Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian police use tear gas against protesting farmers near New Delhi

The farmers are demanding a law to fix a minimum price for their crops, besides a clutch of other concessions including waiving off loans

Indian police use tear gas against protesting farmers near New Delhi

Indian security forces deployed tear gas on Tuesday (13) to halt the advance of thousands of farmers who, after unsuccessful negotiations with the government were marching towards New Delhi to demand minimum prices for their crops.

Local broadcasters showed thick clouds of tear gas fired to disperse protesters near Ambala, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital.


Police have set up a fearsome blockade of metal spikes, cement, and steel barricades on the highways from three surrounding states leading to the capital.

"Maximum numbers have been deployed," Ranjay Atrishya, assistant commissioner of Delhi Police, said.

Public gatherings of more than five people have been banned in the capital.

Farmers in India have political heft due to their sheer numbers, and the threat of renewed protests comes ahead of national elections likely to begin in April.

Two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people draw their livelihood from agriculture, accounting for nearly a fifth of the country's GDP, according to government figures.

Indian broadcasters showed columns of hundreds of tractors moving towards the capital from the surrounding states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Police closed roads at Ghazipur on the outskirts of Delhi, using multiple lines of blockades. A first line of defence using razor wire was set up, then metal barriers, concrete blocks and finally police buses.

- 'Oppressing us' -

"We tried our best to solve our problems through discussions with the government, but they are insistent on oppressing us," Sarwan Singh Pandher, a top farmers' union official from Punjab, told reporters.

The farmers are demanding a law to fix a minimum price for their crops, besides a clutch of other concessions including waiving off loans.

"The government should listen to the farmers instead of using tear gas shells and guns against them," said Randeep Surjewala, an opposition Congress MP from Haryana, where many of the protesting farmers come from.

Farmers have called for a "Delhi Chalo", or "March to Delhi", echoing protests in January 2021 when farmers breached barricades and marched into the city on Republic Day.

Protests by farmers against agricultural reform bills in November 2020 lasted for more than a year, forming the biggest challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi's government since it came to power in 2014.

Tens of thousands of farmers then set up makeshift camps, with at least 700 people killed during the protests.

In November 2021, a year after protests began, Modi pushed through parliament the repeal of three contentious laws that farmers claimed would let private companies control the country's agriculture sector.

Thousands of Indian farmers die by suicide every year because of poverty, debt and crops affected by ever-more erratic weather patterns caused by climate change.

(AFP)

More For You

Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal recalled that in February, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Trade talks with US moving forward positively, says Indian minister Goyal

INDIA’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that negotiations on the proposed trade agreement between India and the United States, which began in March, are progressing in a positive atmosphere and both sides are satisfied with the discussions.

He recalled that in February, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. (Representational image: iStock)

Woman raped in racially aggravated attack in Oldbury

A WOMAN in her 20s was raped in Oldbury in what police are treating as a racially aggravated attack.

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. Officers said the men made a racist remark during the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tommy Robinson

The event, which Robinson has promoted for months, is being billed by him as the 'UK's biggest free speech festival.' (Photo: Getty Images)

London prepares for rival demonstrations, police deploy 1,600 officers

Highlights

  • More than 1,600 officers deployed across London on Saturday
  • Far-right activist Tommy Robinson to lead "Unite the Kingdom" march
  • Anti-racism groups to stage counter-protests in Whitehall
  • Police impose conditions on routes and timings of demonstrations

LONDON police will deploy more than 1,600 officers across the city on Saturday as rival demonstrations take place, including a rally organised by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, and a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners.

Keep ReadingShow less
Baiju Bhatt

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: Getty Images)

Baiju Bhatt named among youngest billionaires in US by Forbes

INDIAN-AMERICAN entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the commission-free trading platform Robinhood, has been named among the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States in the 2025 Forbes 400 list.

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at around USD 6–7 billion (£4.4–5.1 billion), primarily from his roughly 6 per cent ownership in Robinhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mandelson-Getty

Starmer dismissed Mandelson on Thursday after reading emails published by Bloomberg in which Mandelson defended Jeffrey Epstein following his 2008 conviction. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Minister says Mandelson should never have been appointed

A CABINET minister has said Peter Mandelson should not have been made UK ambassador to the US, as criticism mounted over prime minister Keir Starmer’s judgment in appointing him.

Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, told the BBC that Mandelson’s appointment was seen as “high-risk, high-reward” but that newly revealed emails changed the situation.

Keep ReadingShow less