Uneasy fields: on Kisan Mukti Morcha
In order to address farmers’ distress, the entire agricultural chain needs a reboot
Last week, tens of thousands of farmers reached Delhi for a
two-day Kisan Mukti Morcha and held the country’s attention. They sought a
special 21-day Parliament session to discuss the crisis in India’s agrarian
economy. Their key demands included an unqualified loan waiver to mitigate
indebtedness levels in farm households and better remuneration for their
produce instead of promises on paper of high minimum support prices. These
broad demands sum up the precarious livelihood of a majority of farmers who
work on small, fragmented land holdings. This is certainly not the first
distress call from the farm sector to Parliament and policymakers; several such
stirs have taken place across States over the past year alone. In March, when
around 30,000 farmers and tribals from Maharashtra walked for days to Mumbai,
they drew appreciation for their restrained conduct compared to the usually
unruly protesters. And, they secured assurances from Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis of tangible action on their demands over the next six months. Finding
little movement on those promises, many of those who had marched to Mumbai
joined the rally in Delhi, which was by far the biggest such gathering.
Galvanised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, it
reportedly had participation from 200-plus organisations, with farmers from 24
States.
With rural distress palpable, elections for five State Assemblies under way,
and the Lok Sabha election just about six months later, farmers’ issues are
bound to further dominate politics. Official data released
last Friday show that the agriculture sector clocked a growth of just 3.8% (on
a gross value added basis) in the second quarter of this fiscal, compared to
the 5.3% recorded in the preceding quarter. To put that in perspective, farm
sector output was growing strongly in the first three quarters of 2016-17, before
imploding in the aftermath of the demonetisation exercise. The latest number
suggests that the semblance of recovery seen in the previous two quarters has
dimmed too. The government has done an about-turn on its responses to a
parliamentary panel that farmers were hit hard by the note ban, and sought to
reassure farmers by reiterating its own initiatives for the sector. The
Opposition, in turn, is using the farmers’ platform to take jibes at the
BJP-led government at the Centre and in many States. Unfortunately, neither has
focussed on the big picture strategy needed to reboot India’s hugely
state-controlled farm sector. The Centre exhibits an aversion to inconvenient
facts. And the Opposition’s attempts to tap into their angst with breezy
promises of loan waivers (with both the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra
Samithi promising them in State election pitches) that over-simplify the
crisis. Farmers are not just vote banks, but also critical economic actors who
aspire to live without handouts. Till that is clearly recognised, paying lip
service to the humble farmer will continue to distort the discourse.
01. Distress
(noun) – anguish/pain, suffering; hardship.
02. Hold
someone’s attention (phrase) – attract, inspire.
03. Agrarian
(adjective) – relating to cultivating/farming.
04. Mitigate
(verb) – reduce, lessen, alleviate/ease.
05. Indebtedness
(noun) – financial obligation, financial liability, debt.
06. Household
(noun) – family, house.
07. Remuneration (noun) – payment,
earnings, wages.
08. On
paper (phrase) – in theory, theoretically, hypothetically, .
09. Precarious
(adjective) – uncertain/unsure, insecure, unreliable/risky.
10. Restrained
(adjective) – controlled, sober, quiet/calm.
11. Unruly
(adjective) – disorderly, uncontrollable, wild/troublemaking.
12. Tangible
(adjective) – real/actual, definite, substantial.
13. By
far (phrase) – considerably, significantly, noticeably.
14. Galvanise
(verb) – inspire, spur, encourage.
15. Palpable
(adjective) – noticeable, appreciable, discernible.
16. Bound
to (adjective) – certain/sure, very likely, guaranteed.
17. Clock
(verb) – register, record, attain.
18. Preceding
(adjective) – previous, prior, earlier.
19. Put
something in perspective (phrase) – to compare something with a
similar thing to give a clearer, more accurate idea.
20. Implode
(verb) – collapse, fail suddenly, break up.
21. Aftermath
(noun) – consequence, repercussion, effects.
22. Semblance
(noun) – resemblance, likeness, similarity/similar nature.
23. About-turn
(adjective) – about-face, reversal, change of mind/sea change.
24. Reiterate
(verb) – repeat, say again, restate.
25. Jibe
(noun) – insult, taunt;
contemptuous/insulting remark.
26. Aversion
(noun) – dislike, disinclination, hatred.
27. Tap into
(verb) – draw on, exploit, make use of/utilize.
28. Angst
(noun) – anxiety, fear, apprehension/worry.
29. Breezy
(adjective) – easy, casual, informal.
30. Handout
(noun) – (financial) support, free
offering/freebie.
31. Lip service
(noun) – a method of expressing approval/support without taking any significant
action.
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