Why and How we Must Save Farmers and Agriculture to Save India
The movie Do Duni Chaar higlighted the power of simple truths & facts. This Alternative Budget based on agriculture is dedicated to Indians who deserve a less catchy & more simple theme
Often, the most profound and transformational changes can be achieved by taking simple and easy decisions that are usually very hard to take. Those simple decisions become hard to take because we – particularly more so in India – have this inexplicable and inexcusable habit of trying our best to avoid reality; to blink and look the other way even when harsh realities stare at us unblinkingly. While brainstorming for the multiple award winning movie Do Dooni Chaar, we were very clear that the lead characters must be confronted with choices that are gut wrenching even though they appear simple. I personally think the movie touched a chord with people across India because it highlighted the power of simple truths and simple facts; and because it enabled ordinary Indians to transcend obstacles by sticking to simplicity, honesty and integrity; and most importantly because the characters had the guts to face facts and reality as they are and call a spade a spade. We could have loaded Do Dooni Chaar with liberal doses of jargon, semantics, polemics, clichés, grandstanding and dissembling. I am proud that our team didn’t succumb to such temptations.
I have spent days reliving the Do Dooni Chaar experience as I struggle to think of a theme that will become the highlight of my eleventh consecutive Alternative Budget; the sixth time in as many years that this magazine will showcase it on its cover. The three previous themes of my Alternative Budget proved to be a major hit with thousands of readers and opinion makers. All three had a touch of ‘naughty’ in them. In 2008, we had asked the Finance Minister to ‘Ban the Budget’. In 2009, we showcased India’s seeming helplessness in fighting corruption by requesting the Finance Minister to present a ‘Khao Aur Khilao Budget’. And in 2010, I do admit we decided to ride on the immense popularity of that blockbuster – and yet eye opening movie – by presenting ‘A Budget for Three Idiots’. This time around, some colleagues suggested that we ride the Cricket World Cup fever and call my 2011 Alternative Budget the ‘De Ghoomake Budget’. There is little doubt that the theme would have been catchy, and even rib tickling. Eventually, what persuaded me not to opt for the obviously popular and catchy theme is the kind of Indians this Alternative Budget is dedicated to. And the realization that those Indians deserve a less catchy and more simple, yet powerful theme. Hence the decision to call my 11th Alternative Budget the Do Dooni Chaar Budget. (Of course, some colleagues were insisting I call it the Do Dooni Paanch Budget as a tribute to Indian politicians!).
Revisiting Lal Bahadur Shastri: Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan
Before I go any further, let me add here that this Alternative Budget is dedicated to that most unsung and unheralded of Indian politicians who personified the power of simplicity – Lal Bahadur Shastri. Yes, it is dedicated to the man who coined the term ‘Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan’ and made it immortal. Sadly – like most things in India – even this immortal term has been systematically degraded down into a tired cliché that people spout more out of indifferent rote than any conviction...
The simple fact is that India has degraded the Indian farmer into a comic book cliché at best and a disgustingly treated step child at worst. The simpler, and more glaring fact is that unless the Indian farmer and Indian agriculture participate in economic well being and prosperity, India doesn’t have much of a future, either as an economy or as a nation. In fact, along with education and health, the most neglected area for every single Finance Minister since 1947 has been agriculture. The disgraceful neglect of the three is the most important reason why India ranks near the bottom in virtually all indicators of human development. My alternative budgets in the last few years have repeatedly pointed out and suggested innovative ways in which India can improve its dismal record on health and education. This year, the Alternative Budget will focus on the Indian farmer and Indian agriculture.
Of course, if you go by recent media reports, I might just have picked up the wrong topic to highlight this year. After all, statistics reveal that the agriculture sector will grow at about 5.5% in the current year; one of the best performances in recent years. In fact, it is the unusually high rate of growth of the agriculture sector that will ensure that the GDP of India grows at a healthy 8.6% in the current year. Then again, the media has been filled for months with screaming headlines about high and persistently rising prices of food and vegetables. Who can forget the shock – both to the psyche and family budgets – caused by onion prices shooting up to Rs.90 a kg in recent times? If you do go to the market to buy vegetables, you must have realized that prices of every item have virtually gone through the roof. Add to this the jingoistic claims made by our policy makers that India ranks in the top 5 globally when it comes to the production of food, vegetables, milk, poultry, cotton, tea and what not.
But as many of you know, the reality is starkly different, and shocking. Let me start with data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The latest year for which data is available is 2009. In that one year, 17,638 farmers committed suicide – one almost every half hour. The state that took the lead – as always – in the numbers of farmer suicides was Maharashtra, the state to which our Union Agriculture Minister and current cricket Czar proudly belongs (See Chart). The top three states in terms of farmer suicides are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka – one ruled by Congress in alliance with the Pawar led NCP, the second ruled by Congress and the third ruled by the BJP. In less than 15 years since official NCRB records were kept (state governments never bothered to keep proper records of farmer suicides till 1997), more than 2,50,000 farmers have committed suicide. You can be sure that the figure for 2010 will be higher, and that for 2011 even higher. Worse, everybody involved in this dirty and shocking numbers game knows that state governments routinely ignore or under report cases of farmer suicides. The actual figure is bound to be much higher. There can be no more damning indictment of our economic policy making and successive union budgets than this simple, stark and shocking fact about the extent of farmer suicides.
Often, the most profound and transformational changes can be achieved by taking simple and easy decisions that are usually very hard to take. Those simple decisions become hard to take because we – particularly more so in India – have this inexplicable and inexcusable habit of trying our best to avoid reality; to blink and look the other way even when harsh realities stare at us unblinkingly. While brainstorming for the multiple award winning movie Do Dooni Chaar, we were very clear that the lead characters must be confronted with choices that are gut wrenching even though they appear simple. I personally think the movie touched a chord with people across India because it highlighted the power of simple truths and simple facts; and because it enabled ordinary Indians to transcend obstacles by sticking to simplicity, honesty and integrity; and most importantly because the characters had the guts to face facts and reality as they are and call a spade a spade. We could have loaded Do Dooni Chaar with liberal doses of jargon, semantics, polemics, clichés, grandstanding and dissembling. I am proud that our team didn’t succumb to such temptations.
I have spent days reliving the Do Dooni Chaar experience as I struggle to think of a theme that will become the highlight of my eleventh consecutive Alternative Budget; the sixth time in as many years that this magazine will showcase it on its cover. The three previous themes of my Alternative Budget proved to be a major hit with thousands of readers and opinion makers. All three had a touch of ‘naughty’ in them. In 2008, we had asked the Finance Minister to ‘Ban the Budget’. In 2009, we showcased India’s seeming helplessness in fighting corruption by requesting the Finance Minister to present a ‘Khao Aur Khilao Budget’. And in 2010, I do admit we decided to ride on the immense popularity of that blockbuster – and yet eye opening movie – by presenting ‘A Budget for Three Idiots’. This time around, some colleagues suggested that we ride the Cricket World Cup fever and call my 2011 Alternative Budget the ‘De Ghoomake Budget’. There is little doubt that the theme would have been catchy, and even rib tickling. Eventually, what persuaded me not to opt for the obviously popular and catchy theme is the kind of Indians this Alternative Budget is dedicated to. And the realization that those Indians deserve a less catchy and more simple, yet powerful theme. Hence the decision to call my 11th Alternative Budget the Do Dooni Chaar Budget. (Of course, some colleagues were insisting I call it the Do Dooni Paanch Budget as a tribute to Indian politicians!).
Revisiting Lal Bahadur Shastri: Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan
Before I go any further, let me add here that this Alternative Budget is dedicated to that most unsung and unheralded of Indian politicians who personified the power of simplicity – Lal Bahadur Shastri. Yes, it is dedicated to the man who coined the term ‘Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan’ and made it immortal. Sadly – like most things in India – even this immortal term has been systematically degraded down into a tired cliché that people spout more out of indifferent rote than any conviction...
The simple fact is that India has degraded the Indian farmer into a comic book cliché at best and a disgustingly treated step child at worst. The simpler, and more glaring fact is that unless the Indian farmer and Indian agriculture participate in economic well being and prosperity, India doesn’t have much of a future, either as an economy or as a nation. In fact, along with education and health, the most neglected area for every single Finance Minister since 1947 has been agriculture. The disgraceful neglect of the three is the most important reason why India ranks near the bottom in virtually all indicators of human development. My alternative budgets in the last few years have repeatedly pointed out and suggested innovative ways in which India can improve its dismal record on health and education. This year, the Alternative Budget will focus on the Indian farmer and Indian agriculture.
Of course, if you go by recent media reports, I might just have picked up the wrong topic to highlight this year. After all, statistics reveal that the agriculture sector will grow at about 5.5% in the current year; one of the best performances in recent years. In fact, it is the unusually high rate of growth of the agriculture sector that will ensure that the GDP of India grows at a healthy 8.6% in the current year. Then again, the media has been filled for months with screaming headlines about high and persistently rising prices of food and vegetables. Who can forget the shock – both to the psyche and family budgets – caused by onion prices shooting up to Rs.90 a kg in recent times? If you do go to the market to buy vegetables, you must have realized that prices of every item have virtually gone through the roof. Add to this the jingoistic claims made by our policy makers that India ranks in the top 5 globally when it comes to the production of food, vegetables, milk, poultry, cotton, tea and what not.
But as many of you know, the reality is starkly different, and shocking. Let me start with data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The latest year for which data is available is 2009. In that one year, 17,638 farmers committed suicide – one almost every half hour. The state that took the lead – as always – in the numbers of farmer suicides was Maharashtra, the state to which our Union Agriculture Minister and current cricket Czar proudly belongs (See Chart). The top three states in terms of farmer suicides are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka – one ruled by Congress in alliance with the Pawar led NCP, the second ruled by Congress and the third ruled by the BJP. In less than 15 years since official NCRB records were kept (state governments never bothered to keep proper records of farmer suicides till 1997), more than 2,50,000 farmers have committed suicide. You can be sure that the figure for 2010 will be higher, and that for 2011 even higher. Worse, everybody involved in this dirty and shocking numbers game knows that state governments routinely ignore or under report cases of farmer suicides. The actual figure is bound to be much higher. There can be no more damning indictment of our economic policy making and successive union budgets than this simple, stark and shocking fact about the extent of farmer suicides.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
