Why Indian farmers are protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s farming reforms

It’s been two weeks since hundreds of thousands of farmers descended on the Indian capital, blockading major arterial roads, in an effort to push back on government reforms.

Despite being initially repelled with police batons and water cannon, the farmers, who are from the food bowl states of Punjab and Haryana, have established a foothold and are showing no signs of leaving.

The protest has sparked one of the biggest campaigns to date against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — spreading as far as Sydney, Toronto and London.

Indian media have begun asking whether it’s Mr Modi’s “Thatcher moment” — drawing parallels with the late UK prime minister’s decision to stare down striking trade…