Why indian farmers are protesting for almost 100 days?

 I am not really political types though I keep an eye on what's happening around me. With social media on your finger tips...you don't really have to take the pain of typing and opening a current affairs page. It's like a river of all the latest updates in and around the world which is flowing right through your sitting area....thanks to the idiot box and media houses. 

Before I continue, you must know that I don't support any particular party.  Thankfully my parents educated me enough that I can see and judge situations for myself. Plus I come from a farmers family and I am proud of that.

I didn't make a data base research while writing this article but the facts are so simple and realistic that any person with dumbest brain can calculate the risks of having a wrong person in power. 

Do you know how many farmers commit suicide in India? Just google it....I did....and got this result and I was not really shocked. The so called govt. Stopped collecting data of dead farmers after 2015 as their lives don't matter anymore....what do you think it would have decreased or increased since 2015? I leave this to you to answer this question. 

How many farmers are dying in India?

As per National Crime Records Bureau, the number of suicides by farmers and farm labourers increased to 12,360 in 2014, against 11,772 in 2013. Of these suicides, 5,650 were farmers suicides. As of 2018, the Indian government has not published data on farmer suicides since 2015.

Let's talk about the annual income of farmers.

 A latest report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a government agency, again, shows the vulnerability of Indian agriculture households.  

The NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) shows that average agriculture household income was a mere Rs 8,931 per month in 2016-17. Apart from a paltry income, farmers are facing rising indebtedness, lesser financial inclusion, and absence of insurance facility, according to the report.

The NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) shows that average agriculture household income was a mere Rs 8,931 per month in 2016-17. Apart from a paltry income, farmers are facing rising indebtedness, lesser financial inclusion, and absence of insurance facility, according to the report.

What is shocking is those four years, the income of a farm household had increased by just Rs 2,505/month. This is calculated by comparing the NABARD report with a 2012-13 study by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), another government body that estimated the average monthly income of farm household at Rs 6,426. has increased by just Rs 2,505/month. This is calculated by comparing the NABARD report with a 2012-13 study by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), another government body that estimated the average monthly income of farm household at Rs 6,426.

The NITI Aayog report says “the country took 22 years to double farmers’ income at an annual growth rate of 3.31 per cent during 1993-1994 to 2015-16; doubling farmers’ income between 2015-16 and 2022-23 will require an annual growth rate of 10.4 per cent in farmers’ real income”. However, the government has not released any data on farmers’ income growth rate after 2013, making it unclear exactly what it wishes to double the income from.

We are waiting for the next survey report in 2021 and I am quite sure things would probably be worse than this.

I am not comparing but if we talk about the income of MPs and MLAs who are generally not working as hard as our farmers, it has increased to whooping more than 250 percent. 

What a pity! The farmer who grows food for us, contributes majorly in country's economy is still poor and indebted. 

According to a financial inclusion survey conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 2018, 52.5 per cent of all agricultural households in India were indebted, with an average debt of Rs 1.04 lakh.

While official data since 2018 is not yet available, villagers across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar say they have taken more loans in the last two years than they did before.

Let’s not forget that the present protest began with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as a saugaat, a gift to the farmers, nothing short of a “historic” bonanza. Now, accepting or not accepting a gift should normally be a voluntary affair. The gift givers either already know what the recipients want, or check with them. Otherwise, it should be reasonable for the recipient to say “No, thank you”, in case they don’t like the gift. Unless, of course, the gift is not a gift at all, unless it is a sugar-coated pill that must be administered to an unwilling patient. (Incidentally, that is how pro-government economists present these farm laws, a bitter pill that could only be administered under the cover of a pandemic).

This straightforward reasoning has been given a go-by in this instance. It is clear that the government did not bother to check with the farmers or farmers’ organisations, not even with their in-house Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, before offering this “bounty”. By now, it is also clear that this gift has no takers, at least none among the multitude of farm organisations in the country.

As for the farmers themselves, a Gaon Connection survey carried out a couple of months ago, much before the agitation hit its peak, found them apprehensive, if not hostile. The farmers are simply saying: “Thanks, please take your gift back. Instead, give us what we want, namely legal guarantee of remunerative price for our produce.” The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the joint banner for the current protest, has consistently asked for the repeal of the three farm laws. The same demand has been repeated in every single round of talks with the government. They have repeatedly clarified that this is non-negotiable. Yet the Modi government and a section of media feigns surprise when the farmers insist upon it.

The much-publicised “concession” on the issue of Minimum Support Price is most disappointing. The government proposes to “give written assurance regarding the present MSP based procurement system”. It is clear that the government is not going to offer a legal guarantee that the farmers had asked for. There is no mention of accepting the comprehensive cost-based formula (C2+50 per cent) recommended by the Swaminathan Commission for calculating the MSP. It is also clear that the government does not want to commit to going beyond the existing levels of meagre procurement. The farmers feel insulted.

Yet the media seeks to shift the onus on to the farmers: now that the government is willing to amend these laws, why do you insist on repealing these? The farmers can only repeat what they have been saying all along: We never asked for amendments. Since we do not agree with the intent and the basic framework of these laws, we cannot possibly agree to amendments, major or minor. Can’t we say NO to your gift? Is it about us and our wellbeing, or about the PM’s prestige, his ego?

This looks as simple as that....but no there is more to it....more politics...more prime time headlines...more violence may be. It is clear what happened in Shahin Bagh might happen here too. Govt and its mistress media is trying to give this agitation a communal term....khalistani movement.  

 I mean c'mon....leave them alone. I agree that the muslim religion always had this taboo of terrorism stick to them and that too because our enemy country is a muslim country...when did sikh became terrorists? As far as I know they have always shed their blood for this country. The most humble and friendly community one could ever see.

They have contributed so much that whole country can never repay them. Their gurudwaras, 24x7 langars, shelters, helping aids, monetary aid during crisis not only in India but across the world is well known and cant deny how many sikh NGOs are working towards well being of the underprivileged. 

 

This movement of farmers is not restricted just only to India...the fire has reached all over the world. They are supported by countries like , Canada, London, France, Spain and wherever there are Sikhs. 

Ironically some Indians are not favoring them and calling them 'deshdrohi'....what? Asking for your rights after keeping mum for several years is what you call deshdroh? Where is your conscience or where is your general power of understanding right and wrong? 

 Yet the media seeks to shift the onus on to the farmers: now that the government is willing to amend these laws, why do you insist on repealing these? The farmers can only repeat what they have been saying all along: We never asked for amendments. Since we do not agree with the intent and the basic framework of these laws, we cannot possibly agree to amendments, major or minor. Can’t we say NO to your gift? Is it about us and our wellbeing, or about the PM’s prestige, his ego? 

I can not stand on delhi borders with our farmers in their protest...but least I can do....sitting miles away in my warm bed...... is to aware a few people who think the farmers protest is just a publicity stunt or khalistani movement or deshdroh....whatever they would like to call it. I request you to put your foot in their shoe just for one day and you will know how much time and hardwork they devote to grow food which is cooked and served to you on your expensive dinning tables. 

#farmersprotest

#Jaijawanjaikisan

#standwithfarmers