• Prakash Pohare

The explosive story of the country’s biggest injustice

Today in the country, if the biggest injustice is happening to someone, it is happening to the farmers. Because farmers are not only fighting against nature, but they are also fighting every day against the double standards of the government policies. On the one hand separate arrangements for industries and cities... Different rules for farming and farmers... This is the bitter reality of today’s India. The industrialist decides the price of his product by himself, but the owner of the world, the farmer, cannot even decide the price of his produce. When petroleum companies complain about losses, petrol-diesel prices are increased 4 times in 10 days. Fertilizer companies are given high prices for fertilizers. If the gas companies’ profits are reduced, cylinder prices are increased. But due to government policy, agriculture suffered. Lakhs of farmers started committing suicide..., But the government is not ready to give even the production cost of farming. Because loss of companies in this country is a ‘national concern’; But farmers’ loss is considered a ‘personal problem’. This biased face is far more horrifying!

Double Standard No. 1: Maximum Land Retention Act came into force on farmers. That is, the government decides how much land the farmer should keep. If dry barren land is less than 54 acres and wet (irrigated) land is less than 18 acres, then no farmer can keep more than 18 acres of land. So, has the farmer become even bigger than Tata, Birla, Adani, and Ambani?

In 1960, by invoking the Land Ceiling Act, the government confiscated hundreds of acres of land—land that the farmers’ ancestors had cultivated with immense frugality and hard work. Today, sixty years have passed since the enactment of this law. Assuming that those farmers had two children each, in 1961, each child received 27 acres of land. With a new generation emerging every 20 years—and assuming, once again, that each individual had two children—the grandchildren received 13 acres of land each in 1980; in 2000, the grandchildren received 6 acres each; and by 2020, a mere 3 acres of land fell to the share of the fourth-generation descendants of these land-owning families, effectively reducing them to the status of small landholders. What kind of justice is it that there is no limit on how many houses, malls, plots, or properties a builder, industrialist, or businessman can purchase—or how many factories they can establish? Why, then, are such laws applicable only to farmers?

Double Standard No. 2: Dams are constructed under the guise of ‘irrigation projects.’ Farmers’ lands become submerged... their homes are destroyed, and they are displaced; the farmers begin to migrate. The very water destined for the dam flows across the farmers’ own fields, and along with that water, the fertile soil of those fields is washed away. Yet, that same water is diverted towards the cities. The farmers are told—”There is no water.” However, in the cities, water is readily available for lawns, high-rises, and industries. Is this not a violation of the farmers’ right to water?

Double Standard No. 3: Police patrols are conducted in urban residential areas, and a system is in place to ensure security. However, in farmers’ fields, wild boars, nilgais, elephants, leopards, and monkeys cause damage to crops; on many occasions, farmers even lose their lives. Yet, there remains no concrete national security framework specifically dedicated to agriculture and crop protection. A farmer stays awake all night in the fields to guard his crops, only to be lectured on wildlife protection laws the very next morning. The government and the system prevent him from receiving a fair price for the crops he has painstakingly saved—is this justice or injustice?

Double Standard No. 4: A businessman defaults on loans worth thousands of crores. Subsequently, his debt is either written off or restructured under catchy labels such as NCLT proceedings, restructuring schemes, settlements, or “haircuts.” Moreover, his identity is often kept confidential. He is then granted fresh loans.

In the last seven years alone, the government has written off or waived debts amounting to ` 25 lakh crore. However, if a farmer suffers a loss of two lakh rupees—even if it is due to the government’s policies of liberalizing imports, restricting exports, and imposing stock limits—that farmer is publicly shamed throughout the entire village. Bank notices arrive and are published in newspapers; land is seized. Electricity connections are disconnected for non-payment of bills. For a corporate entity, there are numerous concessions and safeguards; for the other—a ‘recovery drive’! Why is there a different standard of justice for two different sons?

While there is ‘Ease of Doing Business’ for industries, ‘Ease of Farming’ remains a distant dream for farmers. Industries are granted tax exemptions, SEZ packages, subsidies, affordable land, cheap electricity, and export incentives. Yet, even the meager subsidies provided to farmers are often dismissively termed ‘gratuity.’ If an industrialist requires land to set up a factory, or if land is needed for road construction, it is the farmers’ land that is acquired for the purpose. In return, they are paid merely a nominal compensation.

When the prices of agricultural commodities rise, the government immediately opens up imports and imposes restrictions on exports and stocking. In other words, the moment a farmer begins to earn a profit, the government turns against him.

Every citizen of the country requires food three times a day... yet the very farmer who produces that food leads a life that is most precarious, debt-ridden, and undignified. This issue is not merely about farming and agriculture... This is a question of economic justice. This issue concerns the constitutional principle of equality. And it is also a question of the country’s food security. ‘Secure Income versus Insecure Farming’ highlights a fundamental contradiction. For government employees, a Pay Commission is implemented every few years. When inflation rises, their Dearness Allowance increases. After retirement, a pension is guaranteed. Healthcare facilities, allowances, housing—even job security—everything is guaranteed. Yet, for the country’s ‘Annadata’—the farmer—there is no guarantee regarding his income. It is uncertain whether he will receive a fair price for his produce or not. It is uncertain whether the rains will arrive or not—or whether he should even opt for insurance. He never knows if there will be a power supply or not. It remains uncertain whether he will be able to repay his loans or not. In essence, the life of the nation’s food producer has become the most precarious of all. ‘There are Pay Commissions for government employees... There are financial packages for industries... But for farmers, there are only promises and official reports.’ The DA (Dearness Allowance) of government employees rises in tandem with inflation; Yet, the prices of agricultural commodities do not rise in accordance with production costs. Discriminatory policies for agriculture: an FRP for sugarcane, and a Minimum Support Price for other crops! Why is this so?

Paddy is procured from farmers in only two categories—Grade A and Grade B—but once the rice is separated from it, it is given various distinct names such as Chinor, Indrayani, HMT, Kali Mooch, Basmati, Ambemohar, Chameli, and Sona Mohar, and is sold in the market at four times the price.

The same applies to wheat: at the time of purchase, it is treated as a single variety with a single price; yet, at the time of sale, it takes on various names—such as Lokwan, Sharbati, Sehore, Bansi, Khapli, Radhika, and Sonamati—each commanding a different price in the market. However, the government procures wheat and paddy at a guaranteed price (or at a subsidized rate) and distributes it free of cost to 80 crore people; of this stock, half of the wheat and rice is subsequently sold in the open market at rates ranging from 10 to12 per kilogram. In contrast, the government neither procures industrial goods at subsidized rates nor distributes them to anyone free of cost. What kind of policy is this?

Industries, meanwhile, receive ‘bailout packages.’ Farmers are being sold the ‘dream of loan waivers.’ Funds are raised through taxation precisely to upgrade the city’s roads, water supply, internet connectivity, metro systems, bridges, and transport facilities on a war footing—implying that development is meant to take place there!

Yet, rural schools remain closed, hospitals are in a hellish state, electricity supply is merely nominal, and farmers even today transport their produce to the market along muddy roads. While there are ‘Smart City’ schemes for urban housing, a ‘Smart Market System’ for agriculture remains conspicuously absent. In this country, footwear is sold in air-conditioned showrooms, whereas vegetables are sold on the streets. There are separate ministries, lobbying efforts, and policies for industry; for farmers, there are only protests and marches. Business meetings are held in five-star hotels.

Farmers’ meetings take place in the scorching sun, on the roads, and under police surveillance. If the stock market in the country falls, it becomes a subject of national-level discussion; but if the prices of agricultural produce plummet, it does not even make the news. The situation regarding farmer suicides is no different. Urban citizens are protected by consumer protection laws; yet, for farmers, there exists no ‘producer protection’ system. Productivity-linked incentives are provided to industries; yet, the grain-producing farmer is penalized—for increasing production, and through pricing policies. Policies that guarantee profits to industries; a system that assures losses to farmers. ‘In this country, the salaries of salaried employees are guaranteed...’ The industrialist is concerned about profits... But no one is concerned about the survival of the ‘Annadata’—the provider of food. Do not pity the farmer... Do not merely offer sympathy... For what he needs is equal justice. Because—‘In a country where the earner is not secure, that country’s future, too, cannot remain secure.’ Today, the farmer and rural India serve as a reflection of us all.

(The author is the Editor of the Marathi daily ‘Deshonatti’, the Hindi daily ‘Rashtra Prakash’, and the weekly ‘Krishkonnati’.)

The author can be contacted at 9822593921.