India: Farmers celebrate repeal of farm laws — in pictures

Farmers feed each other sweets at the Ghazipur border. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be repealing three controversial farm laws, over which farmers and their unions have been protesting for a year. The law was passed in September last year, and protests began in November.

Farmers light firecrackers to celebrate news of the repeal of farm laws they were protesting against in Ghazipur, on the outskirts of New Delhi. Groups of protesters have been camped at the border of the capital city for a year.

Women farmers can be seen raising slogans at the Tikri border. Protesting farmers and farmer unions came predominantly from the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

People walk past a cutout of Prime Minister Modi in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He made the announcement on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birth of the founder of Sikhism. Modi is leaving for a three-day visit to the state of Uttar Pradesh today. The states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are set to hold assembly elections next year.

Farmers' union leader Rakesh Tikait speaking to protesters in January this year. Modi has asked the protesters to return to their families, farms, and loved ones. But Rakesh Tikait said they would not back down until the parliament formally repeals the laws.

Representatives told local media more than 600 activists and protesters lost their lives during the year of protest. A Republic Day demonstration in January had turned violent, with one farmer being killed and several police officers being injured. In October, eight people died after a convoy allegedly belonging to a minsiter crashed into a group of protesters.