The Famine Continues in India

The plight of poor farmers in India proves that there is an ongoing famine in the country and also around the world. But what it is? Who is responsible? What are the effects? And what measures need to be taken to overcome this famine?

Genesis

Whenever we hear of cases where famine has broken out in any part of the country or world, we begin to discuss and analyse the entire scenario and speak of measures that need to be implemented to avoid famines in the future. Once the famine is controlled and life is back to normal, it’s all forgotten. But there are only a few people in the country today and also world wide (though it’s increasing day by day) who have woken up to respond to a bigger famine which is spreading through out the world like a contagious disease. It doesn’t kill rapidly. It has its own ways and means to kill. Its military is the world’s largest regime. This is not a natural disaster but it is human-made to destroy human kind. It’s presented in a golden wrapped package with sugar coating, flavoured with nuts, milk and honey. Its name sounds powerful to ones ears and its effects are more powerfully worse, then the pesticides present in Coke and Pepsi. The name is Imperialism.

Who is responsible?

Those who are power drunk, addicted to big money and greed for territory. They come from the wild, wild, west. They hold power and dictate with authority. If their terms are not accepted diplomatically, the use of muscle power is the next alternative. They are politicians or sometimes leaders of rich countries or even big businessmen, who corrupt these politicians to infiltrate into poor countries preaching the word of economical development, democracy, peace and justice. But in reality their practices are contradictory. Their phase 1 package – preach first is very lucrative, many fall for it but those who resist package 1, have to face the phase 2 package which means sanctions are imposed on the victim, this means blockage of aid or trade and freedom. If the resistance continues then phase 3 package –the old fashioned cowboy style of preaching with guns and bombs is imposed without discussion and hesitation.

And what are the effects of this disease?

As I said earlier the name sounds powerful to ones ears but its effects are more powerfully worse then the pesticides present in Coke and Pepsi. The effects are ten times more vast than what the disease is all about. Its effects are mainly on the economy but the rest automatically follows in suit. It has the potential to affect every industry of any country. And these effects are always dangerous. Name the industry and this demon is already present there in the form of a lamb. But in this sharing I am going to zero in on one industry which is our necessity and basic right.

Farming in India

India has been blessed by Mother Nature with the best of natural resources. Farming in India was one of the most blossoming industries in the country. There is a vast variety of crops which are and can be grown in India. Some edible, while some, are not. Not only were the farmers responsible for this yield but also Mother Nature in her own way. In the form of rains she quenches the thirst for sweet fruits of the farmers and enriches their families. But now this blessing is withering day by day by the winds of imperialism. Not only the farmers but Mother Nature is also suppressed big time and allowing the famine to continue.

How is the farming industry being affected?

Before we go into this topic, let’s get one thing clear: as of now, it is only a section of farmers who are affected by this disease. But in time the entire farming industry will be in the doldrums and we will be only living on Macdonalized food, which has no guarantees.

Over the past few years farmers’ protests have grown tremendously. Though the government controlled media has not given it much publicity, but it has been reported by certain sections of the press. Lets focus on one of the major consumed grain in India.

Rice is the staple diet of most Indians and recently we had a different kind of rice introduced to us. This is called golden rice, but as the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold. Golden rice is produced from the genetically engineered (GE) or cloned rice, by gene splicing (was something else cloned too?). This rice has emerged from out of state-of-the-art Swiss laborites.

It’s economical to eat this rice (Rs.2/kg) but to benefit from the golden rice a 4 year old child should eat 27 bowls of golden rice a day to avoid night blindness - about 1.8 kgs. A simple analysis on what would happen if poor people take the golden rice seriously and really start consuming it: The lowest paid daily labourer in India gets paid Rs.30/day, and such a family, would earn (even if they work the entire month, which they won't) Rs.750/- (30x25). After spending on the golden rice, they would have Rs.270/- for all other expenses for the rest of the month, which includes the amount for fuel to cook the rice.

With LPG still not available for the poor of India, most of the cooking happens through wood fire or with kerosene stoves. About 1kg of rice would take approximately about 30 min’s to cook on this kind of fire. If a family of four were to take golden rice seriously and cook 7.2kgs (1.8 x 4) of rice every day, they would spend about 3.5 hours to cook rice alone everyday to save themselves from night blindness - on average a poor Indian spends less than 1 hour to cook and consume his/her food. But the effects of this are very unpredictable.

Who else benefits from these clones? Swiss giants like Syngenta AG, which holds the patent for golden rice have the money to throw on the luxurious long term research. Big bucks are made without a conscience that controls the production of clone seedlings. These big bucks are thrown on leaders of the Third World, to control the entire pre-production cycle. Simultaneously pesticides will have to be bought from international pesticide companies. Their select target audiences are the millions of Third World farmers. There is a windfall for golden rice in the gargantuan Asian market. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is sponsoring a multinational's golden rice for some reason. Is IRRI a front for multinationals like the fertilizer and pesticide firms which benefited from the hybrid rice it introduced in the Third World? Who is funding IRRI? Can we trace their fund sources to the agro-chem multinationals or to institutions working for them? Are the connections clear?

The above case study is only one of the hundred’s of examples as to what is the state of the agro industry. But it is not only rice grains but also coconuts, wheat, pulses, cotton seeds, fruits etc. And not let’s not forgett the humble potato which is now being produced from genetically modified plants.

The effects of this disease on human kind The effects as shared earlier are tremendously disastrous. Violations of human rights are on the rise due to this disease. The basic right to life of the poor farmers has been violated legally in this country, by both leaders who allow such corporatist to function and also the corporatist who promote this disease. Other violation of rights such as right to land, fresh water (Coke and Pepsi cases) has also followed in suite.

There has been a steady rise of farmer suicides throughout the country as the flames of imperialism, burn their lives, families and fields on a day to day basis. Starvation deaths statistics are climbing the ladder slowly and steadily.

But how does this affect the common man apart from the farmer?

Simple! The common man has been blind folded with his own problems, of rushing to work, attending to his family and trying to make ends meet. But if he is given a foreign brand in his hand, at a cheaper rate, he will jump into it even at the cost of his health. The rich are not aware because they are busy making money and enjoying parties and leave the food purchases and cooking to the servants with strict instructions of buying the best quality of food brands be it Indian or foreign without proper survey or analysis or even thought. It’s a big huge rat race.

But no one will realise that the day is not too far when India will be at the mercy of the imperialists, who want to promote their product. As of now its phase 1 of the package, phase 2 of the package is not yet implemented. One may never know what talks are being discussed about tackling the resistance program promoted among the classes against this disease of imperialism.

What can be done to respond to such a situation?

Eliminate hunger not the hungry! The fundamental need is to organise and revolutionize all farmers which include their methods of farming, and begin a mass education program on reform measures on farming, their rights, duties and responsibilities. New technology is welcom into the agricultural industry but guidelines need to be laid down before implementing new technology. The first thing needed before any new technology is implemented is a proper awareness program for all farmers, explaining to them the use and results of the new farm tech.

But these new farm techs should be made available to all farmers and not only to those who can afford it. Their prices should be made affordable and for those who cannot afford it, a support facility should be created like public expenditure on public goods and services such as resources, conservations, ecosystem, protection, generation of livelihoods, and protection of culture and safeguarding of public health. This will not only help them to benefit from the new technology but also to sustain social systems.

However, subsidies are the mask of globalised agribusiness and trade interests which destroys social support for sustainable agriculture and fair prices for both farmers and the common masses. Our governments have become puppets before these giant multinational corporations who are preventing the support of the poor, because of their promotion of subsidies from people’s food to exports.

Since water and land is the joint backbone of the agro industry, hard-line policies should be laid down for corporations coming up in these regions. Though hundreds of investigative reports have been published exposing the acts of these companies in India and abroad, no steps have been taken to insure that these companies are kept in their place. For example the giant beverages like Coke and Pepsi have been exposed for land grabbing and denying the villagers of land rights and fresh water (though this year is the International year of Fresh Water as declared by the UN).

Slowly and steadily villagers are becoming deserts where water has become a necessity sellable commodity and not a free gift, for example:- fresh natural water maybe scarce in a particular village but we have Coke Cola , Pepsi , Kinley’s or Aquafina or bottled Natural Fresh Mineral Water etc freely available but at a price in the local markets. These bottling units require thousands of liters of natural water per day. As a results water for farmers are denied of water for their cultivation, leading to parched lands, and suicides. Then, once a scarcity of food grains begins to rise, the governments are forced to import food grains from other countries.