-The Indian Express The new year could witness the first national elections being fought on farmers’ issues. And it could test both the ruling BJP pushed to the defensive, particularly in the larger sugar-producing states, and the Congress under pressure to deliver loan waivers If 2017 saw the beginnings of agrarian unrest in large swathes of the country, 2018 brought it centrestage as the numero uno political issue. And almost everyone’s...
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Farmers' issues likely to dominate 2019 polls: Yadav
-The Hindu ‘Whole country was listening when they united for a common cause recently’ Mysuru: Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav has said that farmers issues and agrarian crisis have entered centre stage of Indian politics for the first time in more than 30 years and is likely to be the dominant factor during the 2019 parliamentary elections. “We had parliamentary elections fought on Emergency, Bofors, Mandal, Mandir, 2G and so on, but there...
More »If you want to help farmers -Ashok Gulati & Prerna Terway
-The Indian Express Loan waivers are poll bait. What is needed is a structured and stable income support policy. The talk of the season on the farm front seems to be loan waivers. Farmer leaders are asking for it and those looking for power are ready to oblige. Newly elected chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have all announced loan waivers within their promised time of 10 days. It...
More »Water woes -Michael Kugelman
-The Hindu They will soon become more than just a political liability The BJP’s poor performance in the recent Assembly elections underscores the extent of India’s agrarian distress and the political cost of failing to address it. The root cause of the Indian farmer’s woes is water shortage. Yet, barring policy interventions, this problem will only worsen — to the point that it will become far more serious than a mere political...
More »The political economy of the persistent agrarian crisis -Himanshu
-Livemint.com Loan waivers and the promise to raise MSP cannot solve the problem The victory of Congress party in the recent assembly elections of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has brought the agrarian crisis in rural areas to the centre of political debate. While there are several factors in election victories, the severity of the agrarian unrest was surely a major factor. While there is consensus that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party...
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