SHAMBHU: Farmers in India’s northern Punjab state demanding higher prices for their crops from the national government are relying on young students to ensure the agitation’s momentum does not fizzle out.
Eighteen-year-old Simranjeet Singh Mathada is one of thousands of college students who have been waking up at 3 am for almost two weeks to help cook meals at community kitchens, fill tankers with potable water and load tractor trailers with supplies before heading to the protest site some 200 km (125 miles) from the capital, New Delhi.
“The protests are now about safeguarding the country’s agrarian economy and farmers of Punjab are determined to bring this reform at all costs,” said Mathada.
Protester demands are centered around guaranteed floor prices which will allow Mathada’s parents and millions of other farmers to sell their produce at fixed rates.
Even as negotiations between farmer unions and government have been underway, protests have sometimes turned violent.
On several occasions, scores of farmers have suffered injuries trying to force their way through concrete blocks and barbed wires installed by police to prevent them from marching on the capital.
Some police officials were also injured in these sporadic clashes.
“Our determination to bring about the change helps face the police every day,” said Mathada, who is studying for a degree in Arts.
Mathada and his father have been using swimming goggles and a metal shield to protect themselves from thick clouds of smoke and tear gas shells lobbed via drones by the police.
“It has been a shocking experience to see how the police can use force to stop farmers from marching toward Delhi...it has shown me how democracy can fade so quickly,” said Mathada.
Before the protests, Mathada helped his family cultivate crops on their ancestral land and manage a hardware shop.
“For now, the main occupation is to make sure Modi government accepts our demands,” he said, adding that attending college lectures has become secondary for him and some of his classmates.
The protests come just months before elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is seeking a third consecutive term.
Last week, Modi said his government is committed to the welfare of farmers and is on a mission to make them entrepreneurs and exporters.
Mathada will be eligible to vote for the first time but is having doubts.
“I think about democracy and feel a bit disillusioned; I may not even cast my vote this time.”
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Young Indian protesters determined to secure agrarian reforms from Modi government
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Young Indian protesters determined to secure agrarian reforms from Modi government
- Thousands of students have been waking up at 3 am to help cook meals, load trailers with supplies before heading to the protest site
- Protester demands are centered around guaranteed floor prices which will allow millions of other farmers to sell produce at fixed rates
South Korea court sentences former first lady to jail term for bribery
- Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term for the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol
- Kim Keon Hee has been detained since August and denied all charges
SEOUL: A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday to one year and eight months in jail after finding her guilty of accepting Chanel bags and a diamond pendant from Unification Church officials in return for political favors.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
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