Modi’s Corporate-Friendly Agenda Sparks Anger as Indian Farmers Rally Against Adani

A growing wave of anger is sweeping through India’s Gujarat state, where farmers have launched a fierce protest against the Adani-backed power project, accusing the Modi government of sacrificing agricultural land and farmers’ rights in favor of corporate elites.

According to Indian publication Deccan Herald, farmers in Gujarat have been staging a hunger strike against the installation of power lines and towers on agricultural land as part of a project linked to the Adani Group and other power companies. The protest has become a powerful symbol of resistance against what many farmers see as an unjust alliance between political power and corporate influence.

The protesting farmers argue that the government-backed project threatens to permanently damage fertile agricultural land, leaving small landowners vulnerable and pushing rural families deeper into hardship. They say work on their land has begun without proper consent, while compensation remains unclear and deeply disputed.

Indian daily The Telegraph reported that the protesters were carrying placards branding Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “traitor,” reflecting the depth of frustration and anger among farmers who believe their livelihoods are being destroyed in the name of development. For many of them, the project is not just about land — it is about dignity, survival, and the fear of being erased by a system that appears to favor billionaires over ordinary citizens.

Senior Indian journalist Nilu Vyas said it was deeply troubling that Adani, a tycoon celebrated for investing billions abroad and creating jobs overseas, was now being accused of trampling on the rights of Indian farmers at home. The contrast, critics say, exposes the painful reality of a development model that rewards corporate expansion while leaving the country’s most vulnerable communities to bear the cost.

The protest has also drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders. Indian legislator Jignesh Mevani strongly condemned the Gujarat government, alleging that instead of providing fair compensation to the farmers, authorities responded with violence and heavy-handed tactics. He said the state had chosen to side with corporate interests rather than stand with its own people.

Farmers insist that the installation of transmission towers and power lines on their land will make cultivation difficult or impossible in the long run, effectively destroying their source of income and threatening their future. Many of them say they were never properly consulted, and that the forced execution of the project has left them feeling abandoned by the very government that claims to represent them.

Jignesh Mevani also accused India’s ruling elite of helping corporate giants such as Adani and Ambani accumulate extraordinary power by exploiting Gujarat’s resources, donations, and mineral wealth. His remarks added to the growing criticism that under Modi’s leadership, India’s political and economic system has become increasingly tilted in favor of a powerful few, while farmers and working communities are left to fight for their basic rights.

The protests in Gujarat have once again highlighted the widening divide between India’s corporate class and its struggling farmers — a divide that continues to deepen under policies many believe serve the interests of billionaires while crushing the hopes of those who feed the nation.