Endangered Food Security

The crisis looming over agricultural sector and food security

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat



Latest FAO report on the food crisis has sent worrying signals all over the world. Those of us who have been working on the issue of hunger and starvation understand that this crisis is not surprising and sudden. The threat to faming sector is world over as the masters of technology want to control our food habits and give us food of their choice. The agricultural production in India has been facing slump and was systematically reduced by successive governments. World over, it has been accepted norm that land and agrarian reforms were key to poverty alleviation programs but unfortunately here in India, the issue of land was made a state subject and therefore lot of manipulations and political gimmickries resulted their complete failures. Courts also came to rescue of the powerful and despite ceiling on land, people had huge track of lands, even in the names of their pets. So while more than 90% population involved in farming did not have 5 acres of land, a tiny population was controlling huge land holding. This tiny population of Zamindars have become today’s farmer leaders and dictate our policies in Delhi. With the advent of market in the post 90s, these Zamindars have become multi billionaires as the land prices soared up and they used power and positions to grab more. They were on a spree to hand over huge track of land to companies who allured them with huge money and the result is today the corporate are not the submissive to the government but have become masters of the government. They are accorded status of state guest; speak to special sessions of assemblies and chief ministers and their associates bow in front of them. This is the change in the post globalization regime that business tycoons have become our masters and those who who votes in large number are voiceless. The situation is depressing.
Three years ago on a trip to Bundelkhand with a friend from abroad who was pursuing her PhD on Indian agriculture, I got an opportunity to sit with the vice chancellor of of the University there, who informed how he belonged to a farmer community and is a pass out from IIT. Vice chancellor was speaking of the green revolution and the changes in the Indian farm sector. I was silently listening to his views which looked as if he was not talking of farmers but of the corporate honchos who have realized the farm sector as the next important thing to invade.

After much discussion, this woman posed a question to the vice chancellor about the growing stress in the farming community particularly in Maharastra. Since she had visited several parts of Andhra also that time particularly Chittoor district, she mentioned the agrarian crisis of Andhra Pradesh as well. The VC listened to her and said that the farmers in Maharastra and Andhra were too emotional and are unable to bear the stress and that is why they are committing suicide. He gave other reasons also which include loans for the marriage purposes of their daughters and failing to repay that. I was shocked to here this answer from a person of his stature. ‘But sir, farmers are committing suicide in Punjab too and Sikhs are always known to be very hard working community. And one village people were so disturbed with their inability to pay the loans that they put a board in the village Panchayat that ‘village was for sale’ as people had nothing to repay. Today, going by the latest stress factors, Bundelkhand is becoming another Vidarbha in the North which has send the government of not only Uttar-Pradesh but also of the centre into deep distress. Daily, the reports of farmers committing suicide are coming from the area.

To understand the agrarian crisis, we have to understand the nature of people we are talking about and the entry of the corporate in it. The dangers and implications of that. We can also learn a few lessons from African food crisis and how the colonization of that country created this crisis which was one of the most natural places of the world. The analyst of the agrarian crisis in India are switching between green revolution and post green revolution India and that is why it is easier for us to blame the economic policies or so-called privatization. The fact is that Indian farming and its methodologies of the green revolution ask for serious introspection not only in terms of economic growth but social exclusion, gender equity and bio-diversity.

Take the case of Punjab and Haryana which benefited from the Green Revolution, the most. What happened? Definitely, it was not the hard work of the Punjab Sikh community but also the real work done by the migrant Bihar labors. Secondly, despite all the profits, why are the Sikhs ready to become cab driver in London, New York or even farm laborers in Toronto and Montréal? What about Haryana. It is one of the most fertile states and latest NSSO data reveals that it has more Crorepatis than we have in Mumbai. But how come so many crorepaties. What is Haryana doing and you will see, again, big malls, SEZ for Mukesh Ambanis and many more things. But these crorepaties do not make Haryana great state at the social indicators are concern. We will come to that later but let us also talk of the third important benefactor of the Green Revolution and it is Western Uttar-Pradesh and here the farmers or so-called farmers are the powerful jaats and Gujjars of the sugarcane growers. All the three states, these farmers are basically middle class peasantry communities who live in their own traditions and patterns. Farming unfortunately faces two threats. It needs to change itself to save it from the corporatisation which definitely hurt the national food security and second, its traditional thinking creates a social chaos and oppression.

The green revolution in India actually killed the traditional knowledge system of farming. It created a new rowdy class of upper caste peasantry which would arrogate itself to talk on any subject under the sun, take moral positioning and became highly biased and gender prejudiced. Today, India is facing regular slump in agricultural production and the responsibility of this must be shared by high profile ‘farmers’ and innovators like M.S.Swaminathan. In the traditional pattern where small and marginal people could produce enough for their survival, but green revolution made us believe that farming needs big land holdings resulting in crisis in the family. The farmers became biggest enemies of land reform as the land meant for the Dalits and landless workers were illegally occupied violently or fraudulently in these regions by these farmers. The water level in Punjab and Haryana has depleted and therefore aggravated the crisis further. Moreover, the pesticides and their companies added salt to the injury. Punjab’s farmer’s switched to ‘cash crop’ and therefore would like to produce ‘rose’ for the Valentine day abroad and sun flower for the exporters, rather than producing wheat and rice. When he produces more, the prices are down but it is not his fault. It is the manipulation by the ‘market’ which our political class is involving every where as a theme song to eliminate the crisis. Whether it will eliminate the crisis or escalate it further needs discussion. And some more examples would suffice the point. Today, the farming by the corporate need big land holding. We abolished Zamindari system long back though much in papers but with the entry of corporate and SEZ’s we are entering into a new fascist zone where the corporate goons will take every step to kill the legitimate demands of the people. Yes, I remember not to long back a great friend said that India will face the corporate fascism in future and that is coming true. The vulgar display of wealth and material in public, the purchase of national players, the skimpy cloths girl who are dancing at every four and sixes at the cricket matches is the sign of the future India. While you may boast this, Adivasis would die of hunger in most fertile land of Kalahandi, Akru Valley, in industrialized Maharastra or a Bahujanised Uttar-Pradesh or in Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand. The political class is busy playing politics, people trapped in identities of caste and region, nobody is there to question their manipulations. It is a frustrating situation today.

What is happening today in Punjab and Haryana, will shock any new moralist but not the social scientists who have seen the dangers of the growth of the ‘agrarian crisis’. Since, green revolution asked for big land holdings, family system, division is creating further chaos. In many places in Punjab, to avoid division of land further, brothers married one woman to keep the land holding intact? In all these places, violence against the Dalits is rampant and mostly goes unreported. Women are considered as subject. There are no women in India’s so called farmer’s movement and not even the Dalit. It became another bashing point and platform for political manipulations by those who used farmer’s identity to boost their political ambitions. Thus, Charan Singh, Devi Lal, Ajit Singh, Prakash Singh Badal, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Om Prakash Chautala, Chandra Babu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, Y.Rajshekar Reddy, Mahendra Singh Tikait, all are farmers and unfortunately nobody questions their business interest and their stand on these crisis. We all feel proud of these farmers who just do not have time to look beyond their own families and their business interest that route through farming. Today, they remain unquestioned leaders of farming communities despite their important role in the current crisis. If we leave Tikait who never tasted political power though his social clout can give Bal Thackeray a run for his rhetoric.

These leaders and others like them (and the list could go on, it was just a sample) are ‘farmer leaders’ but is that true? What are their issues? We do not pay electricity bills, we do not pay fertilizers bill, ask sugar factories to raise the price of sugarcane and so on. When the agricultural sector is in crisis, our farmer leaders have no time for it. Actually, they use farming as a tool to mobilize their own interest and their strength come from their caste identity. Take the case of Sharad Pawar, the mighty Maratha man, who is busy with cricket these days and have rarely visited Vidarbha where his own community persons are committing suicide.

There are bigger issues in suicide. It is not just distress due to agriculture but due to our very own social system. As most of them hail from upper middle sections of the upper castes and politically mobile backward communities, prestige is a big issue. They are not supposed to do ‘NREGS’ work or labour work as it is beyond their dignity. Despite crop failures, our family system is that you can not stop important family functions like marriages of daughters and sons. It is here that this false prestige is taking its toll. We are on spending spree despite our problems and hence the loans that the farmers take may not be for the farming but getting other things done like marriage of daughter, buying a tractor, constructing house or buying for pesticide and so on. Once the crop fails, he has no option. But one factor is there that ‘dream’ sold to them by big companies and moneylenders resulted in the crisis which has turned manifold today. Farmer’s in Maharastra were in distress because they adopted a new technology highly unsuited for them. What should be a farmer’s choice has been left to profiteering corporate and the result is farmers who thought of making good money with high yields got nothing. And mind you, it is not just high yield, the quality of product that needs to be checked. Those who advocate latest technology for the current food crisis and for GM foods are corporate who want to control the vast market of India. India’s rural sector is the future of the country as far as marketing forces are concern. After some time, there would be saturation like Europe in the metros and cities and then these forces would go to the villages and hence they are trying to gain their access there. The idiocies of the farmer leaders are coming handy. The problem is not that technology is good or bad. Question is even criticism is politicized and take away the entire debate from one point to another point and debate become highly emotional and charged and leads no where.

Technology is good and we all welcome it. It is for us but it cannot be the only criteria. You may bring thrashers, tractors and many new machines and thus kill the labor force, the vast human resource that exists in our villages. The relationship between people and their role in production would be reduced by the mechanization process. Could we understand the enormous social cultural chaos that we would go through this? It would be unimaginable.

And let us be fair. Bring technology and socalled professionalism but first fulfill your promises. Have we implemented land reforms completely? Ask any state government? Contrary to fulfilling their own agendas, the state went on distributing people’s land, selling forests and water to industries. Do you think people would keep quiet at this and you would be allowed to do things that easily? No government or political class should think of that. The conditions are volcanic and one hopes that the examples from Orissa, Chhatisharh and Jharkhand are not encouraging where the governance is hostage to Naxals. It is tragic but truth. The failure of political class will send people to those who claim to revolutionise the system. Though it does not happen but betrayal of the political class is much bigger an issue. Nepal’s verdict has clearly been a vote against corrupt political leaders and people’s faith in those who bring changes with Danda. While, it’s not that the Maoists are too big a revolutionary yet given such situations of desperations, people want those who speak for them and talk their issues. We should introspect this as we just can not survive on the laurels of democracy which is totally in the hands of corporate czars and being played at their whims and fancies. While the Prime Minister can say that there is no crisis as it is a political statement, the fact is that it not just the crisis but volcano that is waiting to erupt and the impact would be widely felt and catastrophic to the nation.

Left is equal to Right in West Bengal

Lesson from Nandigram’s heroic land struggle


By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Nandigram is burning and the Neros of the left front governments are watching it with great patience. Those who are up in arms against any displacement elsewhere remain mute spectators at the butchering of people in this ‘war zone’, as the governor of the state Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi mentioned in his statement. CPM and its leadership were prompt in condemning the governor for his remark as unconstitutional. If governor’s remark is out of the touch of Bengal’s reality then how can one justify the ‘call’ for ‘recapture’ of land by the top leadership of CPM?

The fact is that this unprecedented crisis needed a strong response. It is rare for a governor or that too of the stature of Gopal Krishna Gandhi to speak out openly against the state government. It clearly reflects his mind and pain on what the state is witnessing in Nandigram. A governor should not keep quiet if the state government that operates under him violates basic principals of governance. Whether it is Gujarat or Bengal, state can not withdraw itself from the governance asking people to take the law in their own hands, as CPM and its chief minister continue to chant. It is not only shocking for a party to defend the illegal act of their cadre to recapture the land. Why was government silent on this for such a long and why were the central forces being kept at the mercy of the party cadre. A party can not be asked to take over the role of the governance. Bengal’s government is using the same language which very unfortunately Rajiv Gandhi spoke in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and later on Narendra Modi, in Gujarat after the Godhara fire. A chief minister is expected to act and provide protection to the people and not to teach lesson to those who faulted or disagreed.

West Bengal is passing through a big crisis. It is the test of its patience with a government which actually is the symbol of brahmanical supremacy and tyranny in the name of Marxism. Now, that supremacy is also being challenged by another woman Mamata Bannerjee, who herself has no clean record despite claiming to lead all the people’s movement. In fact, any one supporting her should first ask her the question what her stand is on land reform and secondly how long would she flirt with the Hindutva forces in Delhi. But it looks as if all the opposition forces are uniting in their battle against the CPM. However, ground realities are different and mere media attention might not change
The situation except that the hallo of good governance and Panchayati Raj and much-touted land reforms the left stand exposed in front of the world.

Whether the government go or not, is not the answer. Nandigram has silver lining on the one side and duplicity of Bengal’s Bhadralok politics on the other. Let us discuss about the silver lining. Despite all our condemnation, one thing that needed to be expressed here is the spirit of the people of Nandigram, which defies all convention so far. The governments of the day, whether in Bengal or elsewhere are shamelessly pursuing the agenda of acquiring people’s land for the SEZ, big dams and big companies, without rehabilitating them. Those in power know that the people’s struggle start for a few months and fizzles out. And that has given them the reason to pursue with their dangerous policies of land acquisition. Hence the question is really not about the face of CPM or not. The question is that there is a broader agreement in the mainstream ‘national’ parties and regional parties for ‘reform’. They have gone far beyond people’s aspirations and the result is that these movement will shake the nation and find space somewhere else which might not be democratic.

Unfortunately, many of their friends thought the Marxists as the only party committed to ‘land reform’. But Buddha dev had other ideas. He had to attract the middle class Bengalies who felt betrayed of 30 years of left rule without any industrialization. Disturbed over the ‘loss’ of ‘face’ of Kolkata and Bengal as an ‘industrial hub’, Buddha government went over board to attract ‘investment’. The selection of the company from Indonesia was equally important to understand. Despite its track record, the Marxist would want us to believe that contract given to this ‘Indonesian’ firm is according to secular and anti-imperialist belief of the left front. This, at a time when the Muslims and Dalits are regularly at the receiving end in West Bengal. The disturbing question is why particular area of Nandigram or Singur or why 19000 hectare of land was required. Many report charge Party MP Laxman Seth, a man who is heading Haldia Petrochemicals, as allegedly instigating the land grabbing in the area. All this was done to promote ‘industrialisation’ of Bengal. And in this battle to dislocate people and invite industries to suck the blood of the people, the government got wholehearted support from the ‘national’ media. Like Gujarat where Narender Modi’s corrupt practices and criminal past as a chief minister is easily ignored by the equally corrupt corporatised media where corporate interest are bigger than the people’s interest, all in the name of development, Buddha Dev Bhattacharya also became a star of the media even when a large number of his party persons were not in demand there.

CPM and its allies have been opposing Congress party’s new economic policies. They have participated in numerous programmes, condemned Narendra Modi and rightly so, they organized massive demonstration against WTO and yet when their own state is concern, they remain mute. They do not even want a discussion leave along allowing people to visit Nandigram.

It is clear that the proposed SEZ would displace thousands of people particularly the rural poor. In the case of Nandigram and Singur, these would automatically the poor Muslims and Dalits, who unfortunately are not the vote bank of the CPM. A party like CPM whose chief minister spoke the language of Lal Krishna Advani when he was home minister of India, on the issue of Madrasas and his stand on so-called Bangla Refugees, Buddh Dev and his party thought it is good to create an SEZ some where else which does not affect the Bangla upper caste or CPM’s supporter’s zone. After all, why should they annoy their own supporter who would get the benefit of Tata’s promised Rs One lakh car and jobs in Salim’s company? It would not be the Muslims and Dalits who would get job in these companies. This opinion maker Bhadralok had charged the CPM in the past with insensitivity towards its own issues and condition of stagnation in West Bengal in past three decade’s left front rule. Left front has to come clean on the issue of Dalits and Muslims in Bengal. Where are their land reforms? Where is Dalit and Muslim representation in their government jobs, police and elsewhere? Well, the bhadralok make us believe that they don’t believe in caste system and therefore there is no need for reservation. Of course, it can not deny the fact that the scavenging community in Bengal is worst hit by its manipulations apart from the Muslims. The condition of Dalits in Bengal is a matter of grave concern. Scavenging is still prevalent though CPM dominated cadre and intellectuals would not allow outsiders to expose this bitter truth of Bengal. Even loyalists like N Ram and his ‘ The Hindu’ did not think twice before giving Bengal clean chit on issues of scavenging and now on Nandigram, the most ‘secular’ newspaper in India has turned brahmanical. Of course, those reading ‘The Hindu’ in the South know it well that it serves the brahmanical interest under the guise of secularism. The other loyalist for Buddha Dev at the moment is Goenka’s Indian Express, voice of India’s corrupt middle classes supporting an irresponsible privatization. Express has been supporting every effort of the government that displaces people and support Industries.

But suddenly with huge turn around, the other dominating media houses could not ignore the public pressure and started condemning CPM. Their own friends started deserting them. This resulted in media scrutiny and blame game. Embarrassed, the party banned media and activists from going to Nandigram. And look who was the first visitor after CRPF reached Nandigram. It was Lal Krishna Advani and his Hindutva team, that visited Nandigram.

It is rare for a communist chief minister to be complimented by the Hindutva Hridaya Samrat. When Lal Krishna Advani was home minister, he lauded Buddha’s effort to fight against ‘Bangla’ ‘infiltration. Buddha was also complimented for his remarks against Madrasas. Therefore, Bengal CPM reflects a domination of the Bhadralok and their political view point. The Bengali middle class has already been communalized long back and one can find these reflections in Durga Puja celebrations also.

The problem of Nandigram is wider. Why was such a place chosen. Is it because the area has a sizeable Dalit and Muslim presence? In Bengal so far the issue of Dalits have not got any support from any political outfits. As far as Muslims are concern, Bengal is the only state where we find starvation deaths among the Muslim community in Midnapur and Jalangir. The Bhadralok dominated CPM’s leadership might have thought this would go unresisted. Yet, they proved wrong. The brave people of Nandigram and Singur have actually rendered a great service to strengthen movement for land rights all over the country. Governments, corporations who are working to suck the blood of the people must also understand that their theory that after initial reactions people forget things, have proved absolutely wrong in Nandigram. The way way the people have fought their right to dignity and land will go in the history of India as one of the most sustained response to an effort of the government to occupy their land.

Question is not whether the government is shifting SEZ elsewhere or not. The question is how come the forces of the left are silent on growing discontent in their home territory. Why should the government allow a political party to have a field day, to kill the opponent and ‘capture’ the land? Prakash Karat says that there is nothing wrong for the supporter of the CPM to ‘recapture’ their land, which was hijacked by Trinmul Congress workers. These political statements should not be taken on a serious note except for the fact that they are not meant to introspect. Prakash Karath’s biggest blunder was to say that Maoists have joined the movement. It seems he realized it late that there are radical left groups who are uniting in Singur and Nandigram. But Karat’s worry is not Mamata Banerjee but these left groups who can teach CPM and their goon a lesson in their own language. CPM has never bothered about the opposition in Bengal which is mute and Bhadrlok dominated like the CPM. It is worried about the reorganization of the radical left forces in the state. Therefore, it does not surprise us when Karat in his press conference in Delhi, charge the ‘Maoists’ from Jharkhand for spreading violence in Bengal. Mr Karat knows well that the National Security Advisor has already stated this that the red corridors are increasing.

But more than that, the question again comes to the forefront of those in power. Nandigram has shown that people will resist any attempt to dislocate them in the name of development. Whether it is Khammam in Andhra Pradesh or Kalinganagar in Orissa, the war cries of the people should not be termed as ‘revivalism’ of Naxal movement in India. It is not therefore co-incidence that Naxalbari movement in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal was butchered in the same way as we have been witnessing in Nandigram. The only difference was that time it was state police which caused enormous death in the village of Naxalbari while today it seems the police remain mute when the CPM’s cadre started their ‘gharwapasi’, very similar like the offensive return of the tribals and Dalits by the Hindutva brigade in Chhatishgarh and Gujarat.

Secretary General Prakash Karat also asked people not to equate the Nandigram incident with that of Godhara. But comparison will always be made as long as those who kills come from the same class and communities and those who suffer too hails from the same. In Gujarat the Muslims were butchered by a powerful state dominated by the Hindu upper caste, in Delhi it was the Sikhs who were killed by the same state and in Nandigram, it is again the Muslims and Dalits who are at the receiving end. I can understand the problem of those writing about ‘poor’ being killed in Bengal because none of them really want that Buddha Dev be declared new avatar of Hindutva. But so far all indications suggest CPM’s common agenda seems to be soft Hindutva in Bengal by targeting the poor through its land mafia and Muslims in the name of Bangla refugees and growing Madrasas. CPM has lost an opportunity to lead people’s movement in India which is now uniting to fight against privatization of public resources and highly tainted liberlisation and globalisation where corporations would call the shot and people would get the shot if they oppose the diktat of the status quoists. Nandigram has shown that people will not wait for a Messiahs to come to rescue them, they will unite and fight endlessly against oppression and exploitation. The battle for honor and dignity has just begun now.