Indian farmers walk off fields in ‘Bharat Bandh’ strike for higher crop prices

Day-long strike to mostly affect northern states, where farm unions have strong presence

Police barricade a motorway at Ghazipur near New Delhi to stop thousands of protesting farmers from entering the capital. AP

A man walks past barricades in front of vehicles stuck in heavy traffic at the New Delhi-Gurgaon Sirhaul motorway. AFP

A security personnel at a road block during a nationwide strike called by farmers, along the Ghazipur New Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border. AFP

Commuters walk after police barricaded a motorway at Singhu near New Delhi. AP

Traffic on a motorway in Ghazipur near New Delhi. Farmers are asking for a guaranteed minimum support price for all farm produce. AP

The farmers want assured crop prices, in a repeat of 2021 protests when they camped on the Delhi outskirts for more than a year. AP

Police lift a vehicle to barricade a motorway at Ghazipur near New Delhi. AP

A Rapid Action Force personnel stands atop an armoured vehicle at a road block in Ghazipur. AFP

RAF personnel guard a road block during the nationwide strike called by farmers at the New Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border. AFP

People cross the barricades placed by security personnel at the Delhi Ghazipur border. EPA

Workers construct barricades as security personnel stand guard at the Delhi Ghazipur border. EPA

Security at Delhi borders have been tightened as several farmer associations called for the a march on 13 February in New Delhi. EPA

Farmers in India went on a day-long nationwide strike, or Bharat Bandh, to mount pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to ensure higher prices for their crops.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, one of India’s largest farmer unions, urged its members to refrain from going to their fields on Friday in a show of support for protesting farmers from Punjab and Haryana.

The call for the strike comes amid a violent stand-off between farmers from northern states and the police, who blocked motorways to prevent them from marching into the capital, New Delhi.

“The farmers have been asked to shun work on farms, or not go to markets for any purchases tomorrow,” said Pawan Khatana, the leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union. “Traders and transporters have also been exhorted to join the strike.”

Several agricultural markets in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana were closed on Friday.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, which produce 60 per cent of India's wheat, embarked on a march towards New Delhi on Tuesday to put pressure on the government to introduce a national law guaranteeing a minimum support price for crops.

A convoy of tractors lines a motorway linking India's Punjab and Haryana states on Friday. Reuters

But they met strong resistance from authorities who stationed police and paramilitary forces and blocked a main motorway that connects the states with Delhi.

The police put up barricades, concrete blocks, concertina wires and iron nails to prevent the farmers from progressing to the capital.

In Haryana, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, police and paramilitary personnel used tear gas shells, some dropped by drones, and allegedly fired rubber bullets at the protesters, who retaliated by pelting them with stones.

More than 50 farmers sustained serious injuries after pellets fired by police pierced their bodies. One ageing farmer reportedly died of asphyxiation caused by the smoke of a tear gas shell.

Dozens of police personnel were also injured in the confrontation.

The strike has been primarily called in rural India where the livelihood of 47 per cent of the country's 130 billion people is dependent on agriculture, according to government data.

Historian Irfan Habib, economic historian Nasir Tyabji, economist Prabhat Patnaik and journalist P Sainath are among the noted personalities who have supported the strike.

Emergency services – including hospitals, pharmacies and ambulance operators – will remain open.

The impact of the strike was also seen in New Delhi where police and paramilitary forces stationed at entry points to the city blocked key motorways, resulting in the diversion of traffic.

There was congestion on the main roads connecting Delhi to Haryana state, with commuters struggling to get public transport.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana embarked on a march towards New Delhi on Tuesday but were blocked by police. EPA

The leaders of the farmers met government officials three times amid the continuing standoff but talks were unfruitful.

On Thursday, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, one of the leaders, said the farmer unions were set to meet the government on Sunday.

“The protest will continue peacefully … We will not do anything else. We will appeal to the farmers too. On Sunday, if we do not get any positive result, then we will continue the protest,” Mr Dallewal said.

The latest confrontation comes four years after year-long farmers’ protests in 2020 that were triggered by new laws to allow contract farming, the sale of produce on the free market and the deregulation of food commodities from government control.

The farmers had claimed that the laws would benefit only big corporations.

The protest was the single biggest challenge to Mr Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP government since it came to power in 2014. His party lost in Punjab's state elections in 2022.

The latest protest comes months before another general election in which Mr Modi is seeking a third term.