Deconstructing the Enigma of Recent Farmers' Protests in India

Abstract

The violent nature of protests by the farmers of India in the first week of June 2017 drew the nation’s attention to the gruesome reality of the agricultural sector. With over half of India’s population engaged in farming and allied activities, low agricultural productivity due to reasons of erratic monsoons and poor support infrastructure and low Minimum Support Price for the crops, agriculture has tended to become a non-profitable enterprise for most them. Indebtedness, bankruptcy and lack of governmental respite have forced many peasants to commit suicides.

Using statistics from Ministry of Agriculture and Famers’ Welfare, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Agricultural Census of India (2011) and the Situation Assessment Survey of the National Sample Survey Office (2013), this article depicts a macro economic picture of the agricultural sector as well as of those in this profession and discusses the underlying distresses. The aim of this article is to deconstruct the agricultural enigma in India that has its bearing upon the demography, society, economy, and politics of the country. It acknowledges the various efforts of the Union government towards a comprehensive development of agriculture. Further proactive measures are suggested to avoid a full-blown impending crisis of the primary sector.

This article attempts to provide a pragmatic way forward to revamp India’s rich agricultural heritage and adds a caveat that if it is not addressed on an urgent basis, the farmers’ decision to forego cultivation for even one cropping season or pursue a ‘farm holiday’ would terribly jeopardize the society, economy, and polity of the country.