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Indian landless marchers halted Demands of Indian landless 'met'
(about 2 hours later)
Police in the Indian capital Delhi, have prevented tens of thousands of landless farmers and indigenous people from marching to protest at parliament. The Indian government says it will set up a panel on land reform to meet the demands of landless farmers and indigenous people.
Some of the landless have been on a month-long protest to demand land reform and ownership rights laws. Some 25,000 protesters converged on Delhi on Sunday demanding land reform and ownership rights laws.
The protesters, mostly low-caste tenant farmers and landless indigenous people, say they have been left behind by India's economic boom. They had been on a march lasting nearly four weeks.
The government has promised to set up a commission to examine land reform. The protesters say they have been left behind by India's economic boom. But they now say that their protest has been a success.
Chanting and singing, tens of thousands of people are staging a sit-down protest at a large, dusty carnival ground in the heart of Delhi, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi. 'Clear the hurdles'
For the past month, they have marched across India, hoping to take their protest to the Indian government. "Our demands have been met. We are fully satisfied, now that the rural development minister came here and made the announcement," a protest leader, Bharat Bhushan Thakur said.
"These measures will clear the hurdles in giving land to poor people. We are now ready to go back," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
The marchers were prevented from reaching parliament
According to the protesters, the government has agreed that half the seats on the new panel will go to the landless and indigenous.
A government statement said the panel would examine "all land-related issues".
The protesters are mainly low-caste tenant farmers and landless indigenous people.
Earlier on Monday they were prevented by police from marching to the parliament building.
They then staged a sit-down protest at a large, dusty carnival ground in the heart of Delhi.
For the past month, they have marched across India, hoping to take their protest to the government.
The protesters waved flags and chanted "give us land, give us water", as they marched in long, orderly lines into the centre of the capital.The protesters waved flags and chanted "give us land, give us water", as they marched in long, orderly lines into the centre of the capital.
But, our correspondent says, police have blocked their way and for the moment there is a stand-off. Their demands included a national authority to oversee land reform and a system of fast track courts to deal with the long delays in resolving land disputes.
The protesters have already met Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress Party and they hope to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.
They are calling for a national authority to oversee land reform and a system of fast track courts to deal with the long delays in resolving land disputes.