INDIA NEEDS FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE !!

Gone were the days of saying "Agriculture is the backbone of India" and "Farmer is the backbone of the Economy". Its the need of the hour to introspect in to the situation. The Government has announced that over 1,12,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1993. Shame on our part to bear this. Farming is the less equally treated one despite it’s the only source for our fooding. Its not that the inequality is unknown or new to us. What makes the last 15 years different is the ruthlessness with which it has been engineered and the cynicism with which it has been constructed.


Albeit, the social pressure arising from widening inequality has increased in the past few years(driven by globalization and rise of capitalism), the direction of policy on farming-----central to rural India is SIMPLE in its main idea---- to take agriculture out of the farmers' hands and to put in the hands of corporation. Every move and every policy, only pushes this idea further forward. We are witnessing the largest displacement in our history. Its not happening in dam or mining project. Its happening in agriculture. And we haven't a clue yet what we will do with the millions we're busy shoving off the land. This is not done with lands and bulldozers. We are just making the farming impossible for small holders. And we create no options for those whose livelihoods we so cheerfully destroy.In other words,many move to a status that is neither a farmer nor a worker(a pathetic situation to be keenly observed).


India, the peoples' country was supposed to run on two wheels…one is the FARMER and the other is the SOLDIER. After all, this is not the voice of one, not mine. It’s the slogan of the thousands or for that matter the millions of Indians…"JAI JAWAN, JAI KISAN". If the thousands of the educated( the so called skilled) are unable to answer the problems of a day or two days rain or the Government does not give scope to such discussions what about the fate of the person(who thinks that all his survival/future is in our hands) standing before us begging for the recovery….come on he is doing not just for his sake but for the whole country(you can feel it only if you dig in deep). Above all, I want to put a question...."HOW MANY OF YOU EVER THOUGHT OF A FARMER WHILE/AFTER TAKING YOUR FOOD? HOW MANY OF YOU SHOW YOUR CONCERN ATLEAST BY SAYING "ANNADATA SUKHIBHAVA"?" This seems to be foolish/ridiculous as you read .But, if you can think …I'm telling, if you can polish your thoughts, you'll come to know that from those mere words one could bring "the has to DOs" for a farmer on someday(possibly in the near future*).


Hours in the assembly sessions are being consumed for estimating each others' wealth…. Many of the sessions were passed by, some without questioning the issues regarding water, agriculture, irrigation projects , financial sector, inflation at full-length and in-depth(here I mean whatever they asked, the way was not so pestering that the ruling party has just ruled it off) and some of-course were gently ignored without giving a minimal solution/ answer. Though I couldn't ask for debate in such assembly meetings, but no doubt I can question for atleast a discussion that is to be held in the so called "SESSIONS".
Though we all know that we have to learn from mistakes, failures inorder to succeed….. there are umpteen instances wherein our state failed to do that, due to which the dream of turning it into GOLDEN LAND has now become a nightmare. When 1000s of acres of ground nut plantation(that are to be reaped the next day) was lost due to heavy rains, when all the fish lakes in and around Vijayawada(as I remember) were bombed for the sake of other projects(that are incomplete till now), when killings are observed in similar manner in the vicinity of same place for the same reasons, when prices are hiking day by day and so forth….where is the place for a comman man for his survival??Or more particularly "the life of a farmer??" You may get the doubt why I'm more stressing on the farmer…Yes!?


Yeah…..FARMER he is the one soul on earth who does not look for his profits !!
The whole day he sweats for the sake of the Nation….though he thinks he gets some bucks....mind you in our terms, "he is just hoping for that"(as we know his salary is completely based on the probability)…and at the end of the day he simply sleeps keeping his legs into stomach….I mean with an empty stomach. [These are not simple words…but are statements after doing a survey in my Grandmother's Village].
Then, our immediate thought is …why doesn't he leave such a job in which his salary is always a probable one??Isn't it?…yes….even I questioned it…the answer was…."Dear, see its our conventional job….had done by my ancestors….have been doing by us….will be done by our sons & daughters, though we have dark side of it(no enough money out of it)…..we always look at the other side …"the satisfaction we get" …this is not a mere job but the responsibility handed over by my forefathers to us and moreover it is the other way of serving the Nation(the motherland) with food" !!! Amazing answer, a very generous reply. But, what about those who are weak-heartened and are attempting for suicides? Lets not let this happen further. If we keep a hard and fast rule that the persons who work hard should enjoy the fruits of it, then its not impossible to keep them happy. Thence, India needs focus on Agriculture in general and on FARMER in particular!!


* If there are persons who can spare a few minutes to hear and solve their problems.