Today, the plight of farmers in India has trans mutated itself into a national movement that has gripped the whole country. The movement has drawn attention towards the struggle of an average Indian farmer and their challenges along with threats posed by policies influenced by czars of industrialization that so far have not controlled farming sector in India.
The movement is born from threat to long term sustainability of current farming model in India. Small scale farming does not yield a lavish lifestyle and luxuries of life. The lifestyle of average farmers in India has been less than moderate for generations. This is due to lack of mechanism for competitive pricing for farm yields for farmer to pocket healthy profits. This is due to systematic exploitation of farmers. Some farmers have found a way to upgrade their lifestyle by selling their land, instead of selling their produce. This is a risky endeavor that has paid for some and others ended up in worst situation. There are also some farmers, especially next generations of farmers who either migrated to urban areas for better lifestyles or have left for foreign nations in search of better lifestyle. As you can see there has been exodus from farming over time, due to negligence by policy makers who were more interested in boosting other sectors of India’s economic engine. The second reason for exodus was division of land into smaller chunks from one generation to next, making it difficult to sustain even a moderate lifestyle.
In India farming is associated with pride of ownership of land. Therefore, there is an emotional attachment for a farmer to his/her land. Farming in India was not treated as a profession, rather a lifestyle - a robust lifestyle reflected by image of a rustic, simple, honest, content, healthy, and self-reliant personality.. Farming lifestyle was able to protect itself over time and remained directly untouched by greed of industrial czars. Though commercialization of resources like seeds, fertilizers and dependence on electricity made farming susceptible to government policies. Farming sector never made to top of priority list of policy makers. This was due to interest of policy makers in other sectors of nation’s economic engine that were modeled to produce greater profit margins for industrial czars.
As you can see the slow erosion of sustainability of current farming model began a long time back. Other sectors of India’s economic engine moved forward and grew exponentially bringing India among top 5 nations ranked based of GDP. As industrial czars look for more sectors for profitability, their eyes have now turned to farming. The monster of greed has turned towards the farming sector indicated by intent of farming bill. Implementation of farming bill will put at risk sustainability of current farming model and break the farming lifestyle. The farming bill puts at risk the generational legacy of farming lifestyle, turning farming into a farm factory where industrial czars will have direct control over these factories run for sole purpose of higher profit margins. This will also introduce farming methodologies and financing tools devised by Industrial czars to create more revenue streams. In midst of farm factories, the farmer will be a worker on his own land in hands of the invisible sugar-coated farming policies supposed to improve farmers lifestyle. The farming bill has united farmers of India and it has woken up the sleeping lion of clarity, courage and resiliency of farming lifestyle.
The farmers movement is a wake-up call for everyone. The farmers movement sheds light on the undercurrent of greed underneath the notion of development and progress measured purely by profits for select individuals. The notion of modernization of farming does not have room for safety network for farmers, as it will not be cost effective thus reducing profit margins. Well-being of farmers is not the vision here, profit is. Strategies like this are crops of greedy minds that are apt at turning every service, commodity, and industry into a money machine. Don’t we all want to be modern, progressive, and successful? These ruthless minds are products of such thinking. Suffering and plight of farmers is caused by greed. A greedy mind is elite in the world of success and fame.
I am definitely inspired by resiliency of farmers who have so far kept the movement alive by keeping at bay all elements with vested interest. I am inspired by awareness of farmers who have kept at bay disruptive elements trying to infiltrate the movement to tarnish the image. I am inspired by risk taking ability of farmers who are camping in cold on roads leaving behind their farms and families with no return date in mind.
I believe the farmers movement will bear sweet fruits and pave a transformational path for all of us. I am not sure what it will look like, but, i already have reaped rewards of the movement. Here are some of my learnings from the farmers movement.
- Farmers movement gave me courage to investigate cunningness and deficiencies of popular model of “being modern, progressive and successful.” I now understand the popular model is vehicle for sustenance of profit margins of industrial czars.
- The farmers movement has given me clarity to understand the affects of my personal decisions that helps industrial czars to push their policies of profit at cost of well being of ordinary people.
- The farmers movement made me realize that farming lifestyle is not only for farmers, rather it is for everyone. I have realized my roots are in farming lifestyle - a robust lifestyle reflected in image of a rustic, simple, honest, content, healthy, and self-reliant personality.
- The farmers movement has helped me realize that I can support farmers here and now, by rooting myself in farming lifestyle.
- Farmers and Farming lifestyle is fabric of life that can sustain itself and others, if we do our part to keep it intact.
