The Great Agrarian Reforms.

Anything that comes in our mind is called a thought. And if there is thought or memory that comes into our mind every now and then, then it is the result of an event, a person or a situation, which creates an impression in our mind. The impression need not have to be pleasant always. Even ugly, unpleasant and shocking things can create a lasting impression in our mind. This is why one would find difficulty in forgetting certain unpleasant things happened in life. And this is why advertisers choose an ugly, odd and awkward add or an impressive one. For an advertiser the add or a caption should be a striking one which will leave a lasting impression in our mind. Now if a thought is brought into your mind by yourself deliberately, then it is because it is your dream, it is your aspiration, it’s an ambition or it’s a burning desire. There are dreams that we see while being asleep. We often don’t remember what we saw in such dreams. But there are things that we dream about while being awake. And those dreams will remain dreams forever, unless we do something to make it a reality. Once you start doing something regularly to realize your dream, then it becomes an ambition. Becoming a writer was a dream. It all started back in 2010, when i used to come from office and take my dad for a walk. He couldn’t walk on his own because he was recovering from a cardiac arrest followed by a stroke. He was also suffering from liver disorder, which made him speak irrelevant things for few months. So i spent more time with him after office and i used to discuss all that happened in office which included interaction with customers. Once i told him about an old lady calling to know the balance owed on a credit card owned by her son, who is in coma for more than a year. She said that the doctors are of the opinion that he will never come out of coma. She would like to keep the account up to date for her son. She said that she would like to protect his credit history. So that things are good, if at all he comes out of coma in a miraculous way. She said all this in less than ten minutes, which was more or less a reflection of kind of pain which i was going through, about my ailing dad. But i kept teaching her the policies and guidelines of a bank, which says that the account specific information cannot be shared with the anyone other than the account holder, power of attorney or a person authorized by the account holder, only to drag the call. And the call went for more than thirty minutes. In those thirty minutes, i heard her begging to me in chocked voice. She said that, she was from a poor family and was married to a truck driver who was a drunkard and left her after the boy was born. She worked as a house maid all her life to own a house and to educate her only son. She could not save anything for her old age, because she spent, whatever she had, to fulfill the whims and fantasies of her only child like a new bike, an expensive excursion etc. Once the call duration crossed thirty minutes, i was comfortable sharing all the information, she needed. I would not have made her beg to me for thirty minutes. It’s just that i had a ailing dad at home and i was the sole breed winner of the family. So i just wanted her to go on with her sob story. So i was leading and pacing the conversation to make sure that, i could help her with the information she was looking for, without screwing my job. And all i wanted to do is to drag the call for more than thirty minutes, where there the chances of someone monitoring it are very less. So after thirty minutes i helped with her all that she wanted to know about her son’s credit card account, like the balance owed, payment required to make it current and different payment methods. My dad said that, such incidents will make anyone skip a beat and advised me to write ‘short stories’ on such incidents. Since then, it’s been a dream to be a writer. But my life went through different twists and turns, which made me, forget the little dream, i dreamt along with my dad. But i feel that fire in my belly, every time when i get to know about a lit-fest or literary workshop, which i cannot attend. It’s been more than five years since i lost my dad and i am still a beginner in the literary world with just two or three articles of three to four paragraphs. In other words, i started scribbling few lines in my free time as a baby step. And let me say this, for the first in my life, i felt what an addiction or affinity is?

It was around the same time, somewhere in 2011, i happened speak few words about 2G scam with few and how corrupt the Congress led UPA rule was. Coincidentally i also happened to have a fight with a neighbor who happened to be a Muslim. It was not a fight between he the Muslim and i the Hindu. It was an issue of his vehicle spoiling a water pipe and i demanding him to get it fixed. This incident, along with me speaking against Congress and its misrule, i wearing saffron lungi while going to temple made many think that i am BJP or RSS sympathizer. On the other hand, i was just another boy who knew nothing about the outside world. I lived in a small world which is my office, colleagues, few friends and my family which is my mom and dad. My life was limited to just five days in office, followed by two weekends with drinks, party and friends. My lifestyle was not acceptable for BJP and RSS, who saw these developments from far. Moreover my father’s relatives, who visited my home every now and then, were all Christians. And in fact i was too late to know the gravity of the situation. By then Indian National Congress goons happened to do enough amount of damage to my identity and even screwed my career. So it is the need created by them, which made me change my lifestyle to be part of BJP and RSS. It also made me stay away from family. That way i was separated from my father, months before his death. I spoke to him at least once a day over the phone and met once or twice a week. It was not out of choice, rather the only option. Later at some point of time, i distanced myself from Sangh Parivar, because i thought it is the best way to deal with the situation. Then i never thought of going back to Sangh Parivar, even when several warned me about potential death threat, which can be described as a real threat with generous amount of hype. And in the recent past, i have come across many with this question; are you communist? The reason could be the choice of words i use, when talking about the poor and various issues affecting their life. And my answer to them is that i am not a communist, but i am with people. The reason why i don’t want to be part of a political organization is because; it attracts a lot of hatred from people with a different ideology. It is absolutely fine to go through such trouble to uphold an ideology. But one will be agitated, if the party, for which he works, fails to help in legitimate issue. In Kerala, with just the name that i am communist sympathizer, who never attended a party meeting or rally, had the privilege of hassle free service from bureaucrats. It’s just the inability to find a job and ‘Shabarimala issue’, which makes me say repeatedly, that i am not a ‘communist’. On any day, being part of a political party is an unwanted burden, unless they stand by you for legitimate cause and that’s exactly what stopped me from going back Sangh Parivar. In the recent past, i see a deliberate attempt to make me say that i am part of a political party and my writing should be favoring any one of the party. And for the same reason, i see institutions like banks and bureaucrats making simple things daunting than ever. In other words it is a way of creating a need to be part of some political party, which is not applicable for others. I even get to hear people saying that someone could kill me and there is none to help me, because i do not have a family. I get advises from people around to get married, as a solution for all the above said problems and threats. Those advises makes me think, that many who had a family, influential relatives and were Sangh parivar members are murdered. My first write up was in 2012, on the day when all trade unions in India including INTUC went on nation-wide strike against the then ruling front which was Congress led UPA. It was just few lines and i was living in Karnataka, which was ruled by BJP. Still i faced some verbal threats. It was for two reasons, i was new to politics as well as it was my first few lines. Also the mighty Congress which ruled India was so intolerant towards few lines on my FB wall. Later they belittled it saying, writing something relating to politics on FB wall is same as writing vulgar comments on the public toilet’s wall. Six years later, i see Indian National Congress hiring people from Pakistan to write thing on social media websites favoring Congress, which they compared with vulgar comments on a public toilet wall. Now when i write about Indian National Congress and its miserable failure, i have nothing more than pittance.

Once PM Modi said that Rahul Gandhi do not know the difference between moong and toor dal and is talking about farming. I am sure that Rahul Gandhi could have made a research after that remark to find the difference between toor and mong dal. But did Rahul Gandhi ever walk on farm land, which is ploughed and ones feet will touch the loose, moisture filled soil? Did he ever sit on tractor ploughing the wet land? Did he ever been to farm, where the crop is being harvested? Have he ever visited a farm other than the luxuries farm houses and resorted. I am sure the answer is no. And it is same Rahul Gandhi who kick started 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign at Vidyadhar nagar stadium where he proudly presented his only achievement ever, which is winning three state elections and the greatest reform world has ever seen; he said his party’s governments in the newly elected three States had announced farm loan waivers to fulfill the promise made by him. “What Mr. Modi could not do in four-and-a-half years, we did in two days,” he said. Rahul Gandhi also said that he will implement farm loan waiver across India, if elected to power in 2019 General election. All India Kisan Sabha (a CPI (M) affiliated farmer’s organization) called for ‘Gramin Bharath Bandh’ on 8th and 9th of January 2019 to protest PM Narendra Modi’s non committal stand on farm loan waiver. Maharashtra farm leader Raju Shetti also said that opposition grand alliance must commit to a one-time comprehensive farm loan waiver. Other than Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattishgad even Assam had waived loans of farmers. Karnataka and Utter Pradesh have announced schemes to waive off farm loans. Maharashtra a BJP ruled stated, waived off farm loan after long agitation from farmers. Soon after 2018 Karnataka state election, even Yadurappa the one day chief minister also announced farm loan waiver minutes after swearing in. This will make us believe that waiving the farm loan, is the only solution for farmers issues. The reality is, farm loan waiver is a way of appeasing nation to win elections. Such waiver will of course tempt farmers to delay payment in the hope of loan waiver. Such loan waiver is not a burden for banks as the entire waiver is compensated by the state exchequer. AIKS and left parties who were hell bent to get assurance from Modi should ask themselves; is farm loan waiver the only solution for farmers issues? And if the answer is yes, then is that what they did in their 36 consecutive years of left rule in Bengal. Is that what they did in Kerala and Tripura, when they were in power? And if there answer is yes, then it is time for them to understand that they just wasted tax payer’s money. Or if at all there answer is no, then they should go to the people and tell what agrarian reform measures have been taken so far in the states where they ruled. Rahul Gandhi the uncrowned prince of failure for every reason will celebrate his first victory and will think farm loan waiver as a revolution of contemporary India. After all in 2009 UPA government waived off farm loans across country, which many believe was instrumental in ensuring a second term for Man Mohan Singh. So if at all Rahul Gandhi is bragging about farm loan waiver, then its just another cheap trick which Indian National Congress practiced since independence to get votes. It is as good as cash for votes. Every strategy of Congress is to make the life of commoner impossible and then bail them using money from states coffer as favor in return for votes.

Once i did write in the past that few shrewd people owned land and the rest were considered as slaves, where i went on to say that today’s farmers are slaves who own land. My intention was not emphasis on caste system and its rigidity, which we had in India. In the past educated upper caste people who were also wealthy, pushed the rest to slavery. Back then in India, caste and class meant the same. Now what we have is not the caste struggle, it is class struggle. In the past land was owned by few and the rest was made to work for chicken feed. Now we have farmers who belong to all different castes including upper caste, but they are all slaves. They are slaves because; farmers who own land are still made to work for chicken feed. The entire profit from agriculture is being looted by middle men, traders, food processing companies and exporters, thereby making farmers the slaves of contemporary world. For example: A farmer who requires one lakh fifty thousand to cultivate potato in two acres of land will take loan of say, one lakh from bank. Then he will get the remaining fifty thousand by pledging ornaments or will borrow from a private lender. After six months, he will end up selling the entire potato harvested for just fifty thousand in buyers market. The same potato which is brought for fifty thousand will be sold to consumer for three lakhs. And our government will waive the farm loan using the tax payer’s money. The tax payer who purchases food stuffs at an exorbitant price and tax paid is looted in the form of loan waiver and subsidy to enable middle men and food processing companies to make more profit. It’s ironic to see the left parties agitating for farm loan waiver. Here both the farmer and the consumers are deceived. This is why i am against farm loan waiver. Most of the economists are of the view that loan waiver is no solution for agrarian crisis. We only have one dumb economist by name P Chidabaram the former finance minister, who will say that it is okay waive loan to keep people happy. That is how Indian National Congress kept farmers happy to win elections. At its best, loan waiver is just an act of rescue for agrarian crisis. Relief and rehabilitation meaning; measures to make agriculture sustainable and profitable should be followed by loan waiver. And leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechiri should understand that the agrarian crisis dint come into picture in the last five years. I would say that PM Modi should never consider waiving the farm loan across India to win election, instead should invest in making agriculture sustainable. It is tactical approach by the opposition to pressurize the government to waive loan and they take credit, if it is done. And if the farm loan is not waived, then that will be the blame and promise, Rahul Gandhi will have till 2019 general election.

Agriculture is the largest contributor of GDP, which is 16%. Implementation of GST and opening of FDI especially in food processing will make India a unified common market for agricultural goods (free movement of agri-commodities across India) and will enable the growth of the industry. National Agriculture Market (NAM) by centre has increased the scope for transparency and impartial trade of agri-commodities. The exemption of GST on storage and warehousing of agricultural produce which is perishable. All this above steps by the Modi led NDA government is a great move. But it only helps traders and food processing companies. The focus should be on newer marketing strategies to make agriculture lucrative for farmers. The unpredictability of farm prices and price volatility owing to various supply-side issues that plague the agricultural sector is a major issue. And we do not have a mechanism to predict and guide farmers on what crop could probably be the best for them, which can stop excess production of few crops leading to lower price. Even if the price is lucrative, the cartelized agricultural marketing system has made sure that farmers received little to nothing.

In 2002, i volunteered in Karnataka state farmers association then headed Prof. Nanjunda Swamy. I been to several places in Karnataka, where i met many who lost all that they spent on ‘BT cotton’ which is genetically modified. Monsanto sold seeds of ‘BT cotton’ saying that it is genetically modified to withstand worms without pesticide which it was, but it did not produce cotton at the end. And the entire money spent by the farmer was in vein. So ‘BT cotton’ seeds were sold to farmers after mere lab test to see that it resists pest attack and farmers were made to test it in the field to see if it produces cotton. Then ‘BT cotton’ evolved for sixteen years. A review article on, “Modern technologies for sustainable food and nutrition security”, which appeared in the November 25 2018 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Current Science, is deeply worrying. The article was authored by geneticist P.C. Kesavan and leading agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan and describes BT cotton as a “failure”. As the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, K. VijayRaghavan, rightly said, this paper is “deeply flawed”. It has the potential to mislead the public and the political system. And all this years, Monsanto the company which sells ‘BT cotton’ seeds was allowed to do business in India by our government. Last month, i met a retired state government employee from Andhra, who said that he was working for the department, which certifies seeds. He said that it is not mandatory for a company to have government certification to sell seed in all states. He said it is very stringent in states like Tamil Nadu to have government certification to sell seeds, where as in Andhra a company can choose to sell seed with their own certification. He also said that if it is made mandatory to have government certification to sell seeds across India, then it will create government job for at least two hundred people in a state. And it protects farmers from risking their entire investment on faulty seeds. I don’t understand why our union government is not taking steps to make sure that all new varieties of genetically modified seeds are tested in labs as well as in field, which is inspected by a government official and all seeds are certified by the government. Also it should be made mandatory for every merchant to have CCTV cameras in their premises to maintain a record that all those who purchase agricultural inputs like seeds, pesticides etc. is given an invoice. And the duplicate copy of invoice should be something a farmer can retrieve from merchant’s records. It is easy with the use of Aadhar number on invoice. And it can ensure that the farmer can sue the seller and the company who produce faulty seeds.

Meat export and leather business was booming in India. But unfortunately the hard core Hindutva policy of BJP which bans cow slaughter officially or by gov- rakshaks through mob lynching is taking a hit on meat exports. And it is the same Modi government which wants double agriculture exports by 2022. If cow is sacred, which cannot be slaughtered? Then the government should seriously consider encouraging farmers with subsidy to have buffalo as an alternative for cow, to increase their income. That way, meat exports as well as leather industries will remain unaffected by ban on cow slaughter. Even Muslims who live in India will be happy to have buffalos, instead of cow for which they end up risking their own life.

There is one great step taken by union government, which is a service to mankind and to all future generations. It is the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) decision; a water conservation fee (WCF) that industries will need to pay on groundwater extraction starting from June. Industries extracting groundwater including mining-dewatering units and those that use groundwater for packaged drinking water. However, the agriculture sector, the largest consumer of groundwater in the country, will be exempt from the fees along with defense establishments and users who don’t use electricity to extract water. It will be better, if the government makes it mandatory to have provisions for rain water harvesting in every government and high-rise building to get the plan approved. They say all future war will be for water.