New Delhi: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint platform of Central Trade Unions and independent Sectoral Federations/Associations have called for a nationwide “protest day” March 10 to oppose the military conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
In separate statements issued Saturday, the organisations also voiced strong opposition to recent India-US interim trade deals.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said the day will be marked by a massive rally of farmers in Barnala, Punjab. Joint protests are planned across the country involving various sectors, including agricultural workers, traders, students and women’s organisations.
The CTUs have urged the public to observe the day as “Anti-Imperialist-War Day for World Peace”.
“The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has strongly deplored the war unleashed on Iran by the US and Israel that has pushed the entire Middle East into a state of armed conflict and the entire world into a state of economic turmoil. SKM has also condemned the targeted killing of Ayatollah Khamenei, the head of a sovereign country, Iran, several senior leaders, and thousands of innocent lives, including 183 girl students, bombing schools and hospitals and torpedoing the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean that killed 85 soldiers,” the farmers’ collective said in its statement.
It said the war would bring “new miseries” to the world economy and to the people of India. More than 90 lakh Indian citizens, with more than 5 crore dependents, work in Gulf countries in better-paid jobs than are provided in India. Their security stands threatened,” it said.
“The Gulf countries are important to India as 55% of our crude oil imports come from their territory. The Gulf nations also import more than 60 lakh tonnes of Basmati rice from India, as well as big consignments of buffalo meat, marine products, sugar and fresh vegetables and fruits. These exports provide livelihood to lakhs of farmers, workers and MSMEs in India,” it said.
The SKM criticised Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel, accusing him of “ignoring the massacre of 75,000 Palestinians” and “failure to immediately condemn the killing of the head of Iran’s leadership unequivocally”.
It also accused the Centre of “succumbing to US pressures and accepting the unequal Indo-US interim trade framework terms declared February 6, 2026”.
The SKM said it is of the clear opinion that the US war on Iran and military attack on Venezuela are violations of the sovereign rights of nations in order to appropriate their rich oil resources.
It also alleged that the government is “surrendering” the sovereign rights of the country to US imperialism through measures such as the four labour codes, the GRAM-G Act, the Electricity Bill, and the privatisation of public sector undertakings. The SKM also reiterated demands for a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the Swaminathan Commission and a comprehensive loan waiver.
The CTUs demanded an “immediate cessation of the war on Iran and other parts of the globe” and called on the Government of India to ensure the safety of Indians stuck in the Gulf.
The unions urged the union government to strictly adhere to the anti-Imperialist stance of India and lead for the immediate cessation of the war on Iran and uniting world nations for peace.
