“None of the governments in the world
are focusing on the real problems. They’re all busy in extending their
military, commerce and political influence upon other nations” – Jitendra Rajaram
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Blackened & Infected Dry Crops of Wheat |
"The most unnoticed fact of the Farmer’s crisis of India is
that no one is nailing Agro-Traders guilty. The grain merchants are far from
any allegations. An illusion is being created that merchants are no-where
involved in whole story of farmer’s Suicide Issues. When entire Indian media is
painting fame for duck politicians for their TRP obsessed controversial remarks
and stunts, seldom have we known that government of India has passed an order. Government
is fixing fair rate of sale for rain hit crops. Well it looks good in first
impression but let me decipher the cruelty weaved in it. It, in practice, means
that merchants will get millions of sags of wheat for throwaway prices to sell
at inflated MRP. The consumer will pay triple of the amount for poor quality wheat
grains indirectly. Rise in food inflation will cut more from consumer’s pocket
to pay more profit to the merchant add-on to it will be the subsidy paid to
farmers. Well farmer may somehow get the money for ONLY the sags of grains he
sells. Merchants will get the grains almost for free and consumers will buy the
same grains at triple rates. The gambit is! What about the tons of grain lost
in the farmland? The weak-wet-saplings lying as waste over the land because
machines can’t thresh them and manual threshing will cost a bomb to poor
farmers? What about the small land farmers? How and who will account the real
projected loss of grains for them?
These loop-holes are intentionally ignored by the policy
makers keeping the merchants interests on top.
But media is busy on the remarks of Farmer’s being coward or about the
leaders ignoring the ongoing suicide in the rally venue. How a politician can
dare to speak so low about poor farmers? Do we remember a man had said Jai
Jawan Jai Kisan? What changes in political environment has made this
transition in speech and thoughts possible? Is that the farmers are ward or we all
are?
Once acclaimed as Agro-Major is now forcing the farmers for
self kill. The fertile terrains of Indian rivers and their cross-sectional
deltas have immense capacity to produce food grains but these land areas are
rapidly developing into urban concrete. Farmlands are shrinking population is
increasing. Not only human population but also the poultry and cattle too are
up. Their food source is also produced by us humans. World in general and India
in particular have not invented any revolutionary farming methodology to
catalyze the food production. The big claims of fertilizers and pesticides are
also threatening many species linked to a single food chain. While vultures,
sparrows and crows are endangered because pesticides use, fertilizers are
imperilling cows and buffalos. Cattles are developing a type of obesity which
reduces the quality of milk and increases the weight. In market theory it’s
called profit. Good amount of milk and meat earns more. Increase in demand and
supply has triggered artificial reproduction of poultry farming and milk
production. Hormones injected to chickens for eggs and cattle for milk are
contaminating the food intake of humans. Cases of fisheries are worrisome too. They
all are food producers but statisticians don’t bring them under the category of
farmers.
The defenders of urbanization explain that infrastructural
development is must even at the cost of farming land. Their reasoning is that
all the water and transportation required in agriculture is also is required
for industrialization. However anyone with common sense will refuse to buy this
reasoning I don’t want to extend the argument. I rather want to ask the
question, from where the food will come for this growing population. Questions
are many but we have a deaf government not listening us at all. None of the
governments in the world are focusing on the real problems. They’re all busy in
extending their military, commerce and political influence upon other nations.
We common people have only two choices, one we clap on global ranking of our
nation in terms of warfare might or prosperity index or keep blowing the
warning whistle to a mass another revolution. The second option is impossible
until middle class is not feeling the heat. This is the greatest invention of
the 21st century world politics. For the first time in the history
of the mankind ruling class succeeded in isolating the opinion hummers (i.e.
Middle Class) and victim class (Poor Class) from each other. In this Present
World Order created by the Wall Street and IMF the newly created middle class
is the ghetto and poor class is the gross loser. The urbanized, educated and
salaried middle class is the ultimate customer of the giant market is the Opinion
Hummers. This class is capable of buying even the share of the poor who’re
either forced labour or simply the victim of loot. Today Farmers in India,
irrespective of being rich or poor, are resident of rural area, poorly educated
but largely ignored population. They’re precisely the victim class. While the
opinion hummer is demanding facial, perfume and shampoo, the victim class is
somehow making a day meal possible for the family. Because of this, they’ve
started hating each others. If politician calls middle class the reason of food
inflation, poor class laughs on them. And when a politician calls farmers a
coward middle class laughs on them. Our middle-poor class hatred has made these
shameful stunts fashionable among politicians.
Look at the statistics, in year 1951 we had 19% farm labours
now we have 32% of Indian population who’re landless yet farmers. In 1951 49.9%
of total Indian population was engaged in farming only but today it’s only 26%.
Farming is the only profession in which net decline of asset is observed
because of family and feudal oligarchy. None of the family in India based on
farming only can survive one must have to have at least one person in the
family employed in other sector. This is not a sheer depletion index of land
property factored among the siblings. This is way more alarming, 46% of present
day farmland owners are first generation landowners. They were government
teachers or clerks or such employees a generation ago. This 46% population of
first time farmers are committing suicide because the traditional farmers have
all burnt their hands and eloped to cities for alternative incomes.
The challenge is to destroy the wall between Opinion Hummers
& Victims of the present world politics. If we can get the middle class
feel what poor class is feeling and vice-versa, we will destroy the nexus of
ruling class politics.
We can’t afford the death Agriculture, we can live without
malls, parking and roads but we can’t live without food. Food only grows in
farms not in concretes. We have to make this message loud and clear that yes we
need developments, industrialization, growth and everything by which urbanized
middle class gets fascinated but before everything we need healthy food.
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