisan Sansad while the Monsoon Session of Parliament was going on. At that time, our protest against the farm laws was also going on at Delhi borders. Every day, 200 farmers used to go from Singhu to Parliament Street in private buses hired by SKM to raise our voice against the farm laws as we wanted Opposition MPs to do their duty in Parliament,” Darshan Pal, national coordination committee member of SKM, recalled.

The contentious agriculture laws were repealed in November 2021 following continuous protests by farmers on the borders of the national capital and in different parts of North India. On December 9, 2021, farmers lifted dharnas from the Delhi borders. They were promised that a committee would be set up to work towards the implementation of MSP on all crops, punishment would be meted out to the culprits of the Lakhimpur Kheri case, quashing of all FIRs lodged during the farm law agitation etc.

2023 and 2024: Support for wrestlers and a ‘Dilli Chalo’ call

In 2023, with their demands yet to be implemented, hundreds of farmers gathered at Sansad Marg on March 13 under the leadership of farmer union leader Rakesh Tikait and faced police resistance. This was followed by a Kisan rally at Ramlila Maidan on March 20 organised by SKM. “Thousands of farmers came and later a memorandum was handed over to former agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar in his office,” said Raminder Singh Patiala from Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab.

In April 2023, when wrestlers held protests at Jantar Mantar demanding the arrest of then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing female athletes, farmer unions from across the country supported them.

Several farmers had gone to Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023, Pal said. However, on May 28, women farmers on their way to Jantar Mantar were stopped in Ambala. They were part of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) led by Sarvan Singh Pandher and had gathered at the Manji Sahib gurdwara in Ambala to march ahead. Women farmers who had planned a protest march from Mohali to the governor’s residence in Chandigarh on the same day were also not allowed to do so, recall union leaders.

In 2024, farmers on their way to Delhi as part of their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest have been stopped from entering Haryana, leading to the death of a farmer, even as several rounds of talks with Union ministers have failed to make a breakthrough. According to the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and SKM (non-political), the Centre did not respond to their ‘Dilli Chalo’ call even though the first communication was sent on November 7, 2023. Union ministers, they claimed, only started communicating with them from February 8 onwards.