The Indian farmer leader on hunger strike for 40 days

BBC:

A 70-year-old farmer leader in India has been sitting on a hunger strike for more than 40 days in a bid to push the federal government to accept demands of protesting farmers.

Doctors say that Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s health has deteriorated and that he is “unable to speak”, but he and his supporters have refused medical aid so far.

Last month, India’s Supreme Court had ordered the government of Punjab state – where Dallewal is from – to shift him to a hospital. The court has been hearing a clutch of petitions related to the issue.

Dallewal’s hunger strike is part of a protest that began in February last year when thousands of farmers gathered at the border between Punjab and Haryana states. Their demands include assured prices on certain crops, loan waivers and compensation for the families of farmers who died during earlier protests.

Since then, they have made some attempts to march to capital Delhi but have been stopped at the border by security forces.

This isn’t the first time India’s farmers have held a massive protest to highlight their issues.

In 2020, they protested for months at Delhi’s borders demanding the repeal of three farm laws introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The government claimed that the laws would reform the sale of agricultural produce and benefit the community, but farmers argued that they would be opened up to exploitation.

The laws were eventually repealed but protesting farmers have said that the government has not fulfilled the rest of their demands made in 2020.