Indian farmers stormed the capital’s fort to fly a Sikh flag

A protester flies the Nishan Sahib, a Sikh flag, atop New Delhi’s 17th century Red Fort, a symbol of the nation’s seat of power. Photo by Amarjeet Kumar Singh/ Stories Asia.

NEW DELHI — Thousands of Indian farmers on Monday turned their months-long sit-in protest on the outskirts of the capital into a massive rally, driving their tractors over police barriers to enter the city and even climb up the walls of the historic Red Fort—all on one of India’s biggest national holidays, Republic Day.  

The celebrations usually include a military and cultural parade, designed in the past to cultivate national pride in India and highlight the rich diversity of the country. Instead, the farmers’ protest — led in Delhi by Sikhs — is proving one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest political headaches.

The farmers want a complete rollback of the recently approved three market-friendly farm laws, which they say are pro-corporate and anti-farmer. While farmers across India have been protesting since the farm laws were implemented in September, the majority protesting in Delhi are from the Sikh-dominated northern state Punjab. 

And that has reflected everywhere during the agitation, from the protest slogans to the images of turbaned Sikhs carrying swords as part of their religious practice.

Their dominant slogan, “Bole So Nihal… Sat Sri Akal!”, is the Sikh war cry, which literally means "Shout aloud in ecstasy... True is the great timeless one."

Interestingly, the hallmark of the protests has not been any anti-government imagery but rather the religious flag of Sikhs called the Nishan Sahib, which holds great significance for the Sikh community. It is an orange-colored triangular flag with a blue-colored insignia called "Khanda" in the middle and a tassel at the end, hoisted tall at most Gurdwaras around the world. Sikhs believe the Khanda to be a powerful tool that can differentiate truth from falsehood. They also believe that Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, used it to prepare holy nectar by stirring it in sweetened water.

Many of the protesters carried swords, mandated by some sects of Sikhism. Photo by Amarjeet Kumar Singh/ Stories Asia.

When the protesting farmers managed to enter India's iconic Red Fort built during the Mughal era, they hoisted the same flag just below the Indian national flag, sending out a message of symbolic victory but also reigniting the allegation of some right-wing groups that the protest is supported by Khalistani terrorists to divide India.

Some analysts say this narrative is being peddled to discredit the farmers’ movement. Earlier this month India’s Supreme Court put on hold the farm laws even as the government argued that “Khalistanis” had infiltrated protests.

The Khalistan movement by Sikh separatists had led to an insurgency in Punjab in early 1980s. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had sent troops to Punjab to put down the demand for a separate homeland for Sikhs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984 shortly after the Indian army stormed the Harminder Sahib or the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine at Amritsar in Punjab, to clear it of armed separatists. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, anti-Sikh riots broke out in India. Thousands of Sikhs were killed and displaced. 

Farmers insist that the ongoing agitation is for reclaiming their rights and has nothing to do with the Khalistan movement.

“The flag hoisted atop the Red Fort is the Sikh flag. It is not a Khalistani flag,” said one protester.

Deep Sidhu, who led protesting farmers to the Red Fort, said on such occasions like political rallies, people tend to vent their pent-up anger.

“They symbolically registered the protest by installing the Nishan Sahib and a farmer flag,” he said. “There was no other flag on the post on which the flag was hoisted.”

While the Nishan Sahib flag was hoisted at the Red Fort, most of the rally participants marching in Delhi were waving the Indian national flag.

“We are Indians. Our ancestors have shed blood and given sacrifices for the national flag,” said a farmer sitting on a motorcycle and holding India’s tri-color flag. “We are not Khalistanis or terrorists. We love everybody.”

A protester carries an iron rod. Photo by Amarjeet Kumar Singh/ Stories Asia.

Two days before the rally, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella group of farmers had appealed for a peaceful rally by putting out a list of instructions. 

“We have to take care that this historic parade is not stained at any cost. Our victory lies in the parade being taken out in a very peaceful manner; without any unwanted events taking place. Remember, that our aim is not to conquer Delhi, but to win over the hearts of the people of this country,” the guidelines read. 

In clashes with police, at least one farmer died and scores were injured, including police officers, according to officials. Police fired tear gas and tried to disperse the crowd with wooden canes they commonly carry.

Farmer organizations were quick to disassociate themselves from the violent protestors. In a statement, SKM condemned the violence and disassociated from those that violated the law. 

“Anti-social elements had infiltrated the otherwise peaceful movement. We have always held that peace is our biggest strength, and that any violation would hurt the movement,” the statement said.

Blaming the city for poor administration, chief of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Gurnam Singh Charuni said Delhi officials did not agree to a route plan suggested by the farmers. He said the farmers had no intention to march towards the Red Fort.

“Giving a religious color to the incident at Red Fort is condemnable,” he said. “Our movement is a people’s movement for the farmers. It is not a religious movement.”

In the past two months, several rounds of talks were held between government and farmer leaders for a negotiated settlement of the issue but did not bear any result. To diffuse the crisis, the government offered to put farm laws on hold, which wasn’t accepted by the farmer leaders.

The farmer protests resonated outside of India as well. On Nov. 30, speaking in the context of famer protests in India, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest. The Indian government objected, calling the comments ill-informed and unwarranted. Canadian Sikhs number roughly 500,000 people and account for roughly 1.4% of Canada's population.

Meanwhile, terming unacceptable the violence perpetrated by certain elements during Tuesday’s tractor rally in Delhi, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh urged all genuine protesters to immediately vacate Delhi and return to the borders, where they had been protesting peacefully from tented camps.

 Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.