Page 33 - Tehelka-May18

hinterland

Time To sTop poliTicising countless farmers who have commit-
ted suicide) earned them some prime-
farmers’ crisis time television appearances, but the
government at the centre could care
less. Neither the Prime Minister Naren-
So much has been written and said about the agrarian distress, dra Modi met the protesting farmers,
the sector that drives the village economy of the country, but the nor the Tamil Nadu politicians, instead
got a junior minister to persuade the
ground reality suggests no one really cares, reports k bhavani farmers to shift their agitation to Tamil
Nadu. Tamil Nadu, perpetually short
of water for drinking and irrigation,
depends on neighbouring Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh to meet its water
needs.
Whenever the monsoon is defi-
cient, Karnataka refuses to release
water due to Tamil Nadu, as per the
Supreme Court order, and as a result,
Cauvery delta basin-the rice bowl of
south India, goes virtually dry.
The year 2011-18 is one such year
and being an election year, politics for
sure came in the way of implanting
the Supreme Court order and release
water to Tamil Nadu as per its quota in
February 2018 SC order that settled the
over 100-year-old dispute.
he problems and solu- • Water is crucial Tamil Nadu farmers depend Ask the farmers across the country
tions of the distressed on neighbouring Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and they will tell you of their own tales
agrarian sector are not to meet its water needs of misery. Things were not all this bad
unknown to the experts, before there was “development and
but given the strangle- making or even lobbying, that the growth”, but progressively farmers
T hold of the other two more articulate and persuasive bodies and farm sector got neglected over the
sectors of the economy — industry and of industry, trade and service manage years.
services — and the apparent indiffer- to do and get the government of the We all know there is much more to
ence and even reluctance of the gov- day to listen to them, which perhaps rural affairs than just agriculture and
ernment to tackle the issue head-on is explains why the powers that be there are wide scope and opportunity
resulting in a spate of farmers’ suicides ignored requests Tamil Nadu farmers for non-farm activities in the villages
and mounting agrarian distress. protesting in Delhi. that many are doing. In fact, it is those
The number of suicides no longer Only their daredevil antics and eye- farmers who have managed to latch
shocks our country or countrymen ball grabbing activities like running on to some productive engagement
and women, it has become mere naked on the street, eating dead rats survive and still swear by their farms
statistics to be bandied about to score and living with skulls (representing the in the hope of a better tomorrow.
political points rather than to work out Only, the political class must take a
on a lasting solution for the agrar- As the rural collective decision and take an oath to
ian crisis gripping the nation, whose wage a war against the termites eating
majority of population still depends on sector is largely into the farm sector.
farm sector and allied activities. unorganised, it has
When I was given an opportunity K Bhavani is a freelance writer based
to do a column, my theme and focus little or no clout in in Bangalore/ Chennai tracking social,
were clear — that I will concentrate on economic and political developments
the aspects of rural life and affairs that decision making or for the past few years. She also
have always fascinated me. has lobbying skills takes interest in films and sports
Especially, given the fact that the and is an avid cricket fan
rural sector is largely unorganised and like other industry
thus, has little or no clout in decision bodies that get letters@tehelka.com
their things done

33 Column K Bhavani.indd 3 17/05/18 6:13 PM