Daksha Ignores Shiva

In Hindu mythology, Daksha is regarded as one of the progenitors of mankind. Daksha is also known for being the father in whose house, Uma or Parvathi took birth. The great yagya instituted by Daksha, is known to many Indian villagers, who believe in the virtues and faith of Parvathi, as representative of the family devotion that a married woman is expected to have in the Indian rural setting towards her duties and well being of her family.
Needless to say, India is no more the same India, nor is Bharat the same Bharat. Bharat from which India took shape, is these days trampled by urban interests and neglect. We now hear that after farmers of Vidarbha, Maharashtra, Andhra, Kerala, farmers of Uttar Pradesh, from where Mrs Sonia Gandhi contests parliamentary elections, are also learning the virtues of desperate mass suicides as the visible face of Indian government's agricultural policies and undeclared farm exit policy.
U.P. farmers too, are joining the Indian farm band wagon, and also taking to suicides, to escape the fate of rural debt, and forcible land and assets recovery operations, that Congress economic policies are leading them towards.
I do wonder, when the Farmer Leaders will give a call for farmers to Quit their Land in the villages and make a mass exodus for Indian urban life.
"Apni Zameen Chhodo" -
Indian urban life, is a fast emerging paradise, that even the likes of Tesco, Walmart, Marks and Spencers, Adidas, Nike, European banks and investment majors, financial services companies, are eyeing with great affection. So why not the Indian farmer ?
Why is the Indian farmer unable to see the charm and attraction of Indian urban life ? Anyone who puts on a thinking cap, knows that is " where the action is ".
Gaon Chhodo, Shahar Chalo - this I am sure is the only solution to the problems of Indian farmers. Chinese farmers of course have restrictions on their migratory freedom. Indian farmers need to make the best of their current migratory freedom, before some legislation in India, bans them from voluntarily leaving agriculture.
Maybe, the Indian farmer is still traditional, illiterate, old fashioned in his thinking, and steeped in traditions, and thus feels hesitant about going to the house of his daughter in law in the cities, to escape his dire situation. But yes, one of these days, the Indian farmer will have to understand that his future, depends on discarding his false pride and moving en masses to the house of his daughter in law (bahuriya ka ghosla), who lives in the city.
There will surely be initial discomforts and hiccups, but overall his situation will improve for the long term better. All the leading so called economic pundits of India, say with a wink .. "afterall, no gain without pain.." Some use more fanciful terms like structural adjustments.
"Bahuriya ke ghar chalte hain" ... this must be the song on the lips of Indian farmers. And of course, there can be some very good lyrics to accompany this song title. And music, oh, just think of the sheer creative possibilities of setting this song to lilting music and celebratory thumkas, dhol and drums, shehnai and guitars, folk as well as modern versions of the songs, will sell exceedingly well in all the outskirts of Indian cities. Who said there is no money to be made in entertainment from rural areas ?
T-Series can bring out a "Top Collections" of Aaj Ke Kisan Ki Awaaz - casette and I am sure it will make some people very, very rich.
"Ab der kis baat ki bhaya, bahuriya ke ghar chalo, bahuriya ke haath ki chai shahar chal ke piyenge, mastee se pade rahenge, TV aur fillum dekhenge ...".
Farmer leaders, need to give this call in every Indian village, and then see how the pessimism of Indian farmers changes to long term optimism. Suicides rates will come down and urban areas will experience unprecedented growth.
Indian GDP projections will go straight out of the roof, foreign investments will shoot up, stock brokers, investment consultants, forex experts, hedge funds and wealth managers will make a beeline for India.
The Indian Finance Minister, Commerce Minister and Agriculture Ministers, will be parcelling out, rapid fire, 5 minute appointment slots, as European business leaders, and trade delegations, line up outside the Delhi, South Bloc offices. Things will become terribly busy for these three ministries and 24 hour days will be short.
China will be forced to reconsider its ban on farmer migrations to urban areas, industrial labour strategies, Special Export Zones, as it feels that the yawning Indian Tiger will shoo away, if not swallow, the Chinese panda. Maybe, in return, the border row will also be forgiven and forgotten, as Indians and Chinese premiers, embrace to kiss and tell and sell. They will wonder how the Indians have woken up to the powerful strategy of an undeclared Farm Exit policy, and taken a page from their manuals.
The Chinese will try to read up on the wonderful economic strategy, and whisk away the secret team of economic think tanks, of Indian political and development planners, for trebling growth every Five Years. And mind you, not just wishy washy future projections and PowerPoint slides, but real, solid statistics.
But while everyone will see the merits of this approach to economic restructuring, the Indian farmer may still fight shy of overcoming his old fashioned views of not going to the house of his urban daughter in law. For after all, he stills lives under a " false sense of pride ", and refuses to learn anything at all from the TV soap serials that attempt to mentally prepare him for his urban push and how he must carry himself in the cities.
And yes, to delay his decision, on this uncomfortable lifestyle choice, he will raise silly, diversionary questions.
Like ...
... who will look after the village lands in my absence, will they not become fallow ?
... who will feed the birds that gather daily around me ?
... who will reassure the buffalo and her calf every morning at dawn ?
... What if the daughter in law refuses to make chapatis ?
... What if I nostalgically miss the village banter of childhood friends around the hookah ?
Yes this is certainly tricky, and maybe some expensive psychiatrists, corporate gurus, motivation pundits, lifestyle trainers, can be persuaded to offer motivational sessions for Indian farmers as they ponder the question of significant lifestyle changes.
For after all, reading the writing on the wall, is what all consultants are about. Swallow the bitter pill now else...a stich in time, saves nine...etc, etc
After all, a sniff of the countryside will do them also some good, now that six lane excellent highways have been laid for their Toyota Corollas, in the name of upgrading rural infrastructure.
As regards, the farmer assets, left behind in the villages, no need to worry, Indian bankers, economists, agricultural scientists and Planning Commission, can take just what they want... maybe we can have a whole range of new, innovative, courses in Agricultural Research and Extension Institutes on - Best Practices for Leaving Fertile Land Fallow - How food crop seeds can be treated for 5 year delayed harvest - after all who in his right mind wants to do Contract Farming in the villages of India ?
Maybe switch roles for 5 Years and see the success of this Alternative Five Year Plan ?
Any ISB Hyderabad grads out there who want to try this strategy of making India a Global Power ? If the Railway Ministry can inspire Kellogg and American management under grads, why cant we inspire ISB grads ? The whole world has its eyes on us now.
Think outside the groove... that is what they say, dont they...

CandleLight Vigils - Mohan Dharia

The sheer logic of Indian democracy becomes evident, when the politician is forced to go back to the electorate at least every five years. The electorate also knows very well, that next time, they will see the politicians emerge, from the corridors of the various Sabhas - Lok, Vidhan, Rajya, etc, will be about four and half years later, unless of course there is a court decision or some such toppling of the cart.
There is no doubt that after the whirlwind tours of Shri Man Mohan Singh, and Maharashtra Chief Minister to the Indian killing fields - farming lands - the politicians lower down in the pecking order, would all feel they have been pardoned from making a beeline for the rural countryside and spoiling their white linen kurtas and designer goggles.
The Indian Finance Minister, of course thinks that, when there exists an Agriculture Ministry, and a Planning Commission, for super annuated politicians and retired farm leaders like Sharad Joshi, Ajit Singh and Tikait, there is no need for him to even open his mouth, on Indian countryside and farm issues. His remit is basically stock markets, and the tax system, pulling the strings of the IRS bureaucracy.
The countryside, ah, the votes are still there. Of course, the politicians might do so a bit sooner, if Sonia Ji decides to jolt them, bolt them, or scold them.
Some people are surely now playing a wait and watch game. Where this issue of Indian farmer suicides will now go, and how much of an impact it will have on election prospects for Congress in the next elections ? These calcualtions will soon begin in earnest.
As always, with the loyalties and royalties, well known inside Congress, people are wondering when Mrs Sonia Gandhi, will take on the image and role of Mrs Indira Gandhi vis a vis the Indian farmers and the Second Green Revolution. Mrs Indira Gandhi created an entire infrastructure of institutions to solidly underpin the first Green Revolution.
This Mrs Gandhi is only talking of Second Green Revolution, lulled by the Leopold and Oxbridge awards.
It is only when she decides to take note of the farmer suicides, that the scramble for farmer votes will be activated by push button, within Indian Congress party. Till then, it is wait and watch, apart from cursory suicide figures, being read out from a note prepared by an IAS bureaucrat, by Shri Sharad Pawar in Lok Sabha. Till then, business as usual for Mr Chidambaram, RBI Governor and Congress politicians.

Mohan Dharia - Farm Debt Campaign

Farmer organizations of India need a two pronged strategy, to make the campaign on farm debt successful. At one level, they have to seriously consider the strategy of leaving their fields fallow for one year, growing only food grain crops for their family consumption, rather than the domestic or export market. This will assist the politicians like Shri Sharad Pawar and economists like ManMohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in importing foodgrains, from global markets, to their heart's content. This would also help in India, making a rapid entry into the good books of USA and Europe, and in lieu, getting their support on the nuclear and Security Council issues.
Secondly, farmer organizations must convince farmers that agricultural land is by no means a boon in modern India, rather, it is a liability for themselves and for their next generation. The sooner they discard their precious land and move en masse to cities, the better off they will be. If at all the Indian politicians, want them to remain chained to agriculture, the Government should take over ownership of all their agricultural lands, reorganize it into large profitable holdings, retrain farmers on how to adopt modern agricultural practices, and employ farmers, on a fixed salary, that is enshrined in the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. This will be the correct way, of ushering in the Second Green Revolution in India, rather than just exhorting ignorant and bewildered farmers to stop taking their lives, and linking up with private sector and contract farming. Modern modes of production riding on the back of reorganized agricultural land, American agricultural practices, B-school management and marketing talents, snipping the farm dependant population of India to 10% of India's population is the only way forward.

Farm Suicides in America and India

In a very touching gesture, the US Department of Agriculture Secretary, Mike Johanns, took note of the large scale farmer suicides in India, as also the ongoing national campaign to draw attention to the indifference of Indian Central government, to address the fundamental causes behind large scale farm suicides.
In India, the statistics are chilling - 150,000 farmer suicides in a decade. Considering that one farmer on an Indian farm supports and feeds a family of about 6-10 members, the calamity that the Indian countryside is facing becomes very obvious. But Americans have an easy explanation on how to swallow this bitter pill with a cheerful smile.
The Secretary was taking note of this fact during a visit to New Delhi in November 2006, and described the situation as "a complex issue". Complex it is all right, we all know that ! Thanks for telling us this Mr Secretary.
But the most bewildering part of the Secretary's observations about Indian farmer suicides, was when he opened his mouth on the issue of subsidies to farmers in US versus the subsidies to farmers in Europe.
Not to be side tracked, by the issue of large scale, Indian farmer suicides, the Secretary came up with the most insensitive, and callous of comparisons, that can possibly be made by some one who operates routinely in the political and foreign relations realm.
The Secretary made light of the "complex issue of farmer financial distress" by coming up with a formula, of comparing the Indian farm suicides with the farmer suicides in US. The sugar coated pill he tried to force down Indian politicians, and food policy analysts, was that - quote ".. in per capita terms, the number of suicides in both countries is the same"..unquote.
One can draw the obvious conclusion - an Indian farmer's life is equivalent to just 5% of an American farmers life. Three cheers to free world and new global order.
I would certainly not like to believe that the Secretary actually meant what he said. Because if he did, then one realizes the very insidious nature of the attitude of American politicians to farm issues in the developing countries and their total disregard for human life, when it comes to agricultural trade issues, and finding global markets for American farm produce.
This does remind me, of the observation of the Indian science historian, Dharampal, that - "The tendency of the western nations is that they will try to eliminate those that do not live up to the standard which they define as civilisation, this is the rule and it is considered correct. Darwin's theory comes much later, the main thing is that this is the way in which the west thinks. Survival of the fittest, and others have to either be fit or let to wither away - if not helped in the process. They will not be bothered if few lakh rural Indians die of natural calamity. This is not a problem for them, those people are any way not fit to live, so let them die will be the attitude."
Says quite a bit about free trade in agriculture, lobbyists and arm twisters, and the American and European friends of Indian farmers.