Contemporary Agrarian Crises and Suicides in India

Contents

  1. Introduction:
  2. Impact of British Rule- A historical backdrop
  3. Caste and Land reform- The alienated peasant:
  4. Agrarian crisis:
  5. Evidences from across the country:
  6. Conclusion:

Introduction

“The Indian country side is becoming a vast cauldron of boiling lava of tensions, antagonisms and conflicts” A. R. Desai (1990:23)

We seem to have forgotten the well known and well accepted notions that 'India's development lies in village development', 'India lives in villages' and 'Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Our focus and development objective has shifted from agriculture to industry, information technology, mining, tourism and city life. Our goal is no longer sustainable development with equity (Patil R.B., 2014).

We seem focused on achieving a faster rate of growth without worrying about sustainability and equity. A “rural-urban divide” is emerging due to low budget allocations for agriculture and rural areas. The agricultural sector faces a number of problems such as irregular power supply, insufficient irrigation, lack of storage facilities, lack of roads, transportation, etc. Farmers who are the main victims of these adverse currents see their profession more as a gamble with monsoons and inadequate resources, failed crops; rising costs of cultivation, declining agricultural yields, negative effects of economic liberalization and a large debt burden.

This indicates the need for a paradigm shift in our key development areas. Despite the various measures taken by the government to deal with the vital crises of the agricultural economy, the ineffective implementation of these policies and programs has not produced the desired results, instead exacerbating the misery. The emerging agrarian disorder has recently driven a significant number of farmers to resort to extreme suicide. About 1.5 million suicides were reported in India between 1995 and 2004 (Mishra, 2007) and the number continues to grow at an alarming rate. This extreme measure, to which the peasantry have been pushed, has been reported in various parts of the country, including major states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, rising operating costs, decreasing subsidies and minimum support prices, disenchantment with the profession among the young generation of farmers, market volatility, lack of institutional support in terms of credit availability, the growing unpredictability of the agricultural universe, more important macroeconomic factors, etc. appear as common problems affecting more or less all these former areas of the Green Revolution.

The causes and nature of peasant suicides in India have now attracted the attention of scholars around the world. It is at the heart of the sociological tradition to identify and analyze these suicides. A scientific approach to research and explain the cause of these suicides leads us to follow the theoretical framework based on the ideas of Emile Durkheim written in his classic work Suicide (1897/1952). The sociological paradigm that Durkheim's work offers us serves as a model for understanding peasant suicides in India. He suggests that these suicides are compatible with two of the four types of selfishness and anomie (Mohanty, B. B. 2013). Durkheim identifies four broad types of suicides, namely selfish, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic. Durkheim's work, based on the concept of "concomitant variables", explains these types and their causes on the basis of two independent variables, social integration and social regulation. According to Durkheim, selfish suicide occurs due to social isolation, ie the lack of adequate social integration, while anomic suicide results from weak social regulation and when there is a disproportion between aspirations and results. The two types of suicides provide the necessary explanation in light of the various agrarian turmoil that affected the socio-economic life of the deceased farmers, left to the horrific vagaries of Indian agriculture. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to follow the changing trajectories of agrarian crises to understand the various contemporary agrarian turbulences. 

Impact of British Rule- A historical backdrop

The agrarian crisis arose during the imperialist rule with the introduction of the Ryotwari and Zamindari systems which laid the foundations of a capitalist form of agriculture. Due to the commercialization of agriculture, emphasis on growing cash crops such as sugarcane and cotton due to increased demand, the agricultural economy under the British Raj anticipated crises such as land subdivision and fragmentation, increasing rural debt, exploitation of tenants, poverty, etc. As a result, the peasant revolted with discontent, which was reflected in the movements and protests such as the Champaran peasant movement, the Moplah rebellion, the Bijolia movement and the Indian rebellion of 1875.

The government attempted some reforms, but mostly favored the landowning class. Poor farmers were unable to grow commercial crops as they were constrained by limited resources and small land holdings. The large landowners remained unaffected by the productive forces, as the loss they suffered would be compensated by lowering the wages of the workers and raising the price of their surplus grains. In general, the reforms have not produced the desired results.

Caste and Land reform- The alienated peasant:

The government has introduced various policies and programs to counter the agricultural crisis. The upper caste benefited from their position under the British Raj as they were the intermediary of the British administration, owning large estates and being involved in money lending activities. In contrast, members of the lower caste performed various types of labor services. In the middle of the caste structure were the cultivators. Thus, the British Raj did not disrupt India's traditional rigid caste structure (Mohanty 2013). Each caste remained a professional group. This division of labor guaranteed the necessary cohesion between the rural community, characterized by strong kinship ties. Gradually, during the 20th century, lower caste peasants developed a "caste consciousness" and expressed their discontent in the form of protests and movements about land exploitation and labor credit relations and economic inequality among caste groups. Thus, organic solidarity in the countryside began to disintegrate after independence. Planned efforts have been made to bring justice to the lower castes through land distribution, the imposition of caps, and measures such as the abolition of intermediaries (Mohanty 2013). The land reform did not lead to the desired benefits for all members of the peasantry but it did bring some relief in the form of positive effects in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (Rajasekaran 1998; Deshpande 1998; Mohanty 2001b). ; Reddi 2002).

Agrarian crisis:

British rule laid the groundwork for a troubled situation in Indian agriculture, with a rigid structure of castes serving as a bond between them. The reforms introduced in the interest of the peasants only worsened their conditions because they required scarce and unaffordable inputs and the means to achieve them were marginal and required additional investments.

Evidences from across the country:

In Andhra Pradesh, an analysis of cotton farming, with a focus on Warangal district, suggests that indebtedness and production instability were the reasons why farmers committed suicide. But there was more that came to the fore when Nirmala (2003) illustrated in her analysis of 30 suicide cases that social disintegration and detachment from the community were unwelcome additions to the anguish of the deceased peasants. Revathi (2007), in his study of deceased farmers, also agrees that individualistic orientation led them to commit suicide as a refuge. It was also reported that the suicide victims in most districts were largely lower caste and tribal.

In Karnataka, Vasavi (1999) observed that in the Bidar district, more than the loss of crops, the devastated communal relations among farmers added to their misery. Deshpande (2002) also showed in his study that nuclear family patterns, lack of integration, family and marital tensions are sufficient reasons for suicide. Shah (2010) argued that suicides are also possible for various social reasons such as gambling habits and alcohol consumption.

In Maharshtra, suicides have occurred in the Vidarbha region. Mohanty (2001a) found that when agricultural losses did not meet their aspirations for better socio-economic conditions, small farmers, who were mainly from lower castes, committed suicide. He also noted caste-based social isolation, detachment from family, and individualism in agriculture. The study also shows that suicide among large and medium farmers, who were mostly from the upper caste, was attributed to economic and political losses (EPW May, 2013). Dash's (1998) case studies report that social isolation due to illness and weakening kinship ties were major factors that drove farmers to suicide. A comparison of the social characteristics of the deceased farmers with the control farmers shows that the suicide victims belonged to nuclear families with negative social experiences such as divorce and separation.

In Punjab, Iyer and Manick (2000) reviewed 80 cases suggesting that suicide was widespread among young people, indicating their alienation from agriculture in the face of urban lifestyles and family breakdown. Sidhu and Jaijee (2011) also found that 78% of suicide victims were under 40 years old. Kumar and Sharma (1998) reported that 77% of suicide victims were withdrawn and dissatisfied with their interpersonal relationships. In summary, while in some cases Punjab has experienced farmer suicides due to disease and drug addiction, in other cases it has mainly suffered from domestic discord, social isolation and demotivated and unhappy youth with strong apathy towards their profession.

Conclusion:

Government can make planned efforts to reduce suicidal tendencies by making rural credit and crop insurance more accountable to the public; setting and imposing strict limits on the interest rates charged by private institutions and regulating how loans are collected; farmers need to be informed about safe and effective agriculture; agricultural cooperative associations should be formed to oversee the implementation of the rules and regulations for lending practices; expand relief funds and immediate compensation for farmers.

The commercialization of agriculture can only become a successful model if the state resolutely supports farmers in defending their interests and does not leave them behind in the 'sturm und drang' of invisible and complex market forces. Furthermore, what should not be ignored is that it is necessary to diagnose the agrarian crisis in India by analyzing the internal contradictions and factors of a domestic nature, understanding the phenomenon as a psycho-sociological act rather than as a scapegoat to be found. at external agencies.

References

  • Morrison, Ken (1995): Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought (London: Sage Publications). 
  • Nisbet, Robert A (1965): Emile Durkheim (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall).

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