Bengaluru Kisan Rally

 

On the 72nd Republic Day of India, Thousands of farmers protested against Center's proposed Farm laws across the nation.

Thousands of farmers reached Bengaluru from across the southern Indian state of Karnataka such as Kolar, Tumkur, and Mandya on tractors in solidarity with the 'Kisan Tractor Rally' happening simultaneously in New Delhi, the capital city of India.

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An estimated 5,000 people, various farmer organisations, members of the Sikh community, various Dalit organisations, student-run organisations, and trade unions, joined the tractor rally on foot and marched with them from Majestic railway station to Freedom Park to protest against the Center's proposed farm laws. The protest started at 11:00 am in the morning and lasted until 4:30 pm in the evening. Of the 4000 tractors which were to enter the city, a total of five tractors made it to the main protest point at Majestic Railway Station in Bengaluru city. They were stopped from entering the city by the police citing law and order issues.

On the platform at the railway station’s parking area, piping hot food was being served to the travelling protesters.

 

Members of the Karnataka Mangalamukhi Foundation (KMF), a statewide organisation of transgender persons, had prepared pulao enough to feed 10,000 protestors. “It is our duty. We have been brought up on the food cultivated by farmers. We are eating the rice grown by them,” said Arundhati G. Hegde, general secretary of KMF. “We all come from farmer families. So we know how important this protest is. We are here doing our part in this struggle,” she added.

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Photographed for PARI