-Economic and Political Weekly A categorical distinction is facing rough weather--that between urban and rural. If we take just agriculture, there is so much of the outside world that comes in not just as external markets but as external inputs. Further, many of our villages barely qualify as rural if we were to take occupation alone. So the earlier line that separated the farmer from the worker in towns is slowly...
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‘Decline began in late UPA rule’ -Mehboob Jeelani
-The Hindu Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh: In February, Ram Aathray, a 37-year-old farmer from Mahoba, lost most of his crop to a hailstorm. His four acres of land produced a mere two quintals of wheat. “It’ll only last for four months,” he fears. He could take a mortgage loan but he’s saving that for his daughter’s wedding. The only option would be to migrate to Delhi and work on a construction site....
More »Mr. Modi’s war on welfare -G Sampath
-The Hindu The Modi government is determined to dismantle the two-pronged welfare paradigm. It is now an established fact that one area where the Narendra Modi administration has acted with a sense of purpose, urgency and resolve is in slashing social expenditure. Be it education, health, agriculture, livelihood security, food security, panchayati raj institutions, drinking water or the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes sub-plan, central government funds earmarked for social protection have been cut. The...
More »Why Marathwada is becoming a graveyard for farmers -Kumar Sambhav S
-Down to Earth Season after season of failed crops is pushing farmers to the brink of desperation, while the inaction of the Maharashtra government is allowing agriculture to slip into a steep decline In Talavada village in Beed district of Maharashtra, farmer Sahibrao Athole made one last attempt to call for help. Lying alone in his field on the night of June 12, 2014, Athole was gasping for breath. He had consumed...
More »Why we need to bust the myths about agriculture in India -Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr
-DNA India's agriculture sector is thriving and can provide livelihood to millions more. False pictures form the main plank of the political debate on India's agriculture. One is that of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the other of the Congress. The two big political parties in the country agree with each other in believing that farmers and the landless folk in the villages are at the end of the tether, and...
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