New Delhi, November 30: Over one lakh farmers marched to New Delhi on Thursday and Friday from all across the nation with a mission – press for their demands to the government to solve the agrarian crisis. Today, the farmers, who painted the national capital red, began their march to Parliament from Ramlila Maidan. The farmers started the march with one common slogan - Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' (Not Ayodhya, we want debt relief).

Farmers from the states of east to west and north to south gathered at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday and started their march towards Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) on Friday morning. The two-day protest by the farmers is aimed at making the Union government aware of the plight of ailing farmers in the nations. Kisan Mukti March: One Lakh Agitating Farmers Reach Delhi, Begin Protest March till Ramlila Maidan

The two-day protest march is organised by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Swaraj Abhiyan and various other organisations. The farmers are demanding a special 21-day session of Parliament on the agrarian crisis.

Demands:

Among other issues, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the recommendations of MS Swaminathan Committee report, loan waiver, increased MSP for their farm products and discussion on two Bills in Parliament - Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018 and Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill, 2018.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau data, between 1995 and 2016, 3,33,398 farmers committed suicide. This data shows that over 15,000 suicides are taking place every year, 1,200 suicides each month and 42 suicides per day.

With this protest, this would the third time within a year that farmers are marching in the national capital. The first time was in March 2018 and the second time, a month ago, they were stopped from entering New Delhi. On Thursday, farmers were seen chanting slogans and marching towards the Ramlila Ground. Also, there were girls carrying photographs of their fathers, who committed suicide. Delhi Traffic Advisory Issued by Police For Kisan Mukti March Day 2: Check Diversions And Road Closures as Farmers March to Parliament

There were others, some old and some in their 40s, not only chanting slogans but singing folk songs to make their voices heard. The AIKSCC organised a Kisan Night at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday in which the farmers participated in huge numbers.

Some danced, sang songs and some chanted slogans. The common thing in all the performances was grief and plight of farmers. Some were asking for their rights, while there were some who remembered their loved ones who had committed suicides.

Slogans:

Among the slogans which gained maximum momentum were - Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' (Not Ayodhya, we want debt relief), Ab haq ke bina bhi kya jeena, yeh jeene ke samaan nahi (Life has no meaning without rights), Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (Hail soldiers, hail farmers), Sadda haq, aithe rakh, (Give our right here) among others.

Lending support to the protesting farmers were political leaders and intellectuals, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi, Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav, social activists including Medha Patkar and journalist P Sainath.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 10:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).