Haryana farmers detained to halt them from marching towards Delhi against US-India trade deal

Farmers from Haryana, who had to join their counterparts from Punjab to protest against the proposed India-US trade deal in New Delhi, were also prevented from proceeding according to their plan and detained by the state government.

While the Punjab farmers were detained by the police at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind, the interstate boundaries between Haryana and Punjab, the Haryana farmers were held up at different locations on the Haryana side.

The Haryana farmers were being led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni). Led by president Gurnam Singh Charuni, the BKU has been mobilising local farmers and attempting to march towards Delhi. Largely, the farm groups were orchestrating the protest under the banner of a larger organisation, the Desh Bachao Morcha (DBM). Farmers associated with DBM, an umbrella body of farmer unions from different states including Haryana, had announced a rally in New Delhi on Tuesday. Several BKU factions, including BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), BKU (Pehwa), BKU (Ekta), BKU (Sirsa), BKU (Karnal) and BKU (Chhoturam), participated in the mobilisation.

However, BKU (Shadipur) chose not to join the march. BKU (Shadipur) president Buta Singh Shadipur said his organisation remained committed to the agitation but preferred a different course of action. “We have decided to launch a toll-free campaign and gherao the residences of BJP leaders from tomorrow. The Centre should not force farmers to relive the conditions that led to the 2020 farm agitation,” he said.

Explaining the union’s absence from the Delhi march, Shadipur said there had been no consensus among all groups on the specific programme. “Now that the protesters have been detained, it is unlikely that the march would have achieved much,” he added.

Farmer leaders alleged widespread detentions by the Haryana Police. Sources said BKU-Charuni chief Gurnam Singh Charuni was reportedly detained in Kurukshetra a day before the planned rally and remained inaccessible throughout the day. Prince Waraich, president of BKU (Pehwa), claimed that at least 52 farmers from his organisation were detained and taken to the Police Lines in Kurukshetra. “We were stopped near Jyotisar police station, where barricades had been erected. We wanted to raise our concerns peacefully within a democratic framework, but the BJP government is trying to suppress genuine issues affecting farmers,” he alleged.

On the absence of some farmer organisations from the protest, Waraich said that while all unions shared similar concerns, groups aligned with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) preferred to await concrete developments on the proposed trade agreement before escalating the agitation. “We, under the DBM, believe action must be taken before any harmful agreement is signed. Others may not have joined the march, but many continue to support the cause from outside,” he said.

The DBM demanded the Central Government to make all documents related to the proposed India-US trade agreement public and refrain from signing any agreement without holding comprehensive consultations with farmers, workers, dairy producers, small traders and other stakeholders.

It was being observed that the proposed tie-up with the US would not merely limited to the import or export of agro products, but it may impact several crucial sectors including agriculture, dairy, industry, digital trade, e-commerce, investment, government procurement, intellectual property rights and the services sector.

From the Punjab side, the farm march was being led by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC). Sarwan Singh Pandher, prominent leader of KMSC and coordinator of the DBM, said that farmers intended to proceed to Delhi and participate peacefully in the rally, but the BJP-led Haryana government had erected barricades to intercept and instigate confrontation.

Pandher pointed out that while the US provides substantial subsidies to its farmers, the overwhelming majority of Indian farmers were small and marginal landholders. "If low-cost American agricultural and dairy products enter the Indian market on a large scale, they could seriously threaten the livelihoods of Indian farmers, dairy producers, small traders and micro and small enterprises," he added.