Sharing more burden
Man, initially had to plough his land by himself, later there were bullocks. At places in Srilanka or Burma, even elephants are known to be used. Later Man invented tractors. Life seemed to be improving and headed for the best. But atleast in India, Man has had to now work along with the animals to earn his daily bread.Shankar Dabe Rao, a cotton farmer in Maharshtra's Buldhana District has been forced to fill-in for one of his bullocks, which was washed away in the recent floods.Nothing wrong in Man, working along side animals, which have worked for him all these years. But this Man is a farmer. A Farmer who works hard all day and provides food or clothing for us to eat and dress at home. His work has now doubled, because he has lost one of his animal friends.
"I am waiting for the government's rehabilitation package. My financial situation is so bad that I have even thought of committing suicide," said Shankar Dabe Rao, the cotton farmer.Lal Bahadur Shastri, the late prime minister coined the Slogan "Jai Jawan! Jai Kisan!", so we thought they were taken care of. When BJP said "India Shining", we thought we were ready to become a superpower. The Congress party said "Congress Ki Haath, Aam Aadmi Ke Saath", but sadly it all comes down to this.
With over a 150 farmers having committed suicide in this region in the month after the Prime Minister's visit, the state government is working out a compensation package for poor farmers, but many like Shankar fear it may just be too little and too late.Farmers are at the bottom rung in the ladder of occupation. They are the true people of the soil, who toil hard, to feed the entire nation, to provide for the entire nation. If we cannot elevate their status, grant them riches and more wealth and reforms, can`t we atleast lessen their burden.
Info, pic Source : IBNLIVE : Article
Comments
i guess inequality also exists in this occupation.
thanks for posting this, srijith
Nice post..
Shweta
Is it the bureaucracy? Is it corruption? Is it a lack of money? Surely, it cannot be due to a lack of awareness...no one can give an excuse of not knowing about these things. I remember vividly an article in the IHT where they were talking about the suicide of a farmer in Andhra because he could not pay a 40,000 bank loan. He is a farmer, and he committed suicide because he did not have a hope of repaying 40,000! Is that how low we have fallen now? Makes me want to cry...
As Shweta says, I think its upto the everyday Indian to do what they can. Kinda makes you think what you are doing with your life...
@Passerby55: Yes Farmers in Punjab are more wealthier than their counterparts across the nation. Either due to the favourable climatic conditions or due to the support they get there from the government. But India is a nation where there is a large percentage of farmer population and therefore some definite steps need to be taken for the others too.
@Priya : Exactly Priya.. that is exactly what we need to do.. Think of them while we eat.. That will make a major difference.
@Jigs: Yes a sad state of affairs.. We sure must do something.. Thanks my friend, for your support.
@Shwetha : I`m so glad you felt so.. Me too.. We can definitely make a start..But as a taxpayer, I would like to see the government functioning and doing what it has to do too..
@Ram : Yes, Ram it is upto the everyday Indian, but we all pay tax.. we contribute to the government. So when we select a government, we expect it to function. We may pitch in money and save a life or two.. What about the others..?? Won`t we be just feeding them fish, without actually giving them a fishing rod or even a fishing net.?
Anycase I was saying that it is so sad to note the plight of the farmers of our country. Wish v cud do someting fr them. Expecting a little also from the Govt will b too much of an expectation.
Moreover, agriculture employs about 60% of the population.
I wonder whats the use of waivering loans by the government, when majority of the debt the farmers have will be with the money lenders and not government banks.
Like Velu said, it equally depressing to note that teachers are paid so less. I feel that all services to humanity mainly teaching should be remunerated adequately.
http://alexmthomas.wordpress.com
We have this farmer on one hand & Rahul Mahajan on the other.
Rashmi.
@Alex: Very True. The nation itself seems to act oblivious of the people at the grassroot level. There is more interest in the market economy than interest in studying the economy viewpoint of the agriculturists. Visited your blog.. Real true ble economic , my friend.! I am a student of science and sadly I dont comprehend the ideas well, but still was able to relate with a few posts.
@Rashmi : A thought, which I myself have had.. Though there might be injustice, a lot of things can also be cleansed in the system. After all Germany cannot ignore the contribution of Adolf Hitler to it`s greatness.!
But for a while let us try everything possible to make democracy a success..!