Bite the rat: an unusual protest in India (5 photos)

In India, protests are very unusual, with fire. Last time I wrote about how farmers drive cows to the administration building as a sign of protest. Hindus are not allowed to drive away and beat cows, so there is only one thing left - to endure and suffer.





But other farmers from the Cauvery region of Tamil Nadu have come up with a very impressive (and frightening) way of protesting.



It's interesting that this is a white rat, which means it was obviously bought at a pet store for money

What did they need?

The state of Tamil Nadu in India suffered from drought for several years in a row, and therefore from crop failures, poverty, and, as a result, hunger. Each year the situation worsened, and some farmers got so deeply into debt over the years that they decided to part with their own lives.

And so the Prime Minister promised to meet with them, but he did not. And they came to Delhi (more than 100 people), demanding at least some help from the government, in particular, a relief package of more than 400 million rupees.



I had to crop the photo so they wouldn't get banned

How they attracted attention

Since no one came out to them, no one came, and generally pretended that farmers and their pains do not exist. And all 100 of them came up with a shocking way to attract attention.

They are all protesting with snakes and dead rats in their mouths. This is such a symbolic way to show that they have nothing to eat.



Where did they get so many skulls??

Others cut their palms to let blood. This is a symbolic image of the fact that the blood in their veins is the only thing they have left of their own, and that they can give to the government.

One farmer climbed a tree and threatened to jump off if no one paid attention to them.

A great tradition of farmers' protests

Drought is a big problem and disaster in India in general. Because there is no single aid to farmers in such a situation, every time they help those who attract more attention.



Some shaved their heads in half to attract attention. But it did not help

But in this case, the tragedy is that the drought is partly artificial. An additional 5,000 cubic meters of water can be released from the dams, flooding a little more than the river. But since there is not enough water during the drought, other states will have to make room in using water for agriculture.