Members of the Kent Sikh community have paid tribute to protestors who lost their lives during ongoing demonstrations against new farming laws in India.

Gravesend's iconic Clock Tower was lit up green, the colour of the protest, in a show of solidarity with their plight last Friday.

Farmers and their families have been demonstrating in India for months against new agricultural laws which they claim will drive many into poverty.

But supporters of the government's reforms say they are long overdue and will help liberalise the agricultural sector.

Thousands have been camped out in the nation's capital Delhi as part of widespread street protests which have led to clashes with police, claims of wrongful arrests and even deaths.

Young Brits of Indian heritage in Kent may be more than four thousand miles away, but the issue is affecting many of them and their families.

Satinder Singh Hayre and Harjinder Singh, from Gravesend, are both Sikhs and from farming families in India.

On Friday they decided to take steps, with the approval of local authorities and their MP, to remember the fallen.

After temple service they travelled from the Gurdwara to the Clock Tower to hold a small remembrance event.

A commemorative plaque was placed listing the names, ages and home villages of all the farmers reported to have lost their lives.

They laid 68 individual white roses for each, a wreath bearing the words Kisan (farmer), and lit green candles and left placards.

Satinder explained how his family worked as farmers in the Punjab before travelling to the UK to make a better life for themselves.

He said: "These people have given their lives to a cause that is very close to us all and it was the least we could do.

'We are sons of farmers, and it's the very fruit of that farmland that has set up the life we currently live in Gravesend...'

"They are gone, but will never be forgotten by us. We are sons of farmers, and it's the very fruit of that farmland that has set up the life we currently live in Gravesend.

"What better way to remember them, than placing these flowers at the foot of one of Gravesend's most iconic landmarks, the Clock Tower."

He added: "It's so sad to be so close to the events via social media and Whatsapp videos, yet we are thousands of miles away.

"All we can do is raise awareness, donate and highlight the issues every day."

Harjinder added: "This is a human rights issue and hard times could fall on anybody."

The pair thanked Gravesham MP Adam Holloway for his support and say he has written an open letter to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, highlighting his concerns.

Last month the Gurdwara was illuminated green in a show of solidarity with struggling families in India.

Since November 7, more than a million farmers have marched towards the capital in protest of the new reforms.

The farmers at the protests have been fed with langar and handed supplies through Sikh-led humanitarian organisations such as Khalsa Aid, who were involved with the relief efforts with stranded truckers in Kent over Christmas.

Protests in India were thrust into the global spotlight again earlier this month after pop singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg, among others, both tweeted their support.

The new laws lift restrictions on where and to who farmers can sell their crops.

But farmers claim they will deregulate crop pricing and pave the way for exploitation by large corporations.

Last month the Indian Supreme Court of India put the laws on hold until further notice.

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