On Kisan Diwas, Here's Why More And More Farmers Are Killing Themselves Despite Tall Promises
Farmers feed us. They are the backbone of the agro-based economy that is India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning paid tributes to former Indian Prime Minister and farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary and recalled his contribution for empowering the marginalised. Born in 1902 in Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, Charan Singh was the prime minister between July 1979 and January 1980.
"Remembering Chaudhary Charan Singh ji on his jayanti (birth anniversary). Unwavering when it came to safeguarding the rights of hardworking farmers, Charan Singh ji also worked tirelessly for the empowerment of the marginalised," Modi tweeted.
He was at the forefront of strengthening India's democratic fabric, the prime minister said. It is in his honour that his birth anniversary is celebrated as National Farmers' Day, or the "Kisan Diwas" every year.
But even as we dedicated a day from our national calendar every year to recognise the labour and contribution of farmers in building our nation and feeding our population, have we really been able to uplift them from trenches of misery that has paralysed their lives since time immemorial?
For example: It had almost been three weeks since people of Maharashtra gave their mandate, but the hypocrisy and vested interests of Indian politicians were such that even then they had been unable to give a government to the people despite a clear-cut mandate in favour of the pre-poll alliance. Even though the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has crumbled and the Shiv Sena - NCP and Congress were likely to come together to stake claim, the ensuing chaos had led to President¡¯s rule being imposed in the state.
Amid this ping pong game between politicians, apparently, over the Chief Minister¡¯s post, thousands of farmers of the state had been left to die.
According to a report in The Hindu Business Line, Aaditya Thackeray, the scion of the Shiv Sena, whom the party had even projected as the Chief Ministerial face, had visited a village named Dabhadi in Nashik district in October. The aim of this visit was reportedly to meet farmers affected by unseasonal rains.
News18.com
Among the many farmers, Aaditya also met one named Mohan Nikam. Nikam¡¯s kharif crop was destroyed by the heavy unseasonal downpour in the state, that left him shattered in depths of grief. Aaditya reportedly assured Nikam and other farmers that they shouldn¡¯t lose faith, before assuring them that help would reach them soon.
Aaditya was not alone in providing verbal assurances, with the media in tow, leaders of the Congress, the BJP and NCP also visited the affected farmers and lined up a slew of promises to them. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP President Sharad Pawar as well as Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray were among the key faces assuring relief. This Monday, Nikam, the very farmer who was assured relief by Aaditya and other political leaders, consumed poison to end his burden of debt.
Farmers feed us. They are the backbone of the agro-based economy that is India. They also trusted their politicians, which is perhaps why they voted eagerly to elect their representatives in the hope that their plight would get the attention it deserves. But this faith has been misued over and over again.
11, 379 deaths, do we care?
After resisting for over three years, the BJP government has released a data that should shame each of its members who tried to keep the figures hidden. The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that at least 11,379 farmers committed suicide in the country in 2016.
Nearly 60% of the total area under sowing from eight districts of Marathwada was affected due to heavy to very heavy showers associated with the withdrawal of Monsoon. BCCL
The lack of empathy for farmers is appalling. The handling of the farmers¡¯ agitation with an iron fist by the ruling government is responsible for breaking every ounce of a farmer¡¯s morale. On 2nd October 2018, a day to remember the father of the nation and the icon of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi, the government ordered personnel to lathi-charge and water canon the thousands of farmers who were marching to the Kishan Ghat in the national capital. The shocking visuals of hapless farmers being beaten up on Gandhi Jayanti was enough to send shivers down the spine of the entire nation, and also a strong message to the farmers. - We don¡¯t care about you.
Protesting farmers being taken into custody as they tried to protest at the Bowenpally market yard in Secunderabad. FILE PHOTO BCCL
When the central government has no intention to help out those most in need. There is no conversation to help farmers, or consistent mention in mainstream media. It is shameful that the state only prioritises its narrow and self-driven agenda politics rather than real issues that are plaguing the hinterlands.
Riding the symbolism and money train
While we thump our chests, high on national pride and hope to reach a $5 Trillion economy under the ruling dispensation. We have trampled on those who feed us. The humble farmer has not been cheated by just the local goons, bad weather or faulty schemes, he has been conned by policy makers.
According to official figures, the ruling PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the centre has spent a whopping Rs 5,200 Crores on advertisements between 2014-18. Another exorbitant Rs 3,000 Crores was spent to build a mega statue of Sardar Patel. Would Patel have wanted a statue in his memory or would he have spent this whopping amount in bringing relief to the farmers?
FILE PHOTO AFP
On the list of wasteful expenses by the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party government, its disastrous move of demonetisation of high-value currency notes that brought the nation to its knees. The farmer was the worst hit. Demonetization was described by the then Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian as a ¡°massive, draconian, monetary shock¡± and it took up almost Rs 13,000 crores in printing new notes, which have been repeatedly counterfeited, thereby rubbishing all tall claims of its purpose in the first place.
Imagine the significance of this amount, as relief for farmers instead. It could have saved hundreds of lives.
Bad beginnings continue
The plight of the farmers in India is also not a new story, farmers have been slighted for decades. Though the ruling party is responsible for the current mess and neglect of the agro-sector, it is not the only one to overlook the issues plaguing farmers. There has been a systemic rot over seven decades, since India attained independence, and gave a government of the people, for the people and by the people to its population. But true freedom is far from reality for the farming community. Successive regimes post-independence, majorly dominated by the Indian National Congress, sustained their vote-bank politics by using farmers as mere pawns.
Activist of Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti and Shetkari Sanghatana staged a protest infront of the District Collector office in Nagpur earlier this month. BCCL
Though all was not lost, in the last 70 years, the Green revolution that began in 1958, ushered a new era for many farmers, leading to high yields and prosperity. But that move alone was not sufficient. Other landmark decisions such as the wavering of bank loans, were misused. Most were a ploy for vote-bank politics and targeted only a particular section of farmers, on a short-term basis. There is very little evidence to show any concrete nationwide plan for the welfare of farmers, and this apathy from politicians was met with a massive revolution by the agricultural community, in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.
The Ramlila Maidan was overtaken by the farmers for days and soon the entire national capital was abuzz with the demonstrations and protests against the then Congress-led UPA.
File Photo BCCL
Six years later, we see history repeating itself but the revolution has been thwarted.
In a nation that celebrates the building of a bullet train to ride itself into the future, and compete with developed nations of the world, how can we succeed when we ignore the farmers of the country who continue to suffer and commit suicide? No large statue, fastest train or nationalist slogans can hide the fact that our country is killing its own farmers.