India: to stop the farmers’ march, the government cancels passports and documents. A fascist vision of authority
Indian authorities are threatening to cancel the passports and visas of Indian farmers who threaten to march again towards New Delhi, allegedly committing criminal acts. A move that some political critics have flatly called “Fascist”
“We have identified the people involved in the violence who are coming to Haryana [the northern Indian state near New Delhi] from Punjab… We have identified them through CCTV and drone cameras,” Joginder Sharma, deputy superintendent of the Ambala police. Ambala is the district of Haryana where hundreds of protesters gathered.
“We will ask the ministry and embassy to cancel their visas and passports. Their photos, names and addresses will be handed over to the passport office,” Joginder added.
The latest phase of the protest was sparked by the death of 21-year-old farmer Shubhkaran Singh , killed near Khanauri, a city in the state of Punjab, allegedly during clashes with the police on 21 February. Twelve security personnel were also injured in the clashes.
On February 13, thousands of farmers in Punjab chanted “Delhi Chalo” (Let's go to Delhi) as they marched to the capital to hold the Indian government to account for broken promises, including a law guaranteeing minimum support prices for 23 agricultural products.
The march stopped in the village of Shambhu, near Haryana, about 125 miles (201 km) from the capital, when a large contingent of police used tear gas, rubber bullets and what protesters described as stun guns. pellets.
Indian authorities have blocked New Delhi following violent clashes
, the latest of which took place after the government and the farmers' union failed to reach an agreement.
The main opposition Congress Party said the threats from Haryana police raised concerns about India's tilt towards authoritarianism.
“Have we become a fascist state where if you protest your passports and visas are cancelled? This is also a first for the very low bar that has been set to intimidate farmers,” Manish Tewari, Congress leader and Member of Parliament, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Have we become a fascist state that if you protest your passports & visas will be cancelled? This is a first even by the very low bar that has been set to intimidate farmers.
Those subjected to this coercive action are free to contact me.Our Law Chambers will fight for them… https://t.co/N5iKXNScfr
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) February 29, 2024
“Whoever suffered this coercive action is free to contact me. Our law firm will fight for them pro-bono.”
Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist Vrinda Grover told This Week in Asia that Haryana police have no legal right to revoke people's passports. “There is a passport authority and passport law and I don't think the Haryana police are authorized to suspend someone's passport. They must first establish the case of the people whose passport they intend to seize. Do they intend to flee the country? What is the case?” Grover said.
In reality, the farmers are rather moderate and would like nothing more than to negotiate with the authorities, finally obtaining those guaranteed minimum prices that were theoretically granted to them some time ago and which, however, are not applied. Among other things, the fault lies not with the international market, but with the numerous export bans imposed by India, to encourage the internal market, which prevents Indian agricultural products from finding an outlet on international markets.
However, the farmers are at the center of a sort of global offensive and are now, in India as in the EU, the main adversaries of power. Who knows why.
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The article India: to stop the farmers' march, the government cancels passports and documents. A fascist view of authority comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/india-per-fermare-la-marcia-degli-agricoltori-il-governo-cancella-passaporti-e-documenti-una-visione-fascista-dellautorita/ on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:21:11 +0000.