Tens of thousands of Indian farmers are advancing towards the capital, demanding assured crop prices and reviving a movement from two years ago that successfully led to the government repealing contentious agricultural laws.

On Tuesday, police employed tear gas, detained several farmers, and fortified border points to prevent the protesters from entering New Delhi.

Authorities are keen on managing the current demonstrations to avoid a recurrence of the 2021 protests, during which tens of thousands of farmers encamped outside the capital for over a year, enduring severe weather conditions and a devastating surge of COVID-19.

Farmers, arriving on tractors and trucks from neighboring Haryana and Punjab states, assert that the government has not fulfilled some of their essential demands from the previous protests, the Associated Press reported.

In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked a set of agricultural laws that had triggered the initial wave of protests, with farmers expressing concerns that the legislation would adversely impact their incomes.

However, the current leading farmer groups in the march argue that since then, the government has made insufficient progress on crucial demands, such as guaranteed crop prices, a doubling of farmers’ income, and loan waivers.

The core of their protests centers around the demand for legislation ensuring minimum support prices.

Presently, the government shields agricultural producers from significant price declines by establishing a minimum purchase price for specific essential crops—a system introduced in the 1960s to bolster food reserves and prevent shortages.

Farmers are advocating for the extension of this safeguard to encompass all agricultural produce, not just essential crops.

Written by B.C. Begley