Punjab, women
Sir: A couple of days after the Moga incident took place, a similar incident occurred in Khanna, another town in Punjab. The land of Punjab that had produced revolutionaries has now turned into a paradise for criminals. An accusing finger is raised against the Badal family that rules the state, as the bus involving the first incident was part of a fleet that the family operated. Now, the government is trying to cool tempers by offering to form a panel to suggest suitable steps for women’s safety. Panels are often formed and their reports discarded. In the minimum, what was expected of the Badals was a public apology for the family’s name having figured in the first incident. After all, a girl and her mother were thrown out of the bus in the most cruel way, and the girl is dead.
Naresh Chandra Mandal, Prachi Nagar, BHADRAK
Farmers, prices
Sir: This has reference to the article ‘Fooling the farmer’ (OP, May 3). In the midst of all his miseries, our rulers, economists and agriculture experts are adding insult to farmer’s injury by advising him to step up productivity and adopting modern techniques aka agri-business company–friendly methods. Bharat Jhunjhunwala rightly questions the call for increasing production when farmers suffer even after a bumper harvest. The plight of West Bengal’s potato farmers in spite of a bumper harvest is a case in point. The spectre of suicide haunts village households, leaving the women in a constant state of paranoia. Will the pundits ever understand the grim reality?
Modi promised at a meeting held after the General Elections that farmers would get the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan committee (that ensures a 50 per cent profit). But, when the dance of farm suicide was gaining momentum, the Modi sarkar increased the MSP by Rs50 per quintal (just 4 per cent) and instructed state governments to withdraw the bonus payments ranging from Rs100 to 150. Ultimately, farmers received a minus 4 per cent gift. To make matters worse, states delayed procurement on the plea of insufficient storage facilities. To top it all, the additional solicitor general informed the apex court last month that 50 per cent profit to farmers would ‘distort the market’. Farmers may perish but market (the middle class and the rich) should not suffer!
Bharat Jhunjhunwala’s three suggestions –revisiting the WTO clauses on farm subsidies in developed nations, establishing a high value- added agri-export corporation and importing straw and cowdung instead of potash and phosphate fertilizers) — will be outrightly rejected by the Modi government, as they are not suit-boot – friendly.
Sankara Narayanan, BHUBANESWAR
