Focus: Farmer suicides
While the numbers of farmer suicides is on the rise, according to Professor Prabhat Jha, co-author of a recent study titled Suicide Mortality in India , it is important to look at the context in which suicides are committed. He told BBC that according to
India has the highest number of suicides in the world but it has never made headlines. However, the issue of Indian farmers has grabbed national attention and been the subject of heated discussion even though the suicide rate of non-farming people is far higher than that of farmers.
This is not wholly unjustified. A farmer toils for his land and produces food that we all eat. We can exist without all the expensive luxuries but cannot imagine life without food. Is that not enough reason for us to take some extra care of them? Today, farmers’ children do not want to continue farming and instead prefer to move to cities where they end up in slums and are forced to live in pathetic conditions. Would it be too much to expect from any government to provide a little support to them so that they do not have to leave their ancestral occupation? Farmers are currently feeling abandoned by the Indian central government. By seeking to amend the existing land acquisition law, the government is trying to grab their lands against their will without studying its social impact on their lives. This has led farmers to believe that the government is working for the rich corporates that will thrive after acquiring their lands while they suffer for the rest of their lives. The recent spate of suicides by farmers is directly the result of the destruction of their crops due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms. They find themselves in a state of utter despair and hopelessness. The government must reach out to them, understand their problems and draft an action plan that brings much needed relief to them. From Mr Muneer Ahmad
I Procurement officer based in Abu Dhabi