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Dwelling in the Dark Times of farmer suicides and sale of babies
By Humra Quraishi. Dated: 4/24/2015 3:32:27 PM
Murders, killings, rioting over rotis have always taken place but going by the present condition of affected hectares there are more than indications of an extremely difficult period ahead.
It is estimated that 94 lakh hectares of crop area across 14 states over the past three months has been affected. In Uttar Pradesh 29.64 lakh hectares of crop area was affected. In Haryana, 22.24 lakh hectares of crop area was affected. In Rajasthan 16.89 lakh hectares. In Maharashtra (9.89 lakh hectares. In Madhya Pradesh (5.70), Punjab (2.94), Bihar (1.86), Gujarat (1.75), J&K (1.33), HP (0.67), West Bengal (0.49), Uttarakhand (0.39), Telangana and Kerala (0.01 each).
This grim scenario carries two major offshoots. The condition of the farmers and their families has reached hopelessness. Hundreds have already died and hundreds could be dying. With crops failing, with output declining, their very survival seems grim. And all those talks of compensations coming through in the form and shape of cheques seem lingering at the talk stage. If the government was serious enough then cheques should have been distributed weeks before the crisis situation arose. And going by television reports in several belts the compensation money does not tally with the gravity of the loss. What, with few hundred rupees thrown at farmers as compensation money where crop worth thousands perished almost overnight …
The other offshoot is the obvious - scarcity of grain coupled with rising prices could kill thousands if not hundreds amongst us. Are we getting so immune of news reports of the dead and dying that few bother to react or counter react. This when we seem to be moving backwards towards those Dark Times when people had begun selling their own flesh and blood - their newborns - to survive. In fact, last evening a television report focusing on baby girls bought from a government run orphanage in the rural belt Telangana, bared ground realities of the day. Buying and selling and trafficking of children will increase as the days go by, because we are reaching that phase where there's little to eat …
THE POVERTY BEATERS -
The only way out is to try and survive on one's skills, whatever they be. Suggesting this on the basis of a recently released book with a title as stark as this - 'Breaking Through - India's Stories of Beating the Odds on Poverty' ( Rupa ). Written by the Kolkata based sociologist Meera Mitra the focus is on those who have fought poverty through sheer determination to fight it out.
As author Meera Mitra details " This book is not about numbers, It is about understanding the process behind the numbers of getting out of poverty and poverty contexts. This necessarily entailed focus on those 'positive' cases where a modicum of transitions had happened …These are positive in the sense that the end of the journey is positive in some way. However these stories also reflect the fact that despite opportunity in a new India - the journey is tiresome, and circuitous and many can't make it yet, There is head room for governance and the system needs to respond faster to make the journey easier…. Neel or Shankar must use a medley of innovative straight and subterranean paths, old and new, before they can find the shelter they are seeking. Dhan, who is generation next from the cusp of poverty will have to handle informal systems of law and justice and finance and precipitously fall in and out of poverty before gaining a semblance of stability. People like Dhan are desperately putting out ladders to grasp the opportunities of the market and also the opportunities of ensured entitlements of securing quality education skill development, health etc which will make them stronger…"
And when I'd asked Meera whether we are actually getting 'developed' or were we better off in the decades passed by, she details - "The present is a mixed bag as far as social indicators are concerned. Indicators especially like that of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) are thankfully down from what they were previously; parameters like the proportion of Births attended by a skilled health professional, life expectancy etc are all moving up in the direction they should. Then there is the damning child sex ratio which is the ratio ( girls per 1000 boys aged 0-4 or 0-6years) which has fallen to a dramatic low of 918 in 2011. Other indicators are also not 'on track' or hopelessly off track for the Millinium Development Goals. The important thing is that we recognize where we are and make concerted efforts to get there …With deepening democracy - no party or government can afford to ignore issues of food security and environment. There is a traditional trade off between environment and industrialization but with a greater consciousness and commitment to global dialogue and the possibility of new technology that schism can hopefully be offset somewhat while offering a better standard of life. Ensuring environmental sustainability is built into our Millennium Development Goals and we are moderately 'on track' on our target to integrate the principle of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources… Ensuring environmental sustainability is built into our Millennium Development Goals with a target to integrate the principle of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources."
On the growing gaps /inequality and who is to be blamed for this present day mess, her comments - "The rich reign in the dividends of growth more easily than the poor, because they are better positioned to do that, There is this huge inequality gap which exists and the which has shown an increase for urban areas. Such schisms can cause incendiary situations if there is no perception of light at the end of the tunnel. There has to be the demonstration of opportunities and a sense that the government can be trusted to bring change. Developed countries (USA and Switzerland) as per last year's economic survey have greater inequalities than India, but then several aspects for basic living exists. …People in power, whoever they may be, have the potential to do good or wreck havoc and impact negatively any poverty reduction, This they can do with malafide action as much as they can do as a result of inaction. Both need to be addressed urgently. We tend to ignore the latter. This can be a huge stumbling block and the poor are often the victims of inaction. We will forever be griping about the rue of poor implementation if we do not take this issue by the horns."
A MUST READ - SHIVNATH's -
' MOSAIC OF LIFE' (Sahitya Akademi)
I have been reading Dogri writer Shivnath's - Mosaic of Life. Published by Sahitya Akademi, this volume is the translation of Shivnath's collection of essays originally published in Dogri under the title Chetan ki Chitkabri.
He writes with a tremendous flow, on the lesser known aspects and facts to places and people.
In fact, his writings on his travels in Africa ought to be read by each one of us, because he has focused on the human aspects and the sheer bonding holding out …which comes through his conversations with the ordinary people he interacts with whilst going for a walk or at the beach or at the park …Do read and you will realize what I'm trying to relay.
*(Humra Quraishi is a freelance columnist based in Delhi and is currently a visiting Professor in the Academy of Third World Studies in Jamia Milia University).