Indian farmers suspend year-long protest against new laws

By ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of Indian farmers have suspended a year-long protest after the government withdrew contentious farm laws and set up a committee to consider their other demands, including guaranteed prices for key crops and the withdrawal of criminal cases against the protesters. Farmers started removing their tents and prepared to vacate highways ringing New Delhi where they have camped since November last year. A breakthrough came this week when the farmers’ leaders received letters from the government listing steps it would take to meet their demands. The protesters said the laws would drastically reduce their incomes and leave them at the mercy of big corporations. The government had insisted that the laws were urgently needed to modernize Indian farming.