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How a lack of leadership birthed a violent mob

How a lack of leadership birthed a violent mob
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New Delhi: Even as television news channels and several people on social media compared protesting farmers breaching the Red Fort to the Capitol Riots in the United States, an unnecessary and incorrect equivalence was drawn to compare the violence inflicted upon citizens with the help and endorsement of state authorities to protesters tuning to anarchy as a result of failed law and order arrangements and protest organisation.

While the fact the Delhi Police has once again failed to ensure that protests are carried out but peacefully with knee jerk reactions from the starting of the tractor parade cannot be ignored, the silence of farmer leaders as their fellows went about wreaking havoc in the Capital breaking promises they had made to the police also needs to be addressed.

At nearly every place Millennium Post was reporting from, farmers had an impulse reaction to break and remove barricades whenever they saw any. And quite easily, they were able to push past law enforcement agencies given their numbers.

While the Delhi Police had asked the farmer leaders repeatedly to restrict tractors to 5,000, at least 30,000 tractors, trollies and cars entered the city with the rallies. Moreover, despite the farmer leaders directing all protesters to not carry weapons, and leave back all trollies, there was no one to ensure these preparations before they actually left for their marches.

However, most of these protesters who diverted from their routes, could not decide what to do next. This was noticed in Nangloi, Singhu and other areas where the rallies were undertaken.

Some of these protesters joined a handful of unions insisting on marching on the Outer Ring Road, while others just turned back to join the rally and go back to their protest site. But one thing was clear, no farmer leader leading the rallies from the Singhu border had deviated from the permitted route, resulting in all meandering protesters roving around the city armed with swords, knives and rods.

At about 8.30 am, 6,000-7,000 tractors had assembled at Singhu borders and they were to reach Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar and take a right turn. Instead of the agreed-upon route, they insisted on going to Central Delhi and despite persuasion by officials, the farmers — led by Nihangs on their horses, fully equipped with swords and kirpans charged towards the police and broke several layers of barricades, which were erected between Mukarba Chowk and Transport Nagar. All attempts to keep them to the predetermined route failed.

At the Red Fort, where a major part of the violence this Republic Day was reported from, no farmer leader was present. Neither was any leader at the ITO intersection where a 25-year-old protester lost his life.

In the confusion that ensued among the tens of thousands of tractors in Delhi, protesters just kept following each other to see where they ended up. Once farmers got wind of a march to the Red Fort, there was no stopping them from proceeding there through the Outer Ring Road.

Interestingly, no farmer leader was willing to speak to the press or issue a statement as the violence unfolded in the city. They, however, issued a release late at night, disassociating themselves from the violent protesters and blaming "anti-social elements" for putting ideas into impressionable farmers and inciting them to take the Red Fort.

As a result of the anarchy that had poured on to the Outer Ring Road, traffic was hit at innumerable junctions across the city — an eventuality the Delhi Police were not prepared for.

As per the police, Wazirabad Road, ISBT Road, GT Road, Pushta Road, Vikas Marg, NH-24, Road number 57, Noida Link Road, GTK Road, Outer Ring Road, Badli Road, KN Katju Marg, Madhuban Chowk, Kanjhawala Road, Palla Road, Narela & DSIDC Narela roads, stretches from Raja Garden Flyover to Dhaula Kuan, Punjabi Bagh underpass to Zakhira were affected due to the rallies.

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