"For justice, we protest"

On 26 January, as farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders drove into the national capital in large numbers on a fleet of tractors, farmers in Karnataka also held rallies and demonstrations in their support. Thousands from across Karnataka congregated at the NICE junction at Bengaluru’s Tumkur road, as part of the “Jana Ganarajyotsava Parade”—The People’s Republic Day Parade. They later converged with other farmer rallies at the Freedom Park in central Bengaluru. The parade, which was held in solidarity with the protesting farmers, echoed their demand for repealing the three controversial farm laws that were passed in parliament in September 2020. It was led by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a farmers’ organisation, and the Samyukta Horata, an umbrella organisation of farmers and trade unions. More than 50 farmers’ organisations took part in the parade, including Dalit organisations such as the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti and Karnataka Dalit Samiti, and various labour associations, with around ten thousand farmers and protesters estimated present at Freedom Park.