On 14 Dec, a group of 101 farmers launched their third attempt at a foot march to Delhi, starting from Shambhu on the Panjab-Haryana interstate border. The Haryana police thwarted their attempt with tear gas and water cannons. 17 farmers were injured, one critically (SDW Vol 2, Issue 50, Story 1). Farmer union Kisan Mukti Morcha vice president Sarvan Singh Pandher has made another appeal to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (collective of farmers unions) to support the march for legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP). Pandher has given a call for tractor march in all Indian states on 16 Dec. The march was partially successful. Meanwhile at the Khanuari interstate border, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) (Non-Political; NP) chief Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s fast-unto-death for legal guarantee to MSP has entered Day 22. To prevent police from forcibly picking up Dallewal again, SKM (NP) cadre has set up a 5-tier security ring around him. The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has asked the administration to provide Dallewal with medical aid. The Panjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav and a senior officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs met Dallewal, but he has refused to give up his fast until his demand is met. On 14 Jan, the SCI asked farmers ‘to go the Gandhian way’ by temporarily shifting their venue from Shambhu. This is strange advice because in both Farmers Protest 1.0 in 2020-21 and Farmers Protest 2.0 in 2024, the farmers protested peacefully and non-violently; close to 750 farmers have died. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the farmers ‘right to protest’; saying it is not farmers, but police and administration are blocking the roads.
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