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 ...

The Odd Even Result

In the first 15 days of January, Delhites have gone through, a much-hyped, odd even formula . They were overwhelmed by the desire to secure the future of next generation as they were told about. That may be the reason why they have obeyed the rule without moving toward Jantar Mantar in protest. The idea was not innovative but taken from Beijing which also depleted its air quality to the extremes. But it seems that the scheme was imported only for his political campaign of a man called Kejriwal. Perhaps it is the only major work done by Kejriwal's government apart from blaming the centre and his neighbour for obstructing in the Delhi government's endeavour. And that is why they are so touchy about this scheme. With the completion of the odd even trial , Delhi government, without wasting time, claimed that it has successfully reduced the air pollution level in Delhi. But, there is no credible data to back this claim. The Hindu The idea to exempt women drivers and two-...

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...

Bihar Liquor Ban - The Political Perspective

Whether you call it Nitish Kumar's masterstroke for gaining publicity and support of people or a responsible chief minister batting for people's interests, on the face of it, it is great that Bihar is free from alcohol abuse. The Bihar excise (amendment) act, 2016 – a very old 1915 act has been converted into a very stringent law – is haunting the alcohol gang of Bihar. This law banned manufacturing, selling or consumption of liquors (strong or mild) and even prescribes the death penalty for the manufacturer, suppliers and sellers of hooch in case of death as a result of consumption of spurious liquors. Although Biharis can drink outside state boundary, they'll be punished if they create nuisance after returning home. The government had actually proposed to ban only 'desi' liquors. The sale of non-country or ‘Indian Made Foreign Liquor’ (IMFL) was allowed, although, with some caveats. However, within five days, the government extended the ban to IMFL as w...

Forgiveness - Your Way Towards Peace

Forgiveness is a divine power, something that ordinary humans are not entitled to have. And, those who have this quality are more than 'a human'. One, who is free from materialistic desire and, most importantly, the ego, is blessed with such divine power. Whether it is of physical or mental strength, weak cannot forgive others. Forgiveness is always an attribute of strong people. It is a trait of a mature person having deep inner control over his mind. This strength cannot be bought, it has to be earned. But, how would you earn that? I think spirituality may be the answer. There are multiple benefits of forgiveness. It directly influences our thinking process. It sets you free from the negativity building around and boosts positive personality. It saves energy which can be redirected to do productive things. It is also the key to longevity and good health. But, how will you forgive someone who is not even sorry for their action? How will you respond to evil with kindn...

Anatomy Of Suicidal Propensity And Life's Purpose

I don't know whether committing suicide is a courageous or cowardly act. And I think, taking a specific side here would be unfair. During evolution, our thinking power enabled us to survive. But, it has also provided us an option to end a messed up life. Suicide is a very serious psychological and philosophical problem that modern humans are facing today. Legally, it is a crime. Religion, too, never permitted this act. And, as a society, we don't want people to do it. To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep— But, when life becomes miserable, why would one let one's mind to suffer, when there is an option of suicide to attain peace? Why is everyone against suicide? Probably because, suicide is the violation of human survival interest. We are an adapting species and always believe tha...

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...

The Sunshine Within You

Search This Blog