Indian farmers do not cease to commit suicides, as 13 more walk the line of their fallen and dead brethren.
Indian agriculture is a story of bloom and then a sudden fall, jerking the farmers so hard that life seems to be a burden to them. Not only this, it has taken away their precious earnings, their hard-earned savings and given them nothing less than a life fraught with misery, snatching the zeal to live in them, replacing it with agony and distress. But, is agriculture to blame? No, it is the state of agriculture in this country of a billion people, once relying heavily on it, is to be held responsible for the misery of its farmers.
Be it Maharashtra or Andhra or Punjab, Indian farmer is suffering. 13 more debt-ridden cotton-growing farmers have ended their lives , taking the toll to 764 this year already, more than half the number of those who committed suicide (1442) last year.
Agriculture was once known to be India’s mainstay, but as it advanced, new costly technology came into being replacing the old, more exploitation resulting in a dead and desiccated earth, failing to bear the fruits of farmer’s labor, demanding costly pesticides, fertilizers and disease-resistant seeds from him, hence, burdening him with overdue debts that his shabby economic position never allowed him to pay back. The result of which is apparent, as more and more throw their lives to the gallows. Moreover, insufficient monsoon rains have added to the frustration of the peasant with more and more crop failures and inadequate irrigation facilities.
Is there a way out of such a sad scenario? Both central and state governments must come forward to keep their hand behind the farmer in the form of easy finances. Banks should be opened in desolate areas so that the farmer can easily reach there and avail loans at simple interest. Farmer needs to be supported in times of crop failure due to drought or flooding.
Indian farmer is a picture of penury and destitution, depravity and distress. The zamindari system that sucked farmers’ blood went long time back, yet the Indian peasant’s misery doesn’t show signs to cease. Government has to take its responsibility in providing solace to the farmer in times of misery because if those hands stop tilling, what will India eat?
