Explainer: How Indian farmers' protest turned into a country-wide movement

FILE PHOTO: A farmer sits on a tractor as he attends a Maha Panchayat or grand village council meeting as part of a protest against farm laws in Muzaffarnagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, September 5, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A group of influential farmer leaders ratcheted up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to roll back three new farm laws by organising a mammoth rally in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh last week.

After the successful mass meeting - the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press for repeal of the laws - farm union leaders now plan to step up protests in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the state assembly election next year.