The Times of India carries a story of what it calls “perhaps the first case of farmer suicide in Gujarat,”, in which “a debt-ridden farmer in Shera village of Bharuch district died on Monday by consuming pesticide.”
People are taking action. Says The New Nation:
“What began as a sombre exercise to express anguish at the continuing demise of the farming community-triggered by the anti-farmer policies of government-by lighting a candle at the Jantar Mantar on Nov 16, has now spread throughout the country. Candlelight vigils are being organised across the country in solidarity with the fast-unto-death undertaken by the veteran freedom-fighter Mohan Dharia in Pune, and also to draw the attention of the people and policymakers towards the terrible agrarian crisis that afflicts the countryside, says a message received from New Delhi.”
According to Devinder Sharma, a friend of Stuffed and Starved,
“Every five hours one farmers commits suicide somewhere in the country,” says food and trade policy analyst Devinder Sharma, adding: ” This is in reality an organised murder. Farmers are falling because of the anti-farming policies that are being propagated. The tragedy is that the hand that feeds the nation is being deliberately chopped-off.”