Tens of thousands of farmers who stormed the historic Red Fort on India’s Republic Day are again camped outside the capital after the most volatile day of their two-month standoff left one protester dead and more than 300 police officers injured.
The protests demanding the repeal of new agricultural laws have grown into a rebellion that is rattling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, reports Ashok Sharma from New Delhi.
Their brief takeover of the 17th-century fort, which was the palace of Mughal emperors, played out live on Indian news channels. The farmers, some carrying ceremonial swords, ropes and sticks, overwhelmed police. In a profoundly symbolic challenge to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, the protesters who stormed Red Fort hoisted a Sikh religious flag.
