Farmers' Protests Continue in India

The protests launched to repeal new agricultural laws in India are growing.

Farmers' protests continue in India. Tens of thousands of farmers, defying the government's internet and telephone cuts, blocked the roads to traffic as part of the protests that have been going on for about 2 months and started to repeal the new agricultural laws. The farmers are demanding the repeal of laws brought to parliament last year by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which they claim favor large companies over smallholders. 11 rounds of negotiations between the government and farmers did not yield any results. Farmers refused to accept the mediation process set up by the Supreme Court, with the government's proposal to suspend the reforms for 18 months. The farmers, backed by an increasingly international campaign by many famous names and activists, such as the environmentalist Greta and the famous singer Rihanna, called for "immediate reinstatement" of interrupted telecommunications services at protest locations outside the capital, New Delhi, on Friday. In the statement made by the farmers' unions, it was stated that "The government's efforts to suppress the conflict continues." According to a report by Top10VPN.com, a company that studies virtual private networks, India has revealed that in 2020, internet usage is restricted more than any other country. However, the statement noted that these restrictions were subjected to the highest economic loss as a result. Authorities have resorted to shutting down the internet in recent years to halt the protests, including the nationwide demonstrations over a discriminatory citizenship law and the removal of Kashmir's private autonomous status, the country's only Muslim-majority region.