Development Syndrome and Ailing farmers
Manoj K Upadhaya

Every body knows that agriculture has been a backbone of the Indian economy. What is not well known is that it is the sub-structure of the economy upon which the super structure is fully dependent .

Any sort of changes e.g. decrease or increase in agricultural production brings about changes into socio-economic status of the people and the nation. Hence development in the S&T, social or industrial sector cannot be said to be developed genuinely unless and until 73% of the Indian farmers engaged in agro sector for their subsistence are not developed.

As long as the vast population of this country is ill fed, ill clad, malnourished, and starved,they are bound to feel alienated from rest of the society. And as such there is a need to empower the most vulnerable group of peasantry and people engaged in the allied activities.
Reliance, Tata , or all others corporate sectors , big business houses are offering very handsome salary to the new managers and technocrats coming out of the reputed B-schools.

IIM students Ranchi have recently been given grand placement by Finance citybank,HSBC, lCICIBank,Yes Bank,HDFC,Care Rating, HTMedia,United Spirit,Arnest&Young, RPG Group, jindal steel& Power and so on.

It is always good to provide employment to the young talented workforces of the country .Innovative ideas, research, production and distribution through marketing network are the demand of the world economy .

But it is a subject of concern that the rural economy particularly in agro sector in under developed states lags far behind the expectation. Indian farmers through sound management, effective leadership and proper planning may be able to cope with the problem of unemployment and poverty arising out of ever mounting disparities.

Hurdle and solutions.

The rural society and economy is passing through the phase of great transition in the post neo-liberal economy. The younger generation in their race for touching the sky is suffering from a sort of “dialecticism”.

The dialectics is not between feudalism and capitalism; rather it is between bureaucratization vs. consumerism. Some of the lower middle class youths belonging to land owning groups seem to be more and more lethargic, dull, stagnant and Status-quoits in their approach.

The majority of our work forces in general, in instead of becoming productive are rendered to parasite in their attitude and their ever dependency on govt. fund in the hope of developing themselves are increasing more and more.

Our late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was right in his observation that out of 100 paisa only 10 paisa percolate to the genuine beneficiaries.

No doubt this shows the sign of spreading corruption and systematic failure. But what is more alarming and a matter of great concern is underutilization of of even Rs10/ which reaches the beneficiary classes.

Wherever there is a little production, the supply lags far behind demand s thus leading to the problem of sustained development. A constant chain of supply and demand can make our farmers energetic and self- reliant and will revive the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Mere providing financial assistance to the farmers and others engaged in allied activities and waiving the loans is no solution in checking mass suicidal rate among Indian farmers . The hidden potentiality of moving forwards on their own feet is in dormant stage among them. This must be galvanized through formation of Self- Help Groups or group federation with special emphasis on women.

Make these forces will have to be made productive and their diversified products must be linked to the sound marketing structure emanating from rural to world marketing network system. This is the only way of sustained development of our population living below poverty line thus reducing dependency over Government funds for all the time.

Since the first five fear plan, the strategy or the developmental goal has been focusing on institution building. The goal of course has been achieved to a little extent only.

During a training program of the chairmen and managing committee members of primary Agriculture cooperative societies at Ranchi in Jharkhand, one of the least developed state of India expressed the common view “We are all backward and underdeveloped because we are getting least assistance from the Government’’.

It is irony that most of the work force in our country share the same view. But they are partially true. It is not solely the lack of fund but rather what counts more is under utilization of the available resources like men, material (including natural resources), machine and money.

Their unawareness to the latest marketing strategy emphasizing upon consumer Relation managements (CRM) further weakens their bargaining capacity which is vital for sustained development in the post neo- liberal economy era.

We are having vast potentiality in the field of dairy ,poultry, fishery, handloom, sericulture, toy making, horticulture , animal husbandry, pottery, handicrafts, food processing and small scale industries . Co-operative societies which have deep penetration in the remotest areas of the nation have hidden potentiality of manufacturing and delivering products within and abroad provided they’re given required credit ,in-puts, infrastructure and modern training for their capacity building. The state governments have been playing a vital role by purchasing and marketing at least 40-50% of the products through its agencies .The rest may be marketed by members of these societies and S.H.G. formed and guided by them adopting practical strategies.

The intervention must be directed towards creating strong backward and forward linkages. Mass peoples participation in the production and marketing system in the long run will help fighting the problem of farmer’s suicide in Vidarbha, Gujarat , Andhra, Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country.

This not only will provide employment opportunities to the million but also pave the way for a balanced socio-economic development thus bringing about social equilibrium, social peace and harmony, feeling of belongingness and living and dying for each other in the whole social system.

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Mayuri Phadnis

Alcoholism, the only cause?

We are a developing nation, as is evident from the GDP figures the government releases every year. While the living standard is improving, the number of middle-class and affluent Indians is growing every year, we should stop and think about the condition of Indian women. For most of them, it is an eternal struggle with masculine ego, even to the extent of domestic violence. Even today, some Indian women lead a life which they do not deserve. For example, alcohol abuse cases touch new statistics every day.

One such brutal case of Alcohol Abuse is that of a 28 years old domestic servant Kavita Tapkir. Her husband, 32 year old Suryakant Londhe used to return in inebriated condition every night, physically assaulting her. Furthermore, he also indulged into barbaric practices of feeding her forcefully and throwing food at her when she refused to eat. Nights scared her as the torture started becoming unbearable. Valiantly fighting this torturous marriage, Kavita now is an independent woman who earns her living by working as a cook or a domestic servant in households and by making soft toys and rangolis.Putting an end to this niggling pain haunting her she advices other women who go through the same trauma that they should become independent and look out for themselves irrespective of them getting support from the family.

Regrettably such Kavitas are very few as most of the women still face the brunt of physical abuse gagged by the fear of denunciation by the society. However, it has to be considered that if one culprit is overlooked it instigates few more like him to indulge into acts of the similar nature. Thus, it is prudent that women stand up for themselves and their rights; as such a feat on their part would give potency to few more who would raise their voices against injustice.

Psychology of the perpetrators

Amod Borkar, a Clinical Psychiatrist states Alcohol dissolves man’s conscience. Conscience according to medical terms is said to be the bridge between conscious and the subconscious mind. He further states that it is not just the alcohol, but also the violent streak in the perpetrators sub conscious which lead them to indulge into sadistic activities. The conditioning of a person’s mind happens in the age group from 18-22 years. The environment in which he grows has a lion’s stake in shaping his/her mind set. However if he/she come in contact of drug experimentation, sex, perilous activities during these years, it can act as spoilers in their mental development.

More often than not it is believed that such cases of alcohol triggered domestic violence are restricted just to the downtrodden section of the society. Conversely, it is as common in the ‘educated’ elites as in this poverty ridden section of the society. Plenty such cases of alcohol triggered domestic violence were observed to perpetrated by the techies during the time of recession. The high stress levels coupled with faulty coping mechanisms led them to indulge into drugs and alcohol which gives pseudo relaxation almost immediately. The subjugated atleast break the so called shackles of honor and raise their voices against this cruelty, however the elites muffle these cases as they are believed to be a stain on their reputation.

Ralegan Siddhi Story

Anna’s model village, recently a media epicenter is nationally acclaimed as an alcohol free village. This village, which earlier was reeling under the heavy load of domestic violence, was freed from this ill by a handful of villagers with Anna Hazare as their leader. The god fearing natives were made to swear in front of the temple against touching alcohol by Anna and his supporters a few years ago. Nanibai Vitthal, a native of Ralegan Siddhi recalls how drunkards were tied to a pole and flogged. However she did not deny the possibility of villagers going out of the town to drink which was seconded by Vitthal Bhau Pote who said some of the villagers still escape the harsh punishment if they escape unnoticed.

Positive thinking and good conduct have always had a favorable impact on one’s mind, body and our society as a whole. However, we have lost ourselves amidst the plethora of activities and competition surrounding us.  Whether as an entrepreneur or an executive, precious time is engaged to set continually expanding targets and devising new strategies to achieve them.  Majority of the strategies are geared towards creating demand for the next generation of the product that was probably unsought after to begin with. Joining the bandwagon are the myriad financial institutions who promise to “help” you to fulfill “the dream” that was thrust upon you. Luxuries are inching towards the commodity space and this overlap has re-defined the social strata. This ideology has percolated from the urban regions to even the remotest rural society. The traditional lifestyle, thought process, etiquette, mutual social and human interaction has been replaced by a dichotomy of the “bestowed”, thus elevated and “deprived”, hence dejected. The “deprived” constantly strive to merge into the “bestowed” without realizing the fear of being dislodged faced by them.

Can  Anna’s model  of  Lokpal  check  the  corruption  fuelled by this never ending greed  embedded  in  the  mind  of  each  and  every member  of  the  so-called civilized and modern society. We are talking about fighting corruption through Anna Hazare’s model of a Lokayukta. Though, the common masses are optimistic about the Jan Lokpal Bill, a corruption free society cannot emerge from within a discontented one. The concept  of  possessive individualism as a result of neo –liberal economy or capitalist developmental  strategy in India lies at the  root  of  all pervading corruption  in  our  society. More than that the, social assessment and acceptance of a person on the   basis of money and power ought to be replaced by his simplicity, honesty, sacrifice, hard work and commitment towards community service. Collectivism must prevail over individualism and hence form a derivative for contentment, peace and happiness.

Upadhaya