This year's Republic Day promises to be a lot different than the previous years. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the global social scenario and has given rise to social distancing and more virtual events.
The upcoming Republic Day's crowd capacity in Delhi has been shortened and some programmes excluded from the traditional chart. But there are some new additions as well this time. And apart from the official ones, there is an unofficial programme, an event unprecedented in any Republic Day of India: A tractor rally of the farmers.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November 28, demanding repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops. Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the 'mandi' (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The farmer leaders have rejected the Supreme Court's stay order on the farm laws and also an apex court-appointed committee's involvement. Till date, 11 rounds of talks have taken place between the farmers and the Centre without any conclusion.
Read: Firm on demand of repealing farm laws, farmers say decision on future action after tractor parade
To increase the protest's intensity, the farmers have decided to hold a tractor rally on January 26. Conducting a rally on that specific moment has been the subject of debate for quite a while now, with the Centre relentlessly trying to dissuade the farmers from going ahead with their plan on that day and the latter is determined to grab the chance of increasing the impact of their protest. The Supreme Court has refused to rule on the rally, saying that it is a 'police matter', placing the ball in Centre's court.
After their eleventh round of talks with the government ended in a deadlock, protesting farmer leaders said on Friday that their proposed January 26 tractor rally will take place on Delhi's busy Outer Ring Road as decided. After holding rehearsals and preparations for the past few days, several farmers' groups from Punjab and Haryana are geared up to participate in the parade.
The tractor rally on one of the nation's most important days will certainly not be a feather of glory for the Central government. The Republic Day 2021 promises to be different as the nation's focus will be divided between the parades on the Rajpath and the farmers' rally. Whether the farmers succeed to fulfil their objective, only time will tell.