Clashes erupt at farmers protests site in New Delhi

Clashes have broken out between farmer protesters and a group of people, who came out in support of police crackdown against farmers, who camped out on the outskirts of the capital for months against the government’s controversial agricultural reform laws.

Thousands of Indians took to the streets overnight in response to a police attack against farmers who have camped out with tens of thousands of tractors in New Delhi since November.

Clashes erupted between police and farmers on Wednesday, as the riot police were trying to disperse the farmers.

Farmer unions demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government repeal a series of new laws that they believe will hurt their livelihoods.

The unions say that the new laws will affect nearly 70 percent of the 1.3-billion population who are drawing their livelihood from agriculture.

The Wednesday confrontation, which paralyzed the city and left one farmer dead and hundreds of farmers and police officers wounded, prompted thousands of people to rally in the city to reinforce the months-long protest.

“Concerned over police high-handedness, thousands of farmers, who were not part of the protest, have now come to bolster our movement,” said Rakesh Tikait, president of one of the largest farmers unions.

But a group of men shouting anti-farmer and pro-police slogans, started a confrontation with protesters.

Police used tear gas and batons to break up the fight at one of several protest sites near the capital, on Friday.

In New Delhi, Indian farmers ready to ‘die’ but not give in to reforms

The biggest challenge the Hindu nationalist government has faced since 2014 is the farmer protest movement.

Farmers' leaders accused local police and politicians of instigating skirmishes at the northern site in an attempt to turn sentiment against them.

They have already said that they would not budge “until the laws are repealed.”

Modi’s government introduced the new agricultural laws in September. It said that the reforms will open up new opportunities for farmers and it says it will not bow to the protesters’ demands.

Farmer unions, however, say the laws are an attempt to erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum support price for their rice and wheat.

They  have since been pushing for the repeal of the new laws.

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