Punjab farmers' Delhi Chalo march, 2024-2025

What the government did

1. 10 Feb 2024

   Internet shutdownState government, HaryanaShare

   The Haryana Home Department ordered the suspension of mobile internet, bulk SMS and dongle services, except voice calls, in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts from 06:00 on 11 February to 23:59 on 13 February 2024.

   MoreLess · 5 sources

   The order cited a request from the Additional Director General of Police, CID, and the risk that inflammatory material and rumours would spread on mobile internet. Extension orders followed; the order of 23 February extended the suspension in the seven districts to 24 February. PTI reported that the Union government ordered internet services suspended in areas of Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts of Punjab from 12 to 16 February, and from 17 to 24 February in areas of six Punjab districts near the border points.

   Legal basis: Section 5, Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, read with Rule 2, Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 (Haryana orders); the Union order for the Punjab areas cites Section 7 of the Telegraph Act read with Rule 2(1) of the same Rules, as quoted by PTI

   Sources [12][13][14][1][9]

2. 12 Feb 2024

   Section 144 / 163Police, Delhi, RajasthanShare

   Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora issued an order under Section 144 CrPC on 12 February for a month.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   It prohibited rallies, processions and the blocking of roads, and banned tractor rallies from crossing into Delhi; Business Today reported that it also restricted the entry of tractors and trolleys. Business Today reported that Rajasthan sealed its borders with Punjab and Haryana on 11 February and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts. The Supreme Court recorded in September 2024 that prohibition orders had been imposed to stop the movement of tractors and trolleys on the national highways.

   Legal basis: Section 144 CrPC

   Sources [33][10][1][24]

3. 13 Feb 2024

   BarricadingState government, Haryana, DelhiShare

   By 13 February Haryana had sealed its border with Punjab at Shambhu and other points with layered concrete barricades, iron nails and barbed wire to stop the march to Delhi.

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   Reports differ on the number of layers at Shambhu (see figures). Police sealed entry points into Delhi with barbed wire, spikes, cement blocks and iron nails. On 24 July 2024 the Supreme Court directed Haryana and Punjab to submit proposals to remove the barricades at Shambhu in a phased manner. The highway at Shambhu stayed closed until March 2025; Haryana began removing the cement barricades on 20 March 2025, after Punjab Police cleared the protest sites.

   • six layers of concrete barricades at Shambhu, said Al Jazeera (photo caption, Rohit Lohia) [2]
   • 12 layers of the barricade at the Shambhu barrier, said Business Today [10]

   Sources [2][1][10][33][23][32]

4. 13 Feb 2024

   Tear gasPolice, HaryanaShare

   From 13 February Haryana Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and used water cannon, to stop farmers at the Shambhu border near Ambala, including when farmers tried to remove the barricades.

   MoreLess · 7 sources

   Al Jazeera and The Tribune reported that drones were used to drop tear gas shells. The Ambala Deputy Commissioner said only tear gas and rubber bullets were used. Farmers alleged that police also fired pellets; Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur told The Hindu that police did not use pellet guns and that their procedure was tear gas, water cannon, cane charge and then rubber bullets fired at the ground. The Punjab government said three farmers had lost their eyesight to pellet injuries. A Supreme Court order of September 2024 records allegations that the agitators had gathered with weapons and modified tractors, and that the agitation was marred by violence on 13, 14 and 21 February. Injury counts differ (see figures).

   • around 200 people seriously injured, including by pellet guns, said Amrik Singh, farm union member (to The Hindu) [16]
   • over 50 people in hospital with rubber bullet and smoke shell injuries, said Sukvindra Kaur, protester (to Al Jazeera) [2]
   • 3 farmers who lost their eyesight to pellet injuries, said Punjab government (as reported by Al Jazeera) [3]
   • 15,000-20,000 agitators gathered near the Shambhu border at the start, said allegation recorded in the Supreme Court order of 2 September 2024 [24]

   Sources [2][15][3][16][9][1][24]

5. 18 Feb 2024

   NegotiationCentreShare

   Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai held rounds of talks with farm leaders in Chandigarh.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   Talks on 12 February ended without agreement, and the march began the next day. In the fourth round, on 18 February, the ministers proposed that government agencies buy pulses, maize and cotton at MSP for five years under agreements with farmers. On 19 February the farm leaders rejected the proposal; they said it was not in farmers' interest and kept their demand for a legal guarantee of MSP for all 23 crops.

   Sources [3][17][1][16]

6. 21 Feb 2024

   FiringPolice, HaryanaShare

   Shubhkaran Singh, 21, of Bathinda district, died at the Khanauri border on 21 February 2024 (The Tribune later gave his age as 22).

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   Farmers alleged he died in police firing. In the FIR registered by Punjab Police on 28 February, his father said a bullet fired from the Haryana side hit him in the head; the investigating officer wrote that the source of the bullet was a matter of investigation. Hospital documents seen by Newslaundry said he was 'brought dead'. On the afternoon of 21 February Haryana Police said on X that, according to information received so far, no farmer had died and that this was a rumour, and that two police personnel and one protester had been injured at the Data Singh-Khanauri border. The Tribune reported that the autopsy found a fatal blow to the back of the head and that a 'pellet' sample was sent for ballistic examination. 46 farmers had been admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, by 23 February, 18 of them reportedly with gunshot injuries. The Supreme Court recorded in September 2024 that he lost his life and that related issues were before a committee appointed by the High Court. The cause of death is contested.

   Legal basis: Zero FIR No. 0041 at Patran police station, Patiala, under Sections 302 and 114 IPC, against unidentified persons (as reported by The Tribune)

   • 46 farmers admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, with severe injuries by 23 February, said Rajindra Hospital documents (as reported by Newslaundry) [4]
   • 18 of those, hit by 'gunshots', said Rajindra Hospital documents (as reported by Newslaundry) [4]
   • at least 4, including 3 of cardiac arrest protesters who died at Shambhu and Khanauri by 23 February, said Rajindra Hospital documents (as reported by Newslaundry) [4]
   • two police personnel and one protester people injured at the Data Singh-Khanauri border on 21 February (afternoon), said Haryana Police [18]
   • 67 police and paramilitary personnel injured in the agitation, said submission to the High Court bench (as reported by The Tribune) [21]

   Sources [19][4][18][20][21][24]

7. 7 Mar 2024

   Commission of inquiryCourtShare

   A Punjab and Haryana High Court bench of Acting Chief Justice G.S.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji constituted a committee headed by retired High Court judge Jaishree Thakur, assisted by ADGPs Parmod Ban (Punjab) and Amitabh Singh Dhillon (Haryana), to inquire into the death of Shubhkaran Singh. The Tribune reported that the bench said the investigation could not be entrusted solely to either state, and asked the committee to report on which police had jurisdiction, the cause of death, the weapon used and whether the force used was commensurate. Haryana challenged the judgment in the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition (SLP(C) Nos. 6950-6953/2024).

   Sources [24][22][21][6]

8. 10 Jul 2024

   OtherCourtShare

   A Punjab and Haryana High Court bench of Justices G.S.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   Sandhawalia and Vikas Bahl directed Punjab and Haryana to open the barricades at Shambhu within a week, to maintain law and order, and directed Punjab to remove obstructions on the highway. LiveLaw reported that the order called the border a 'lifeline'. Haryana appealed to the Supreme Court. On 24 July the Supreme Court directed that status quo be maintained at the Shambhu border until the next hearing, and asked both states to submit proposals to remove the barricades in a phased manner. In oral remarks reported by LiveLaw, Justice Surya Kant told Haryana there was a 'trust deficit' with the farmers.

   Sources [24][23][6][7]

9. 2 Sep 2024

   NegotiationCourtShare

   The Supreme Court (Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan) constituted a High-Powered Committee chaired by retired High Court judge Nawab Singh to reach out to the protesting farmers, and asked it to persuade them to move their tractors, trolleys and tents off the national highway.

   MoreLess · 2 sources

   The order cautioned the farmers to keep a safe distance from political parties and political issues. It recorded that both states had earmarked alternative sites for the protest.

   Sources [24][8]

10. 19 Mar 2025

    OtherState government, PunjabShare

    Punjab Police detained farmer leaders including Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher in Mohali as they returned from the seventh round of talks with a Union delegation in Chandigarh, and cleared the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites in a late-evening operation, removing tents, stages and trolleys.

    MoreLess · 5 sources

    The Indian Express reported that the Patiala Range DIG told protesters that police did not want to use force and asked them to board buses voluntarily. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the closure of the highways had hit trade and industry. On 28 March the Punjab government told the Supreme Court that it had cleared the protesters and reopened the national highway, and that Dallewal, on hunger strike since November 2024, had ended his fast. LiveLaw reported that a contempt petition alleging violation of the status quo order was withdrawn after the bench called it misconceived; the Court's signed order says the contempt proceedings against Punjab's Chief Secretary and DGP were dropped at this stage in light of subsequent events. Counts of detained farmers and police differ (see figures).

    • more than 300 farmers detained, said The Tribune, citing sources [27]
    • nearly 500 farmers present when the operation began, said The Indian Express [26]
    • over 3,000 police personnel at the two sites, said DIG Mandeep Singh Sidhu (quoted by The Indian Express) [26]
    • over 5,000 police personnel stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, said The Tribune (live blog) [27]

    Sources [26][5][25][27][32]

Outcome

No law guaranteeing MSP was enacted. In January 2025 the Union government agreed to resume talks with the farm leaders, which began in Chandigarh in February 2025. The Punjab government (AAP) cleared the Shambhu and Khanauri sites in March 2025 and the highway reopened. A Supreme Court-appointed committee continued to engage with the farmers.

Background

Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.

Centre government

BJPNDA, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

State government

BJP in Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister (Haryana, which handled the border policing)

Places

Shambhu border, Khanauri border, Ambala

Cause

Legal guarantee of MSP for crops, loan forgiveness and other farm demands

Organisers

Punjab farm unions led by Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal

Scale

Thousands of farmers with tractors camped at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points for about a year

What they said

Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.

Sources

1. 1Indian police fire tear gas as protesting farmers march on DelhiAl Jazeera, 13 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 13 Feb 2024
2. 2Tear gas and rubber bullets as Indian farmers march on DelhiAl Jazeera, Rohit Lohia, 14 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 14 Feb 2024
3. 3'We want dignity': Indian farmers defy pellets, drones to demand new dealAl Jazeera, Rifat Fareed, 21 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 21 Feb 2024
4. 4Farmers' protest: 4 farmers dead, 46 admitted to hospital, 18 with 'gunshot' injuriesNewslaundry, 23 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 21 Apr 2024
5. 5Farmers Protest | Dallewal Ended Fast, NH Opened After Clearing Protesters : Punjab Govt Informs Supreme CourtLiveLaw, Gursimran Kaur Bakshi, 28 Mar 2025T4 ReportArchived 28 Mar 2025
6. 6Haryana Govt Approaches Supreme Court Against High Court's Order To Unblock Shambhu BorderLiveLaw, Gyanvi Khanna, 15 Jul 2024T4 ReportArchived 15 Jul 2024
7. 7'Reach Out To Farmers, Trust Deficit Is There': Supreme Court To Haryana Govt; Proposes Forming Committee To Resolve Farmers ProtestLiveLaw, Gyanvi Khanna, 24 Jul 2024T4 ReportArchived 24 Jul 2024
8. 8Shambhu Border Blockade | Supreme Court Forms Committee To Negotiate With Protesting Farmers, Says Issue Shouldn't Be PoliticisedLiveLaw, Anmol Kaur Bawa, Debby Jain, 2 Sep 2024T4 ReportArchived 2 Sep 2024
9. 9Why are Indian farmers marching on New Delhi?Al Jazeera, Sarah Shamim, 13 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 13 Feb 2024
10. 10Farmers protest in Delhi: Key players, why is it happening, demands, all the detailsBusiness Today, 13 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 13 Feb 2024
11. 11'Need To Bring Modi's Graph Down...': Big 'Political' Comment By Farmer Leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal Triggers RowFree Press Journal, Ruddhi Phadke, 15 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 15 Feb 2024
12. 12Order under Section 5 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and Rule 2 of Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 (No. 2/1/2024-IH (C)): suspension of mobile internet in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and SirsaGovernment of Haryana, Department of Home Affairs, 10 Feb 2024T1 RecordArchived 19 Mar 2025
13. 13Order extending the suspension of telecom services in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa up to 24.02.2024 (No. 2/1/2024-IH (C))Government of Haryana, Department of Home Affairs, 23 Feb 2024T1 RecordArchived 23 Jul 2024
14. 14Centre suspends mobile Internet services in 6 Punjab districts till February 24PTI via The Tribune, 18 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 18 Feb 2024
15. 15Battleground Shambhu: Tear gas, rubber bullets push back farmersThe Tribune, Nitish Sharma, 15 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 15 Feb 2024
16. 16Haryana DGP denies using pellet guns against protesting farmersThe Hindu, Vijaita Singh, 18 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 18 Feb 2024
17. 17'Centre's Proposal an Eyewash,' Farmers Reject Plan, to Resume 'Delhi Chalo' MarchThe Wire, Vivek Gupta, 20 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 20 Feb 2024
18. 18Post on X by Haryana Police on reports of a farmer's death at the Khanauri borderHaryana Police (@police_haryana), on X, 21 Feb 2024, In HindiT1 Record
19. 19Murder FIR lodged over Punjab farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death; autopsy doneThe Tribune, Mohit Khanna, 29 Feb 2024T4 ReportArchived 17 Jun 2025
20. 20Fatal blow on head led to farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death: Autopsy reportThe Tribune, 1 Mar 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 4 Mar 2024
21. 21Panel led by retd judge to probe farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death at Punjab-Haryana border: High CourtThe Tribune, Saurabh Malik, 8 Mar 2024T4 Report
22. 22State of Haryana v. Uday Pratap Singh, SLP(C) Nos. 6950-6953/2024, record of proceedings, 1 April 2024Supreme Court of India (via Indian Kanoon), 1 Apr 2024T2 Court
23. 23State of Haryana v. Uday Pratap Singh, SLP(C) Nos. 6950-6953/2024 with SLP(C) Nos. 15407-15410/2024, order of 24 July 2024Supreme Court of India (via Indian Kanoon), 24 Jul 2024T2 Court
24. 24State of Haryana v. Uday Pratap Singh, SLP(C) Nos. 6950-6953/2024 with SLP(C) Nos. 15407-15410/2024, order of 2 September 2024 constituting the High-Powered CommitteeSupreme Court of India (via Indian Kanoon), 2 Sep 2024T2 Court
25. 25Labh Singh v. K.A.P. Sinha, Contempt Petition (C) Nos. 930-933/2024 in SLP(C) Nos. 6950-6953/2024, and connected matters, order of 28 March 2025Supreme Court of India, 28 Mar 2025T2 Court
26. 26Khanauri, Shambhu protest sites cleared as Punjab police launch Op Clean-upThe Indian Express, Raakhi Jagga, 19 Mar 2025T4 ReportArchived 20 Mar 2025
27. 27Over 300 farmers, including Dallewal and Pandher, detained; police use bulldozer to clear Shambhu, Khanauri protest sites (live blog)The Tribune, 19 Mar 2025T5 Secondary
28. 28ANI video post on X: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's remarkANI via ANI (@ANI), on X, 15 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 17 Apr 2025
29. 29Post on X by Rahul Gandhi on a legal guarantee of MSP (#KisaanNYAYGuarantee)Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi), on X, 13 Feb 2024, In HindiT1 RecordArchived 18 Jun 2024
30. 30'No Pellet Gun': Haryana Police Chief Claims He hasn't Come Across Visuals of Farmers with Metal Shrapnel InjuriesThe Mooknayak, Tarique Anwar, 19 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 17 Apr 2024
31. 31News channels run doctored video of farmer leader Dallewal's statement on Modi, question movement's agendaAlt News, 20 Feb 2024T6 LeadArchived 20 Feb 2024
32. 32With Punjab farmers evicted, Haryana starts removing barricades after year-long protest at Shambhu BorderThe Tribune, 20 Mar 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 20 Mar 2025
33. 33Farmers' march: Section 144 imposed in Delhi; traffic restrictions in place at borders, security beefed upPTI via The Tribune, 12 Feb 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 12 Feb 2024

Similar precedents

Faded actions are ones this precedent does not share.