IS THE SITUATION DIE OR DIE?

India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP. We have achieved the status of world's largest producer of many fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, major spices, jute, millets and castor oil seed. Also, India is the second largest producer of wheat and rice, the world's major food staples and the world's second or third largest producer of several dry fruits, pulses, eggs, sugarcane and numerous vegetables. It seems that our agriculture sector is booming and we should boast about it. These are statistics as a whole. But when we look our agriculture at an individual level, we find a different story. The condition of Indian farmers are so miserable that they are forced to suicide. The reasons for suicide is not only restricted to crop failure but there are multiple reasons such as habits like drinking and gambling, Family problems with spouse, Marriage of daughters, prolonged illness, property disputes, debt burden, etc. The government cannot address all problems but can solve substantial portion of them.

Remember the movie "Peepli Live" which was based on the story of farmers who quit farming and some just end up in suicide. In the movie, all the media rushed into a farmer named Natha's home to cover his serious suicidal joke in detail to see when, why, and how he is going to suicide. While other farmer took his life at the same place but media gave no attention towards him because it was Natha who is giving them TRPs. Ultimately, Natha abandoned his village, quit farming and became a labour in a metro city.

Narendra Modi during his campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha election said "Wo(congress party) kehte hai paise ped pe nahi ugte...Mai kehta hoon paise khet aur khallihano me kisaan ke pasine se ugte hai". These kind of rhetorical speech made him win the election. The Land Ordinance his government is pushing will make several Natha to quit farm. Yes, the "Make In India" will obviously succeed, government will gain more revenues and substantial amount of jobs will be created. But, Is generating more revenues the only job of government? Is government a business firm? Is it good to fulfil one promise at the cost of other?

Hope the government will listen to the farmer's query and take this ordinance back or make substantial changes in accordance with Farmers.

Comments

Why Religion Should Not Be Downplayed

When you were a child and your parents told you stories about god, you listened to that with great curiosity and excitement, but as you grow older and started seeing everything with the rational eye of science, you realise that it was a lie, and so every religious event and ritual appears to you as an act of stupidity. Still, you keep worshipping the men or women whom you were told to worship as Gods. Why? Have you considered what is the significance of religion? Religion teaches us that God has created this universe and he is running it in his own way. The Sun, The Moon, Stars, Planets, Living creatures — bacteria, viruses, plants, animals, humans are all the creation of God. We are just doing things ordained by him. It may appear that we are influencing things, but the reality is we, ourselves, are influenced by some heavenly forces. Indians, especially Hindus, are obsessed with rituals and other religious activities like holding fast and going to temple. Some of ...

India Learning To Live With Air Pollution

After Diwali came the inevitable cloud of smog in Delhi. The fact that smog is going to arrive any moment was known to every single person living in Delhi, just the intensity of this smog was a bit surprising. And why not? The toxicity of air was 14-16 times more than the safe limit. The PM 2.5 level skyrocketed making people vulnerable to various respiratory problems. Usually when the smog checks in, a translucent greyish layer of air cover the city. But this winter, this layer was quite thick, almost opaque. As this year's smog came right after Diwali, a number of people directly blamed Diwali's crackers for it. On the other hand, some remain critical of the farmers of Punjab and Haryana who burned their paddy releasing poisonous gases in the air that reached Delhi through the wind. While both burning crackers or crops fairly invite criticism not because they polluted the air but because these actions could have been avoided or minimized. Diwali is celebrated everywhe...

KAILASH SATYARTHI - INDIA'S SANTA CLAUS

We have applauded when an Indian Child Right's advocate and an activist against Child labour Kailash Satyarthi along with Malala Yousafzai got Nobel Peace Prize. The Bachpan Bachao Andolan founded by him has acted to protect more than 83,000 children from 144 countries and still working. Most of us never heard his name because our Politicians and Media ignored his achievement which International Labour Organization recognizes to a great extent. He, in an interview, said: “Politicians didn't find me useful as children are not vote-banks”. When his name finalized for Nobel prize, all Politicians(from their bed) and Media Houses rushed to congratulate Mr Satyarthi who was himself surprised that he soon going to be a Nobel laureate. It is totally shameful that we are doing things just for our own self. Why blame only politicians? We are on the same path and the problem is the mindset. The world is becoming Selfish which I believe need a change so that we can have a peaceful s...

Indian Olympians In Their Pursuit Of Gold

In the Olympics, Gold medal is something which is glorified and celebrated from its intrinsic value as only the top performers of their relevant sports get to hold it. Every Olympian sees gold in their fantasy while getting trained for a particular sport. In case they miss it, they need to wait for years to reattempt and compete for the top position with the young entrants of the world. That must be exhaustive and tiring task. Four years only sounds small interval. However, only those who are mentally strong can wait, train and compete again. It's certainly not a child's play. Never before has the Indians took so much interest in sports such as Javelin throw. The cricket loving nation was mapping the distance of Javelin thrown by Neeraj Chopra with great enthusiasm. Because for the nation lacking Olympics gold medal, Neeraj was the last hope of securing it. 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra was born in an agricultural family in Panipat, Haryana. The Javelin thrower, in his childhood...

Anatomy Of Indian Racism

The Bangalore racist attack on a 21-year old black Tanzanian woman by a mob once again raised questions about the existence of racism in India. She was attacked because some other black person in another car had fatally run down a woman. Yet, Karnataka CM don't find any sort of racist angle into the incident. It happened in the modern city of Bangalore which is also known as the silicon valley of India. Such incidents can affect India's liberal image severely because racism has been a global phenomenon and history is full of racist discrimination against black people in the countries what we call "superpowers" today. India is fighting racism within its own boundaries. All of us are aware of the existence of North Eastern racism in India and that people from North East are often referred to as ' chinki ', an offensive word for them. Sometimes it is also said in a casual way without having the intention to offend anyone but the fact of the matter is that t...

Education Emergency — Why Schools Should Open Its Doors

One sector which is silently hit by the Covid-19 pandemic the most is the education. As a precautionary measure, schools were the first to be shut even before a formal announcement of lockdown. After all, education doesn't come under the umbrella of essential services. According to the data from UNICEF, schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost an entire year, and more than 888 million children worldwide continue to face disruptions to their education due to full and partial school closures. In India, only one in four children have access to digital devices and internet connectivity. There is a large rural-urban and gender divide which is why not everyone is able to benefit the digital revolution. Such vulnerable children unable to access remote learning might never be able to get back to learning even after the pandemic fades away, and could be easily exploited as child labor. Shifting Classes Online To those who...

Legislation In Monsoon

The monsoon session of the Parliament begins today on July 21, 2015. The prime minister Narendra Modi reached out to the opposition parties yesterday and request them to let Parliament function without obstruction. He also ensured them that there will be a debate on all issues of national interest. Either the PM is daydreaming that opposition will allow the Parliament proceedings without any din or just being diplomatic. How can he expect that? The BJP, when in opposition, had rarely let Parliament function smoothly. Senior leaders of BJP said that it is legitimate to disrupt Parliament proceedings by the opposition. And at a time when three ministers of BJP is under the scanner, it is the golden opportunity for the opposition parties. None other than foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj along with Rajasthan CM Vashundhra Raje and her son Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Singh or BJP's Robert Vadra are involved in a serious breach of propriety by helping a fugitive Lalit Modi in a foreign country ...

The Sunshine Within You

Search This Blog