Condemning AAP govt's 'brutal crackdown' on protesting Punjab farmers, PUCL seeks solidarity action against 'tyranny'

By A Representative

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has strongly condemned the "egregious actions" of the Punjab Police, allegedly under the direction of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, against peacefully protesting farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders on March 19, 2025. In a statement released today by its General Secretary, Dr. V. Suresh, the PUCL described the police action, involving arrests and the destruction of protest sites, as a "shameful assault on democratic rights and a betrayal of the agrarian community."

The organization highlighted that the Kisan Andolan at the borders, ongoing since February 13, 2024, has been a "beacon of resistance" with farmers demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), loan waivers, and other crucial reforms. The movement, led by figures like Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, had seen sustained peaceful demonstrations, including Dallewal’s prolonged hunger strike.

PUCL expressed outrage over the events of March 19th, where, following a meeting in Chandigarh, over 3,000 police personnel reportedly dismantled the protest sites using bulldozers and JCBs. The statement claims that farmers were given a mere ten-minute ultimatum before being forcibly detained, with over 450 arrests, including prominent leaders and 13 women.

The organization also raised serious concerns about alleged police high-handedness, the razing of protest infrastructure, and eyewitness accounts of anti-social elements looting the farmers' belongings with alleged police connivance. PUCL termed this an "anti-democratic and shameless move" by the AAP government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, which has "shattered the trust of farmers."

The statement quoted Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema's justification of the action as an economic necessity due to losses to industries, which PUCL dismissed as hollow when weighed against the human cost of detentions and the suppression of a legitimate movement.

PUCL has unequivocally demanded an immediate investigation into police excesses, the release of all detained leaders, and the restoration of dialogue to address the farmers’ demands. The organization emphasized that the farmers' struggle is not merely for economic benefits but a "symbol of democratic assertion" against an unsympathetic state.

PUCL has fully endorsed the following demands of the protesting farmers:

* Restore the dignity and civil liberties of all those arrested.

* File criminal cases against the police and administration and those who committed excesses against the farmers.

* Restore the Dharna site to the farmers as protest is a constitutional right.

* Urge the Government to engage in a dialogue with Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pander, and other farmer leaders.

* The Supreme Court report on the farm laws to be made public.

* Ensure that there is a Legal Guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops.

* Withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, drop proposed electricity reforms, and stop the ongoing installation of smart meters for agricultural connections.

* Demand a Comprehensive Debt Waiver, seeking the complete cancellation of outstanding loans.

* Withdrawal of politically motivated police cases linked to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence and ensure justice for the victims.

* Reinstate the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and provide compensation to the families of farmers who lost their lives during the 2020-21 agitation.

PUCL concluded by stating that the events of March 19th serve as a "testament to the resilience of the Kisan Andolan and the moral failure of those who chose force over justice," urging solidarity and action against such alleged tyranny.

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

Search This Blog