On 31 Aug, the Farmers Protest 2.0 at the Shambhu and Khanauri inter-state border between Panjab and Haryana marked the completion of 200 days of their bid to advance to Delhi. On 27 Aug, Jagjit Singh Dallewal from Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), along with Baldev Singh Sirsa, Sukhdev Singh Bhojraj, and Amrik Singh were stopped from boarding a flight from Delhi to Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, because two of them were wearing kirpans (traditional sword). The leaders were going to participate in Kisan Mahapanchayats (large gatherings) and press conferences. Kirpans are allowed on Indian flights, this was just a pretext to stop the leaders. On 30 Aug, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a raid at the residence of Sukhwinder Kaur, the general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU-Krantikari), in Rampura Phul, Panjab, as part of a broader crackdown on suspected Naxalite activities. Along with Kaur, other prominent activists raided were Advocate Mandeep Singh in Chandigarh whose family has in the past earned five Shaurya Chakras (third highest peacetime gallantry awards) and Advocates Pankaj Tyagi, Aarti, Ajay Kumar and others. Tyagi has been taken into custody. These raids also come after a recent statement by Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah that he would wipe out Naxalism by 2026. A glimmer of hope lies in the Supreme Court of India setting up a ‘neutral high-powered committee’, chaired by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice (Retd.) Nawab Singh, to talk to protesting farmers.
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