Indian farmers vow to carry on months-long protest despite concerns over Covid-19

Farmer leaders say the government will use coronavirus pandemic as a ruse to break the protests but they have and will religiously follow the coronavirus related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

In November last year, after Indian government passed three farm laws using the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) majority in Parliament, farmer unions and organizations mainly hailing from Punjab and Haryana, have erupted in anger.

Following which farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states in the north and the desert state of Rajasthan camped on major national highways for more than four months, demanding a repeal of the laws that they say threaten their livelihoods

On India’s Republic Day, thousands of protesting farmers broke barricades and entered the Indian capital in the form of a tractor rally.

The protest caused violent clashes between police and demonstrators, leaving five dead and hundreds of others injured. Some demonstrators stormed Delhi's historic Red Fort and occupied it until police pushed them back.

The farmers are of the opinion that the law passed by Indian Parliament last September will lead to commercialization of agriculture, making farmers extremely vulnerable to corporate greed.

They believe that the move would also impact their earnings.