Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s fast unto death reached its 50th day on Tuesday, as 111 more farmers donning black clothes joined him in his protest on Wednesday afternoon after their demands remained unmet.

Farmers have been protesting at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders since February 2024 under the banners of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. Their demands include a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, debt waivers, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, no increase in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. They are also calling for the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation for the families of farmers who lost their lives during the 2020-21 protests.

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Dallewal, whose condition has significantly deteriorated ever since he began his fast on November 26, 2024, at the Khanauri border, has refused any medical help. He has emphasised that his hunger strike was to draw attention to the plight of farmers, many of whom have been driven to suicide due to unmanageable debt.

The farmers say the promises made to them during the 2020-21 countrywide agitation, to consider a legal MSP guarantee among others, have not yet been fulfilled by the government. 

In February 2024, Outlook reporters visited the Shambhu border when the protesting farmers, having rejected the Centre’s proposal of a five-year contract to buy pulses, maize, and cotton at minimum support price, were preparing to march to Delhi. However, the police with barricades in place prevented them from crossing the border into the capital.

The farmers’ demands once again became a central issue during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Outlook reporters brought stories of farmers’ struggles from Haryana. 

Outlook had also extensively covered the 2020-21 farmers agitation which saw thousands of farmers from states like Haryanagppbet, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh take to the streets and block roads as they sat in protests against the government for passing three contentious farm laws. The protest lasted 15 months and led to the repealing of the laws.