FILE PHOTO: Farmers take part in a candlelit vigil, in memory of a person who died during a tractor rally on Republic Day, as protests against farm laws continue, at the Singhu Border near New Delhi
The United Nations human rights office called on Indian authorities and protesting farmers to exercise “maximum restraint” hours before the growers impose a nationwide road blockade on Saturday seeking a repeal of new agricultural laws.
Tens of thousands of farmers have camped out on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than two months, blocking key roads and demonstrating against the laws they say will benefit large private buyers at their expense.
The protests have mostly been peaceful but a tractor rally organised on Jan. 26 flared into turmoil as some farmers clashed with police in New Delhi.
Since then, authorities have shut down mobile internet in parts of the national capital and heavily barricaded border roads to prevent them from coming into the city again.
“The rights to peaceful assembly & expression should be protected both offline & online,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Twitter late on Friday.
“It’s crucial to find equitable solutions with due respect to #HumanRights for all.”
The farmers will hold a three-hour “chakka jam”, or road blockade, starting around noon local time across the country except in New Delhi and a couple of neighbouring states.
On Tuesday, 30 April, the Congress accused PM Narendra Modi of ignoring the plight of farmers in Marathwada and also…
Widespread joblessness explains why Punjab’s migrants resort to desperate means to reach their final destinations. Dunki in Punjabi means to hop,…
Marine heatwaves are events where ocean temperatures rise to extreme levels and hold steady for at least five days. These…
In the award-winning Sea of Poppies, Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh immortalised the journey of 19th century indentured labour migrants— called…
India is on its way to becoming the third-largest economy in the world, yet unemployment among young people with graduate…
In the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, women constituted only eight per cent of the total 1,618…
This website uses cookies.