Does PM’s attention cost 21 lives?

From Arpi’s syaahi………. (Post 2)
Date: 16th August, 2009

There had been 21 suicides in Andhra Pradesh. I, being a casual reader of newspaper, have often overlooked such news but today, I couldn’t. Few days ago, one of my friends asked some of the questions from his talk show. One of them was: You are a person from metropolitan. Can you connect yourself with the poor farmers of Andhra Pradesh who had committed suicide? I thought for a while, it was very mean and heartless to say no but I really couldn’t feel the pang. Finally, I tried to give a diplomatic answer, “ Well, the effect of drought can be seen on the aate daal ka bhaav . It affects every household. Although, we are on the other side of the world but we are also on the other side of the supply chain. So, we are affected.” Thank God, he changed the question.


Now, this is unbelievable. I belong to a farmer family. My grandfather is a farmer. Every year, when I visit my village back in Orissa, I watch my ba (I call my grandpa ba) wake up at 5, clean the cow shed and set for the fields (though we are not left with much). However, the thing is, belonging to a village with 35 small and big iron and steel plants, part of a developing colony Kalinganagr, a village with 24X7 electricity, airtel and reliance towers and Tata Sky cable connection in televisions; I can’t imagine farmers suiciding here. Most of the farming activities have ceased as industries are setting up. My chachu is a contractor and is doing well in his business. We also faced drought and scarcity of water in past but we were luckier, no one ever died or committed suicide.


Sorry, I just got deviated but wanted you to know that there are prosperous villages in India too. Coming back to the topic of 21 suicides, the first line in the Times of India article is……Its official. So, what’s non official? Lives come so cheap in India. I remember the book, The Holy Cow in which author Sarah McDonald mentions an earthquake toll as quoted by some newspapers…. only 110 deaths, a small casualty. But, there’s no prevention, no cure. Government is only trying to apply a balm on the dead. 21 farmers had to lose their lives to get 1.5 lakh rupees as compensation and relief on loans. Is this a price a man should pay for his family to afford two meals a day? I think, there should be something more than relief and compensation. May be, employment generation but, it would lead the farmers to move away from the farming activities that is so uncertain and risky nowadays. I guess, there must be some temporary methods to earn money while one is out of work though this idea is pretty vague. What’s your say?

Arpita