From A Man With His Wife's Skull, To Those Who Lost Families, These TN Farmers Are Protesting For Loan Waiver

When TV channels and newspapers carried the images of a small group of farmers from Tamil Nadu protesting in Delhi, it intrigued many, mostly because the way they were protesting.

Indiatimes

This was because they were demonstrating with the skulls of farmers who had committed suicide due to drought and mounting debt.

The group comprising of almost 150 farmers began their sit-in demonstration on 14th of March in Delhi's Jantar Mantar, seeking a waiver of agriculture loans. They stood out at Jantar Mantar, mostly due to their attire, which was in most of the cases just briefs, and the skulls sitting next to them, or with them at times.

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On the outset, it might look creepy, but it takes some amount of desperation if someone has to dig up the skull of their loved ones, who ended their lives, unable to withstand the years of crop loss and the mounting debts.

But once the initial shock settled down, both media and politicians alike kind of forgot them, that was until once again they took another shocking step, this time with holding dead rats in their mouth, to symbolise their plight.

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They further stepped up the ante with shaven and half shaven heads as the protests showed no signs of slowing down.

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While politicians mostly from Tamil Nadu and recently Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi made token visits to the protest venue, in 22 days the farmers have got little reassurance from the government.

This has however not deterred them from their resolve, that is to get the loans of thousands of small and medium scale farmers who cannot repay their debts.

So who are these protests?

Lead by Desiya Thennidiya Nadhigal Inaippu Sangam president P Ayyakannu, the demonstrators in Jantar Mantar number around 150. These are small to medium scale farmers from all across Tamil Nadu. Most of them own less than 10 acres of land, which they have been, for years, cultivating paddy and sugarcane. But this year, the state is going through an acute drought, which Ayyakannu says is the worst in 140 years.

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An estimated 32 lakhs farmers are believed to have been affected by the drought. They say that despite the state government declaring drought requesting the centre to release funds, Ayyakannu said nothing has been done by the government in Delhi.

The farmers are demanding farm loan waiver, a drought relief package of Rs 40,000 crore from the Centre and setting up of Cauvery Management Board.

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Ayyakannu, who owns around 20 acres of land, said, "Till the Modi government, which had promised minimum support price and linking of rivers across the country fulfils their promise, it should waive off the farmer debts."

"In just past six months alone, 400 farmers have committed suicide. If the loans borrowed by the farmers are not waived off, 4 lakhs people in Tamil Nadu will be forced to commit suicide."

Reuters

On Tuesday, the Madras high court asked the Tamil Nadu government to waive loans of all drought-hit farmers. According to Ayyakannu, the average loan taken by the farmers are less than Rs 10 lakhs, which has since, in some cases multiplied due to the delay in payments.

The farmers say they will go back only with their demand met, or will die in Delhi. Ayyakannu showed rashes on his body, which he says is the result of the blistering Delhi sun.

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A Husband, who travelled with his wife's skull and a father who brought the skulls of his two sons!

Among the protesters was Damodharan, a resident of Nagapattinam in coastal Tamil Nadu. He is in Delhi with the skull of his wife, who committed suicide. Damodharan had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakhs in 2006 to buy a tractor, which has now become Rs 20 lakhs.

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He said his wife committed suicide almost two years ago when the bank officials came to impute the tractor due to non-payment of loans.

Another farmer who wanted to remain unnamed told Indiatimes that he had brought the skulls of his two sons who ended their lives in a span of two years, due to repeated crop failures.

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Every protester, that Indiatimes spoke to had lost someone in their family or knew some who have gone through the pain. And that is the core of their resolve.