Farmer Distress - Is suicide an option?

Photo taken in Bunagaon village, Kondagaon Tehsil, Bastar - Chhattisgarh

I am typing this at 4 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, comfortably seated in my chair after having eaten a scrumptiously prepared meal by my mother. Despite being under lockdown, life is indeed very comfortable and I cannot complain at all. 

But let's take a step back and think about all those journeys we made to the rural hinterlands of India, where we saw fruits ripen on trees, and organic vegetables grow in the paddy fields. Let's think about how we enjoyed photographing those fruits and veggies and spreading information on the benefits of consuming organic foods as opposed to those available in the Sabzi Mandi. Think of all the apples, oranges and bananas we were easily able to buy off shelves wherever we went and however remote we travelled.

And now let's talk about the rate at which farmers MAY commit suicide because they are unable to sell their produce as a result of which their families MAY die of starvation. Farmers all across the country are in a state of panic because the ripening fruits and vegetables are beginning to rot because Mandi operations have almost stopped. Labour cannot reach farms and orchards due to transport bottlenecks.

This is the time for harvest. Fruits like watermelons that have been stored in godowns and warehouses would have to be thrown away if they don't reach the market within 3-4 days of being harvested. The Centre keeps saying that essential services will be provided. However, states are not allowing farmers to harvest. 

The losses to farmers are in millions of rupees. The situation is grave. Very very grave. What will they do if their produce doesn't reach the markets? How will their families survive? When will the relief package promised by the government reach any of them? Who will take care of this humanitarian crisis. The poor are getting poorer. 

We need to question the government at every single point. What is the government doing really? Asking the damn world to light diyas and clap for frontline workers? Really now, is this how we show solidarity? 

The answer is NO! We need to find solutions look after the millions of farmers out there who might be at the verge of suicide. Farmer suicide is not an uncommon issue in India. Millions have committed suicide in the past and they may see themselves die either due to starvation or COVID-19. 

Landha and Mahua: Is that going to be the solution?

I went to Chhattisgarh for a 14 days trip in February. I visited multiple villages and interacted with different tribals within the regions of Bastar and Dantewada. My trip was nothing short of an adventure; the cultural experience was raw and authentic. 

But at this point, I am not going to write about how enriching the experience was and why people must visit Chhattisgarh. With an exodus of migrants walking from one part of the country to another and many dying due to hunger, I have been unable to wrap my head around the thought of how the people I recently met in a highly impoverished and underdeveloped state would survive the lockdown. Most of the villages I visited lack basic amenities like a PHC while some villages in the interiors have never seen the light of government interventions. 

People are unable to manage a square meal for themselves owing to lack of income. In order to fill their bellies, they prepare Landha or Mahua, a locally brewed alcoholic beverage that keeps them full for hours.

In such grim circumstances where the world is fighting an unknown enemy, how would these people survive with little or absolutely no money? Is Landha or Mahua the solution; one which they have been resorting to for the longest time? With the agricultural sector being hit the worst, what would these people do? 

White town, Pondicherry

Tai

Jabarra village

Photo taken in Jabarra, Nagri Tehsil, Dhamtari district - Chhattisgarh

Will the sun rise in India?

Photo taken at Kaziranga National Park, Kanchanjuri - Assam

Modi's India has become a dangerous place for Muslims. Polarisation has intensified over the last six years in India and Muslims and Dalits have been targets of lynchings by Hindu activists in the name of protecting cows, a long-standing Hindu preoccupation. 

Ever since Modi has been re-elected as Prime Minister with an even bigger majority, the government has been out there to fulfil long-standing Hindu nationalist demands to further marginalise minorities in India. 

The Citizen Amendment Act was one of those. It is one such step which completely violates the  non-discriminatory spirit of the Constitution. A version of this exercise was carried out in Assam with disastrous effects. Roughly, 1.9 million Assamese were declared non-citizens and will now have to undergo long appeal requests in special courts that function poorly.

The recent spread of coronavirus by the Tablighi Jamaat is being looked through a communal lens. While I completely agree with the stupidity and irreversible effects that their congregation has led to, mainstream media has left no stone unturned in giving the pandemic a religious connotation. 

I, as a Muslim and a citizen of India don't feel safe in my own country. It's a shame. 

COVID-19's relief package has gaping holes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus for India's 1.3 billion people. With just 4 hours' notice, the government instructed everyone to remain in their homes, banned public events, closed schools and institutions and shut commercial outlets across the country.

However, the move to prevent community transmission is having an enormous impact on those most in need in India - the hundreds of millions who live in poverty. 

The federal government had announced direct cash transfers to poorer households, mainly through existing government schemes. The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman announced a relief package, a step in the right direction. However, there are a gaping holes in it. 

For instance, the relief package builds on food grains and cash transfers. Food grain rations would be doubled for an initial 3 month period with an addition of pulses to the PDS. However, there are many poor who are still excluded from the PDS. The GoI is still using 2011 population figures to calculate state-wise PDS coverage. Secondly, the PDS has been found to be corrupt owing to poor coordination, low administrative accountability, and diversion of PDS supplies from the system.

Cash-transfer amounts are very small. The PMGKP allocation of INR 31,000 Cr for transfers to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts covers a monthly allowance of INR 500 for approximately 20 Cr recipients for an initial 3 month period. It is impossible for an average size family (of four) to survive on INR 500 for a month.

Whether it is food or cash - the disbursement process and system will be a huge challenge. With everyday proving to be a living challenge for the poor, how far has the GoI gone to ensure that ration and cash has reached the people?

Yellows of Pondicherry

Photo taken in White Town - Pondicherry

South Indian Meal

The traditional South Indian meal which consists of rice, sambar, papad and an assortment of vegetables. 

Peramanji village, Kalahandi dist. Odisha

Gram Vikas Shikshya Niketan School in Thuamul Rampur village of Kalahandi District in Odisha