The Four solid pillars of Congress supervised modern Indian Farm Exit Policy (IFEP):
1. Farm Debt
2. Dismantling Food Security and Basic Procurement Policies of Green Revolution
3. Regulatory Incompetence
4. Deliberate Political Insensitivity via Denial, Subterfuge, Fraud, Diversion
Monday 26 February 2007
Monday 19 February 2007
BundelKhand and Mulayam
The self immolation bid by a farmer, in a Mulayam Singh, show of support rally, in the drought prone areas of Bundelkhand, brings the focus on the UP State government and its attempts at thwarting agrarian related suicides in Uttar Pradesh and presenting Uttar Pradesh as an agricultural paradise for Indian farmers, as opposed to the Congress ruled states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
While the bureaucrats in Congress ruled states are being pressed in to fire fighting tasks in various media appearances, as analysts who advise farmers on economics and structural issues like high cost cultivation practices in non irrigated areas of India, it is now the turn of bureaucrats in Mulayam Singh ruled state of Uttar Pradesh to deny agrarian distress and suicides.
At an electoral rally in Mahoba, to save his own beleagured future in Lucknow, Shri Mulayam Singh has declared, "Not a single farmer has committed suicide in UP during my regime and those making such claims, are opposition-sponsored agents trying to tarnish the government image."
Consequently the District Magistrate of Mahoba, Sameer Verma, has been persuaded to don the role of a mental health expert, and dole out "insanity certificates" to suicidal farmers.
Calling the farmer a "sirfira", and his immolation bid by fire, in the presence of Mulayam Singh as totally unwarranted and unjustified, he promptly issued an unfit mental health certificate to the farmer Maniram.
It really is amazing, what impossible tasks and roles Indian bureaucrats, are being forced to undertake, as they attempt to do media firefighting, in the face of the Farm Exit policy unleashed by the Congress government in Delhi and Mumbai.
One Dr Sudhir Goyal is doling out prescriptions, on why high cost cotton cultivation is unsuitable in Vidarbha, another Sameer Verma is issuing mental insanity certificates in Mahoba, Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh, and extolling the virtues of a farmer friendly regime in Uttar Pradesh, and the efforts of district administrations in preventing farmers from debt recovery operations and land seizures.
All this, while the Sensex Minister and the Cricket Minister, are busy watching the bears and bulls, and the return to form of Saurav Ganguly in Indian cricket team, and doling out vacated farm land tracts for Special Export Zones, under various Farmlands Grab Acts (FGA's).
While the bureaucrats in Congress ruled states are being pressed in to fire fighting tasks in various media appearances, as analysts who advise farmers on economics and structural issues like high cost cultivation practices in non irrigated areas of India, it is now the turn of bureaucrats in Mulayam Singh ruled state of Uttar Pradesh to deny agrarian distress and suicides.
At an electoral rally in Mahoba, to save his own beleagured future in Lucknow, Shri Mulayam Singh has declared, "Not a single farmer has committed suicide in UP during my regime and those making such claims, are opposition-sponsored agents trying to tarnish the government image."
Consequently the District Magistrate of Mahoba, Sameer Verma, has been persuaded to don the role of a mental health expert, and dole out "insanity certificates" to suicidal farmers.
Calling the farmer a "sirfira", and his immolation bid by fire, in the presence of Mulayam Singh as totally unwarranted and unjustified, he promptly issued an unfit mental health certificate to the farmer Maniram.
It really is amazing, what impossible tasks and roles Indian bureaucrats, are being forced to undertake, as they attempt to do media firefighting, in the face of the Farm Exit policy unleashed by the Congress government in Delhi and Mumbai.
One Dr Sudhir Goyal is doling out prescriptions, on why high cost cotton cultivation is unsuitable in Vidarbha, another Sameer Verma is issuing mental insanity certificates in Mahoba, Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh, and extolling the virtues of a farmer friendly regime in Uttar Pradesh, and the efforts of district administrations in preventing farmers from debt recovery operations and land seizures.
All this, while the Sensex Minister and the Cricket Minister, are busy watching the bears and bulls, and the return to form of Saurav Ganguly in Indian cricket team, and doling out vacated farm land tracts for Special Export Zones, under various Farmlands Grab Acts (FGA's).
Wednesday 14 February 2007
Vidarbha and Sharad Pawar
That the credit of architecting the farm exit policy for Vidarbha cotton farmers would decisively go to Shri Sharad Pawar was surely difficult to predict. However it now seems that one of the most discredited Agriculture Ministers of India should belong to Maharashtra is a comment on the rapid rise in politics, of Shri Pawar from the days of the sugarcane cooperatives of Western Maharashtra.
The sugarcane cooperatives of Western Maharashtra have been the traditional power brokers in Mumbai, and often at the expense of Vidarbha interests.
The media images of Vidarbha, show that each additional suicide in Vidarbha is seen as an albatross hanging on the neck of Shri Pawar. Even the mistakes committed by other ministers, somehow get blamed upon Shri Pawar.
The political fallout of his image in Vidarbha, as a cricket glory seeking and tough talking, politically shrewd, Agriculture Minister of India, in stark contrast to the mockery of Indian farm suicides going on unabated under his jurisdiction, will be deep standing.
Maybe it will require consummate political manouevres to retain his clout in Vidarbha after the widespread dismay, his name and image arouses amongst the cotton farmers of Maharashtra.
The Congress political bigwigs may have some reasons for keeping silent. However, how many days before the murmurs of discontent and political stock taking begins in Congress, remains to be seen. Vidarbha is electorally very important for Congress.
Vidarbha is surely an important electoral battle ground and a bell weather for Congress central government prospects, not just the state prospects. If Congress begins to get discredited here, in rural areas, for reasons of apathy to suicidal farmers, due to the cricketing pursuits of Shri Pawar and his defense of pesticide levels in Indian mother's milk, it will mean sweeping changes in the way Agriculture Ministry, and how it is seen in terms of relative political weight in Indian political circles.
Shri Sharad Pawar is of course, no Chaudhary Charan Singh though he may sometimes try to put on that mantle.
I have often pointed out that there is an inherent contradiction in the roles assigned to Shri Pawar as Agriculture Minister and as Food Minister. At some point this contradiction will need to be decisively resolved within Congress at the highest levels, before India submits to European and American pressures on WTO.
I am amazed at the amount of spontaneous distrust, that Shri Sharad Pawar evokes amongst Vidarbha farmers, and yet manages to cling to his ministry as an important Central government constituent and political heavy weight.
The sugarcane cooperatives of Western Maharashtra have been the traditional power brokers in Mumbai, and often at the expense of Vidarbha interests.
The media images of Vidarbha, show that each additional suicide in Vidarbha is seen as an albatross hanging on the neck of Shri Pawar. Even the mistakes committed by other ministers, somehow get blamed upon Shri Pawar.
The political fallout of his image in Vidarbha, as a cricket glory seeking and tough talking, politically shrewd, Agriculture Minister of India, in stark contrast to the mockery of Indian farm suicides going on unabated under his jurisdiction, will be deep standing.
Maybe it will require consummate political manouevres to retain his clout in Vidarbha after the widespread dismay, his name and image arouses amongst the cotton farmers of Maharashtra.
The Congress political bigwigs may have some reasons for keeping silent. However, how many days before the murmurs of discontent and political stock taking begins in Congress, remains to be seen. Vidarbha is electorally very important for Congress.
Vidarbha is surely an important electoral battle ground and a bell weather for Congress central government prospects, not just the state prospects. If Congress begins to get discredited here, in rural areas, for reasons of apathy to suicidal farmers, due to the cricketing pursuits of Shri Pawar and his defense of pesticide levels in Indian mother's milk, it will mean sweeping changes in the way Agriculture Ministry, and how it is seen in terms of relative political weight in Indian political circles.
Shri Sharad Pawar is of course, no Chaudhary Charan Singh though he may sometimes try to put on that mantle.
I have often pointed out that there is an inherent contradiction in the roles assigned to Shri Pawar as Agriculture Minister and as Food Minister. At some point this contradiction will need to be decisively resolved within Congress at the highest levels, before India submits to European and American pressures on WTO.
I am amazed at the amount of spontaneous distrust, that Shri Sharad Pawar evokes amongst Vidarbha farmers, and yet manages to cling to his ministry as an important Central government constituent and political heavy weight.
Thursday 8 February 2007
Political Response to Farm Exit Policy of Congress
That a massive economic restructuring process is underway in India is no more in doubt. What is interesting, is that the major economists and think tanks are busy with issues of :
1. Indian GDP
2. Competition strategies to attract some leftover foreign investment away from China, to India.
3. How urban India can best position itself to benefit from globalization and WTO.
However, given the sheer size of Indian farm dependant population, this economic restructuring is naturally accompanied by large scale stresses and deep fissures, on Indian social structures and long term food security policies.
Entire decades of food security infrastructure planning and institutions are being dismantled within ministries, without open debate.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi will of course continue to excercise an unshakeable mental and psychological hold on some of the most deprived of Indian voters. However, whether the charm of the sacrificing daughter in law, will survive the kick on the food plate, remains to be seen.
Some of these stresses will surely impact the electoral politics of India.
However, apart from Mamta Bannerjee and Mohan Dharia, hardly any Indian politicians seem to be aware of the electoral impact of these urban led, strategies for economic growth. Maybe Shri Naidu from Andhra Pradesh, can head a think tank within Congress, to warn them of the impending impact of Shining India and Second Green Revolution electoral campaigns.
Certainly not Shri Sharad Pawar and Shri Manmohan Singh, though I feel Shri Kamal Nath does know what impact, this is all going to have on Congress prospects in the next elections.
The Indian media is now regularly, but still cautiously, depending on the views of the editors, covering the stories of Indian farm suicides, while Shri Sharad Pawar cursorily reads out the figures in Parliament and defends wheat imports from Australia and the "acceptable levels of pesticides" in what Indians drink and what mothers milk contains.
But apart from the cursory reading of the suicide figures, there is still no attempt to come to grips with the issue of undeclared farm exit policy of Congress.
Suicide figures are just figures to be read out in the Parliament. They hide the faces and the stories, of the farmers and the families of the suicidal farmers.
The US Secretary of Agriculture also, deems it fit and appropriate, to compare the suicides of Indian farmers with the much smaller number of farmer suicides in United States, in the Indian capital, amongst the friends of Indian commerce federations, while trying to drum up support for the re-energized WTO and supposedly, still a Doha Round. Though of course, Europe and America look at Doha Round only as an attempt to revive WTO, and in reality, have more significant and pressing issues they would like discussed under the umbrella of WTO.
Ask the suicidal Indian farmers, if they are optimistic to the same degree, about the success of Doha Round, and you are greeted with blank stares. They are already facing Doha on a daily basis in their homes.
That some people are getting ready to foist one more Doha, this time done better, hardly elates the Indian farmers.
1. Indian GDP
2. Competition strategies to attract some leftover foreign investment away from China, to India.
3. How urban India can best position itself to benefit from globalization and WTO.
However, given the sheer size of Indian farm dependant population, this economic restructuring is naturally accompanied by large scale stresses and deep fissures, on Indian social structures and long term food security policies.
Entire decades of food security infrastructure planning and institutions are being dismantled within ministries, without open debate.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi will of course continue to excercise an unshakeable mental and psychological hold on some of the most deprived of Indian voters. However, whether the charm of the sacrificing daughter in law, will survive the kick on the food plate, remains to be seen.
Some of these stresses will surely impact the electoral politics of India.
However, apart from Mamta Bannerjee and Mohan Dharia, hardly any Indian politicians seem to be aware of the electoral impact of these urban led, strategies for economic growth. Maybe Shri Naidu from Andhra Pradesh, can head a think tank within Congress, to warn them of the impending impact of Shining India and Second Green Revolution electoral campaigns.
Certainly not Shri Sharad Pawar and Shri Manmohan Singh, though I feel Shri Kamal Nath does know what impact, this is all going to have on Congress prospects in the next elections.
The Indian media is now regularly, but still cautiously, depending on the views of the editors, covering the stories of Indian farm suicides, while Shri Sharad Pawar cursorily reads out the figures in Parliament and defends wheat imports from Australia and the "acceptable levels of pesticides" in what Indians drink and what mothers milk contains.
But apart from the cursory reading of the suicide figures, there is still no attempt to come to grips with the issue of undeclared farm exit policy of Congress.
Suicide figures are just figures to be read out in the Parliament. They hide the faces and the stories, of the farmers and the families of the suicidal farmers.
The US Secretary of Agriculture also, deems it fit and appropriate, to compare the suicides of Indian farmers with the much smaller number of farmer suicides in United States, in the Indian capital, amongst the friends of Indian commerce federations, while trying to drum up support for the re-energized WTO and supposedly, still a Doha Round. Though of course, Europe and America look at Doha Round only as an attempt to revive WTO, and in reality, have more significant and pressing issues they would like discussed under the umbrella of WTO.
Ask the suicidal Indian farmers, if they are optimistic to the same degree, about the success of Doha Round, and you are greeted with blank stares. They are already facing Doha on a daily basis in their homes.
That some people are getting ready to foist one more Doha, this time done better, hardly elates the Indian farmers.
Wednesday 7 February 2007
Four Pillars of Indian Farm Exit Policy
Much fuss is being made in India, of the letter written by the UPA chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to Shri Manmohan Singh regarding the major news of Walmart entering India in partnership with Indian industrialists without a footprint in retail.
The "language of the open letter", billed of course as only the third major intevention of Mrs Gandhi in issues of governance, of course, shows that Mrs Gandhi has all along been in the dark, about this major reorganization of retail sector in India, being considered by the Agriculture and Commerce ministries, with the green signal from Prime Minister, under the garb of inviting investments into Indian agriculture and propelling the Second Green Revolution in India.
Of course, the issue of on whose weak backs, the second Green Revolution will play itself out, is a moot question. One best answered - by a much delayed and avoided like the cow dung of villages - visit to farmer organizations in Vidarbha and Indian killing fields by the masters of Indian economic tiger.
And why, not afterall, all serious economists are busy churning out the percentage figures of Indian GDP, and wondering if it will hit double figures.
Of course, different people will have different perceptions about the knowledge or ignorance of Mrs Gandhi, about the entry, of American and European major retailers into India, either directly, or on the backs of a facilitating joint venture entity with Indian non retail players, in the absence of WTO globally binding agreements.
Food Retail is the big sunrise sector in India, and promises major electoral battles, in the coming years, as masses of populations, in Indian cities and villages are displaced and forced into unplanned economic restructuring of epic proportions.
Like the Roman Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned, or the Shatranj ke Khiladi of Awadh, even though the Communists are busy saving the navratnas, and prefer to ignore the issues of eviction of sharecroppers from Bengal farmlands, and make their routine "oh, this is not right", exclamations in New Delhi.
Let us for the while, believe with all due innocence, that Mrs Gandhi has no role at all to play in the decisions regarding entry of single brand global majors into Indian food sector.
What I wish to draw attention to, is the language of the letter from Mrs Gandhi.
Mrs Gandhi writes "...I have received suggestions from many quarters, about the desirability to first study, the possible impact, of transnational, super markets on livelihood security, of those engaged in small scale operations. I thought I would convey this to you so that, you may consider having the relevant issues properly examined before further decisions are taken..."
Although WalMart has entered the wholesale sector, which allows 100 per cent FDI, we all know from the Tesco strategy, of entering the Chinese food retail market, via a joint venture Ting Hsin, to understand and influence local agricultural practices, that this is the means of actually directly pegging its own brand in the Indian retail space.
We all know that no global major, wants to enter the Chinese or Indian markets, only for the wholesale pie.
It is the retail pie that all global majors and the Indian new entrants like Reliance are after, let us be under no illusions about this.
It seems that with her European lineage, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, well understands, what the Europeans and Americans want from India and are drumming up pressure for.
This is a major reversing of the national food security generated by the agriculture policies of her mother in law, Mrs Indira Gandhi.
Major industrial economies, after years of low cost Chinese inputs, are now beginning to feel the impact of incipient inflation in their local economies and stagnating growth in the consumer markets.
Mrs Gandhi is believed to have asked for the details of the Bharti WalMart contract and wants top ministries to gauge its impact on small-scale retailers.
Top ministries ?
Ah, have a guess, what are these "top ministries" ? Any guesses ? It is those of Shri Sharad Pawar, Mr Chidambaram and Shri Kamal Nath.
These are the movers and shakers aka, top ministries.
In this context, I also want to point out that Mrs Gandhi has raised this issue only in the context of the small traders. Are not the Indian farmers also to be included in the blessings that are about to be coming the way of small traders, after this intervention of Mrs Sonia Gandhi in this most important of Indian economic developments since the Green Revolution ?
Watch this blog for more on what are the Four Pillars of the undeclared Indian Farm Exit Policy.
The "language of the open letter", billed of course as only the third major intevention of Mrs Gandhi in issues of governance, of course, shows that Mrs Gandhi has all along been in the dark, about this major reorganization of retail sector in India, being considered by the Agriculture and Commerce ministries, with the green signal from Prime Minister, under the garb of inviting investments into Indian agriculture and propelling the Second Green Revolution in India.
Of course, the issue of on whose weak backs, the second Green Revolution will play itself out, is a moot question. One best answered - by a much delayed and avoided like the cow dung of villages - visit to farmer organizations in Vidarbha and Indian killing fields by the masters of Indian economic tiger.
And why, not afterall, all serious economists are busy churning out the percentage figures of Indian GDP, and wondering if it will hit double figures.
Of course, different people will have different perceptions about the knowledge or ignorance of Mrs Gandhi, about the entry, of American and European major retailers into India, either directly, or on the backs of a facilitating joint venture entity with Indian non retail players, in the absence of WTO globally binding agreements.
Food Retail is the big sunrise sector in India, and promises major electoral battles, in the coming years, as masses of populations, in Indian cities and villages are displaced and forced into unplanned economic restructuring of epic proportions.
Like the Roman Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned, or the Shatranj ke Khiladi of Awadh, even though the Communists are busy saving the navratnas, and prefer to ignore the issues of eviction of sharecroppers from Bengal farmlands, and make their routine "oh, this is not right", exclamations in New Delhi.
Let us for the while, believe with all due innocence, that Mrs Gandhi has no role at all to play in the decisions regarding entry of single brand global majors into Indian food sector.
What I wish to draw attention to, is the language of the letter from Mrs Gandhi.
Mrs Gandhi writes "...I have received suggestions from many quarters, about the desirability to first study, the possible impact, of transnational, super markets on livelihood security, of those engaged in small scale operations. I thought I would convey this to you so that, you may consider having the relevant issues properly examined before further decisions are taken..."
Although WalMart has entered the wholesale sector, which allows 100 per cent FDI, we all know from the Tesco strategy, of entering the Chinese food retail market, via a joint venture Ting Hsin, to understand and influence local agricultural practices, that this is the means of actually directly pegging its own brand in the Indian retail space.
We all know that no global major, wants to enter the Chinese or Indian markets, only for the wholesale pie.
It is the retail pie that all global majors and the Indian new entrants like Reliance are after, let us be under no illusions about this.
It seems that with her European lineage, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, well understands, what the Europeans and Americans want from India and are drumming up pressure for.
This is a major reversing of the national food security generated by the agriculture policies of her mother in law, Mrs Indira Gandhi.
Major industrial economies, after years of low cost Chinese inputs, are now beginning to feel the impact of incipient inflation in their local economies and stagnating growth in the consumer markets.
Mrs Gandhi is believed to have asked for the details of the Bharti WalMart contract and wants top ministries to gauge its impact on small-scale retailers.
Top ministries ?
Ah, have a guess, what are these "top ministries" ? Any guesses ? It is those of Shri Sharad Pawar, Mr Chidambaram and Shri Kamal Nath.
These are the movers and shakers aka, top ministries.
In this context, I also want to point out that Mrs Gandhi has raised this issue only in the context of the small traders. Are not the Indian farmers also to be included in the blessings that are about to be coming the way of small traders, after this intervention of Mrs Sonia Gandhi in this most important of Indian economic developments since the Green Revolution ?
Watch this blog for more on what are the Four Pillars of the undeclared Indian Farm Exit Policy.
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