Demonstrators showing solidarity with protesting farmers in India rallied Tuesday outside the Indian consulate in New York, some honking their car horns while others stood in the snowy weather, yelling slogans and waving flags.
The crowd gathered on Manhattan's east side on India's Republic Day, a national holiday that honors the anniversary of India's constitution coming into effect. Indian farmers have been protesting for nearly two months over new laws they say will benefit big corporations and wreak havoc on the earnings of smaller scale farmers. They want the laws withdrawn.
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Demonstrators showing solidarity with protesting farmers in India rallied Tuesday outside the Indian consulate in New York, some honking their car horns while others stood in the snowy weather, yelling slogans and waving flags.
Parminder Singh came from Chicago, saying his family in the Indian state of Punjab was “getting hurt by the law that's made by the Indian government right now."
Organizers said other protests were planned at consulates in other parts of the country on Tuesday. Other solidarity protests have been held around the United States in the last two months, in cities including Houston and San Francisco.
A convoy of protesters drive down Fifth Avenue past the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A convoy of protesters drive down Fifth Avenue past the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather behind an NYPD barricade on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters hold signs on police barricades outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters lead a chant while gathering on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather on Fifth Avenue after NYPD officer closed down the street outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters lead chants outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather in the snowfall outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
New York Police Department vehicles park outside the Consulate General of India during a protest, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Drivers sounded their horns as they went by the blocked-off street where the consulate is located, off Fifth Avenue near Central Park. Those who stood on the street chanted against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with one sign reading: “Someone stop their boy Modi before he eats us too! Save the farmers!”
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Parminder Singh came from Chicago, saying his family in the Indian state of Punjab was “getting hurt by the law that's made by the Indian government right now."
Many of the farmers are Sikhs from the northern state and neighboring Haryana, which are major agricultural producers. Among those at the New York march were protesters calling for the establishment of Khalistan, a separate homeland for members of the religion, and carrying flags emblazoned with the name of the secessionist movement.
“We are here today to challenge India, who has carried out the genocide of Sikhs and enacted farm bills to carry out the homicide of the Sikhs and the farmers of Punjab and Haryana," said Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, of Philadelphia, the president of the Council of Khalistan. "And so we are here to challenge India under their constitution. It has attacked the Sikh identity and Sikh religious institutions.”
An effigy of Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, lies on the ground as protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Organizers said other protests were planned at consulates in other parts of the country on Tuesday. Other solidarity protests have been held around the United States in the last two months, in cities including Houston and San Francisco.
In India on Republic Day, tens of thousands of farmers stormed the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, breaking through police barricades and shocking onlookers watching as it was broadcast on live television.
Indian authorities used tear gas, water cannons and placed large trucks and buses in roads to try to hold back crowd, including rows upon rows of tractors. Police said one protester died after his tractor overturned, but farmers said he was shot. Several bloodied protesters could be seen in television footage.
Protesters chant on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A convoy of protesters drive down Fifth Avenue past the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A convoy of protesters drive down Fifth Avenue past the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather behind an NYPD barricade on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters hold signs on police barricades outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters lead a chant while gathering on Fifth Avenue outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather on Fifth Avenue after NYPD officer closed down the street outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters lead chants outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
Protesters gather in the snowfall outside the Consulate General of India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
New York Police Department vehicles park outside the Consulate General of India during a protest, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors into India's capital, breaking through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort. The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of new laws that they say will favor large corporate farms and devastate the earnings of smaller scale farmers. Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)