India’s protesting farmers expand battlefront to social media

Bhavjit poses on a tractor at the site of a protest against new farm laws at Singhu border near Delhi, India. — Reuters

SINGHU, India: In a standoff between farmers from India’s northern breadbasket and the government that has convulsed the country, the farmers have a 21st-century ally: a handful of supporters scattered around the world running a Twitter handle.

The farmers have paralysed some traffic in and out of New Delhi, protesting recent agriculture laws that they fear could eventually eliminate government-guaranteed minimum prices for their crops.