Author: aprosi

In a civilian protest rally of a million or so, it should not surprise even the most naïve that a few hundred will take matters into their own hands—run amok and engage in dramatic acts to gain attention. Governments often like these unplanned breakouts. They exploit these undisciplined few completely, squeezing out every drop of advantage they can get, even using it to justify sending in armed forces to crush the dissent. The mass tractor rally in Delhi has given government that opportunity. It now depends whether the government milks it or acts wisely. The media is already on script.

“We should be focused on resisting Modi and his government, but we are also having to spend time managing people on our side who are being too provocative. If there is any violence, we will lose,” said a concerned twenty-something physiotherapist, the son of a farmer union leader who has been at the protests since they started on Nov 26. This statement exemplifies some of the complexity we were missing when we examined these protests from a distance.

Author: Jasdeep Kaur

A series of powerful images showing the farmers protest of 2020-2021.

Author: Amandeep Singh