Screenshot of CBS San Francisco coverage
South Asian communities across the United States are holding protests in solidarity with farmers in India who have been protesting outside New Delhi since November, The New York Times reports.
Farmers, many of whom are from Sikh communities in India, are protesting agricultural laws passed by Prime Minister Modi’s government, The World reports. They say that the laws will benefit commercial agriculture but hurt farmers’ earnings.
After months of demonstrations in New Delhi, police clashed with the protestors on January 26, the city’s national Republic Day holiday, according to The New York Times. Police used water cannons and tear gas on crowds of protestors, forcing them to return to the camps on the edge of the city.
The clash between police and protestors has prompted South Asian communities in America to protest in solidarity with the farmers. Sikh Americans from California’s Bay Area gathered outside the Indian consulate to protest, according to CBS San Francisco.
“With these farming bills, the farmers are going to lose their lands and everything,” said Amanvir Singh at the San Francisco protest. “They will have to work on their own farm as a worker.”
Protestors also called for the independence and re-establishment of the sovereign nation of Khalistan.
In Detroit, hundreds of Indian Americans joined a car caravan to show their support for farmers in India, according to The Detroit News.
“I’m a daughter of farmers. I come from a long line of farmers from India even though I was born here in the United States,” said Michigan resident, Shelly Sahi, according to The Detroit News. “One of the things I don’t like about what is happening in India is the undemocratic way of bringing upon these laws that are essentially hurting the people that feed its nation.”
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