The violent outburst had receded, the farmers and their tractors had cleared the streets of New Delhi, but a large security presence still remained in parts of India’s capital Wednesday, a sign of tense days ahead.
A day after the monthslong deadlock between protesting farmers and the government of Narendra Modi erupted into a dramatic confrontation that paralyzed the city and left one farmer dead and hundreds of police officers wounded, an uneasy quiet took hold as both sides assessed their positions. But the stalemate appeared unlikely to end any time soon.
The government has enacted market-friendly laws to overhaul the country’s struggling agriculture industry, but increasingly desperate farmers say the changes will worsen their plight, removing the little protection they have from harsh economic forces.