The songs blaring out predicted dire consequences for Delhi (the Centre) and eulogised the bravado of the Jat Sikh community, as the cavalcade rumbled on to lay siege to the national capital on February 13. The protesting farmers claimed they were carrying rations and diesel to last for months. Right about then, the skies started raining teargas shells, fired from drones by the security personnel manning the barricades.
All this was reminiscent of the 13-month siege the national capital had witnessed (Sept. 2020-Nov. 2021), just that the farmers hadn't reached the gates of Delhi yet. The siege had forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to back down then and withdraw the big-ticket farm sector reforms. With the general election just months away, the threat of a long-drawn protest has again got the ruling BJP worried. The farmer unions have had two rounds of talks so far-brokered by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann-with Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda, but they didn't get too far.
This time, though, the BJP-led Centre was better prepared to deal with the protesters, stopping them at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders and preventing the tractor trolleys from reaching the national capital. The Delhi Police has also sealed the borders connecting Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as a last line of defence. Meanwhile, in Chandigarh, the issue is in the high court, with petitioners seeking to stay "all obstructive action by the state" to stop the farmers from reaching Delhi.
Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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He gave the beat to the world
He would pick up the rhythms of each experience of mobility and weave them into his taals. Thus it was that he reflected joy and laughter in rhythmic cycles...such was the magic of Zakir's fingersText and photographs by Raghu Rai
KERALA TOURISM CAMPAIGN, 1989 - TICKETS TO PARADISE
All it took was a catchy tagline-'God's Own Country'-for the world to discover Kerala's wealth of natural beauty. It remains among the best tourism ad campaigns, earning the state a place among top 10 international destinations
SPIRITUALITY - THE GURUS OF COOL
Among the cult Indian gurus, no one had a bigger hold on western minds than 'Osho' Rajneesh. He's also perhaps the role model for the enterprise-building gurus of today
RETAIL SHOPPING - THE MALL MANIA
Shopping malls, a 1990s innovation in India, changed the way the Indian middle class shops. Their success now lies in being 'shoppertainment' destinations, offering something for everyone
CULINARY RENAISSANCE, 1978 - TANDOORI NIGHTS
ITC's Bukhara and Dum Pukht turned the world to tandoori cuisine and had an enormous impact on the F&B industry. Decades on, they are still a pit-stop for celebrities and heads of state visiting Delhi
INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH - REVENGE OF THE NATIVE
Rushdie lit the way but Indian writing in English has taken a life of its own in the past few decades, with translated Indian fiction most recently having its moment in the sun
INDIAN ART - A BRUSH WITH GOLD DUST
The 1990s economic liberalisation came as oxygen, lighting up the Indian art scene. Today, artworks by established masters routinely go for astronomical amounts
FESTIVAL OF INDIA, 1982 - CULTURE CAPITAL
The Festival of India grew into a symbol of our 'soft power', introducing our art and aesthetics to a global audience while also helping rebrand our domestic products
THE INDIPOP TREND - DISCO GOES DESI
For ages, the film song ruled. Nothing else was audible. Then came Nazia, charioteered by Biddu, and Indian ears went into a pleasant madness. Literally, Disco Deewane. A whole genre was born
SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC
India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues
