THE farmers’ struggle in Noida and Greater Noida is marked by the concrete demands raised on land rights, the consistency of the struggles, massive participation, and, overall, the issue-based unity of the project-affected families. The context of the struggle relates to various projects, including Greater Noida, Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Jewar International Airport, and UPSIDC, among others, that acquired the precious land assets of these farmers without providing rightful compensation or alternative livelihood support.

The struggle in the emerging twin capital cities of New Delhi-Noida has political relevance and exposes the inhuman face of Indian corporate forces. In recent years, the kisan struggles in Noida have become consistent due to the planned intervention of the All India Kisan Sabha, actively supported by its national leadership. Massive protests forced the state government to form a High-Power Committee last year, which subsequently recommended measures in favour of the farmers, including: returning 10 per cent of developed land to the farmers; providing 64.7 per cent higher compensation as endorsed by the Supreme Court; regular revision of the circle rate of land, which has not been updated since 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, and ensuring employment opportunities for landless families. However, the ‘Double Engine’ government of Yogi Adityanath has been unwilling to implement these recommendations. In this context, the farmers decided to intensify their struggle and further strengthen their unity until victory is achieved.

Ten kisan organisations rallied under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and organised a Mahapanchayat on November 25, 2024, on the premises of the Greater Noida Authority. Thousands of farmers, including women, attended the programme. The Mahapanchayat called for an indefinite day-and-night sit-in dharna, warning that if the Uttar Pradesh state government failed to resolve their demands, farmers would march to Delhi on December 2, 2024, when the Parliament is in session.

The day-and-night protests were held from November 26–28 in front of the Greater Noida Authority and from November 29–December 1 in front of the Noida Authority. However, the BJP-led state government of Uttar Pradesh remained unresponsive during this phase, holding no talks with the farmers’ leadership.

On December 2, thousands of farmers assembled at the Mahamaya Flyover to march to Delhi. Despite police barricades, they moved forward, crossing three barriers. Unsurprisingly, traffic was disrupted for hours. It was only at this point that the Uttar Pradesh administration began to take the farmers' struggle seriously. Officials assured the farmers that the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh would meet them within seven days to address their demands. Responding sensitively to this assurance, the farmers' leadership shifted the protest to a day-and-night sit-in at the Dalit Prerna Sthal, Dr Ambedkar Park in Noida, ensuring that traffic remained unaffected.

However, on December 3, breaching the trust of the farmers, the administration deployed around 500 police personnel to forcibly evict approximately 300 protesters, including over a hundred women, from the dharna site. Women farmers were also manhandled by male police officers. Although a sit-in dharna is a bailable offense, 160 farmers were directly sent to Luksar Jail without being produced before a magistrate. Key leaders of the struggle, including Roopesh Varma (district president of AIKS), Sukhbir Khaleefa, Sunil Fouji, and Pawan Khatana, were jailed. While the women farmers and elders were released, the next morning the police began trespassing into homes under the pretense of "house arrest," detaining farmers in their own houses.

Activists were widely taken into custody, and the police created an atmosphere of terror in the villages, attempting to stifle the mass resistance.

On the same day, the major kisan organization in Uttar Pradesh, BKU (Tikait), called for a Mahapanchayat on December 4 at Zero Point, Yamuna Expressway, to protest against the police repression. The Yogi Adityanath administration was determined not to allow the Mahapanchayat. The Aligarh police forcibly detained Rakesh Tikait. When Tikait attempted to reach the highway on foot and later boarded a truck to join the farmers, the police chased and detained him again. SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk and other activists were detained at Kharkat Police Station for three hours.

Despite these efforts by the state machinery, around 5,000 farmers managed to gather at the Mahapanchayat. Members of CITU and the All India Democratic Women’s Association also joined the protest. SKM leaders Hannan Mollah, Vijoo Krishnan, and P Krishnaprasad attended the programme. The Mahapanchayat declared that if the administration did not release all the jailed farmers unconditionally, the farmers would march to Dr Ambedkar Park in Noida and resume the day-and-night sit-in protest.

Comprehending the gravity of the situation, the administration decided to release all the jailed farmers by 4:30 pm. The released farmers were welcomed as heroes of the struggle amidst thrilling slogans and celebrations. This significant victory marked a triumph of democracy over autocracy.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who perceived this as a personal defeat, tweeted that he would not allow "anarchy" to spread in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Aligarh.

In retaliation, on the night of December 4, 35 farmers participating in a sit-in dharna were arrested again and directly sent to Luksar Jail. The police also initiated widespread house arrests. The farmers struck back by announcing a Jail Bharo (fill the jails) movement. On December 5, 120 farmers, including women, voluntarily courted arrest. While the women were released, the others were jailed. On December 6, another 120 farmers courted arrest. On December 7, those conducting court-arrest demonstrations were detained but were eventually released due to a lack of space in Luksar Jail.

This innovative form of protest exposed the limitations of the state machinery. Farmers in each village experienced police repression but learned how to resist it effectively and expose the illegal and anarchic functioning of the Uttar Pradesh police.

The Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Manoj Kumar Sinha, visited Greater Noida on December 7 but failed to create a conducive atmosphere for discussion as the chief minister remained adamant about not releasing the jailed farmers. The farmers took a principled stance, declaring that no discussions with the administration would take place without the unconditional release of all illegally jailed farmers.

On December 10, a delegation comprising members of AIKS, CITU, and AIDWA, led by Amra Ram, Member of Parliament and Vice President of AIKS, visited District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma. The district magistrate assured Amra Ram that: there would be no further house arrests in villages, police would refrain from using force against peaceful protests, demonstrations, or dharnas, and the administration would create a conducive environment for initiating discussions with the farmers at the earliest.

Additionally, the DM assured the delegation that he would consult with the Uttar Pradesh administration to expedite the release of the jailed farmers.

The farmers' struggles in this region have persisted for the past three decades. Farmers were coerced into surrendering their land in the late 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s under the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act that was in force at the time. These actions sparked resistance and mass protests.

In incidents of police firing aimed at suppressing the struggles, six farmers and five police personnel lost their lives in Noida villages, including Bhatta Parsaul, in 2008, 2011, and 2012. It was against the backdrop of such widespread farmers' movements for land rights across India that the UPA-II government, led by Manmohan Singh, was compelled to enact the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement (LARR) Act of 2013.

The BJP has consistently sided with corporate interests against the rights of farmers. The first Modi government introduced the Land Acquisition Ordinance in 2014 to nullify the provisions of the LARR Act 2013. However, farmers under the banner of the Bhumi Adhikar Andolan launched struggles across the country and successfully resisted its enactment. Following this, the BJP encouraged its state governments to pass laws that denied farmers the benefits of the LARR Act 2013, facilitating the acquisition of land by corporate entities at cheap rates.

Farmers and landowners across India who lost land without adequate compensation, rehabilitation, alternative employment, or resettlement are now forming local joint action committees, like those in Noida villages, to demand their rightful entitlements. The villagers of Noida and Greater Noida have become a model for others, demonstrating how to build issue-based unity, mobilise affected families for mass struggles, and overcome state repression by fostering worker-peasant solidarity and garnering public support.

The struggle continues. CITU, AIKS, and AIDWA have called for a march to the Police Commissionerate on December 12, demanding the immediate release of jailed farmers. A delegation of SKM is scheduled to visit the villages on December 14. SKM has declared its support for the movement and resolved to intensify the struggle by rallying land acquisition-affected farmers across India. The fight will persist until the farmers' genuine demands are met.

The farmers’ struggle in Noida and Greater Noida has succeeded in bringing the critical issue of land rights to national attention. This is a direct conflict between farmers and landless rural workers on one side and the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, representing corporate interests in the manufacturing and service sectors, on the other. At its core, the issue is the appropriation of land assets while denying the rightful claims of landowners, as upheld by the Indian Parliament.