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WHEN The Tribune reported on March 1 that nearly 47% of the country was in the grip of a severe drought, with at least 16 % falling in the category of ‘extreme’ or ‘exceptional’, and knowing that drought could further worsen farm distress, lead to increased migration from rural to urban areas, I thought the misery being encountered by roughly 500 million people or 40% of the population would shift the focus, even in an election year, to provide immediate relief measures.

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Devinder Sharma
Food & agriculture specialist

WHEN The Tribune reported on March 1 that nearly 47% of the country was in the grip of a severe drought, with at least 16 % falling in the category of ‘extreme’ or ‘exceptional’, and knowing that drought could further worsen farm distress, lead to increased migration from rural to urban areas, I thought the misery being encountered by roughly 500 million people or 40% of the population would shift the focus, even in an election year, to provide immediate relief measures. 

My belief that the dominant narrative would change, with each party trying to outdo what the other promised, and perhaps move its cadre to the rural hinterland, providing a helping hand to the drought-affected, too, remained wishful thinking. To make it still worse, Skymet Weather Services, a private agency, has forecast a deficient monsoon ahead, and the Indian Meteorological Department has shown that the country has received 36% less rainfall between March 1 and March 28 compared with the long-term average. Another report by IndiaSpend points to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of Northeast, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan being the worst hit. ‘In 31 reservoirs in the southern states, water availability stands at 25% of total capacity, which has gone down by 36 percentage points over five months from 61% of the capacity in November 2018.’ There is more trouble ahead.

In another report, IndiaSpend speaks of the plight of the drought-hit Rayalaseema region of Andhra, comprising four districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Chitoor and YSR Kadapa. The region has faced 15 droughts between 2000 and 2018. Quoting the district administration, the report says the region has faced nine consecutive years of drought. This year again, the drought continues. An estimated 7 lakh people moved out in 2018, looking for menial labour. Village after village is empty, with only the elders and children left behind by couples who have migrated. This year, there is hardly a field which doesn’t look barren and abandoned.  

Even in the drought-affected areas in Maharashtra, where the continuing agrarian crisis is expected to cast its shadow on the ensuing elections, news reports point to how the ruling party is trying to instead build up a campaign based on muscular nationalism, quietly bypassing the central issue of farm distress in the region. Opposition parties are, however, focusing on the neglect of the farm sector over the years. So much so, seeing that the real issues are being swept under the carpet, a farm widow, Vaishali Yede, has decided to take the battle to the ballot. She is contesting from Yavatmal-Washim constituency in eastern Maharashtra, a farm suicide-prone region. Her simple message is: ‘Mahyavar laksh asudya ji’ (keep me in your prayers and thoughts), ostensibly telling voters to remember the distressed farmers. 

In Telangana, too, there are 170 farmers contesting against K Kavitha, daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, a candidate from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency. Reports also say that 111 Tamil Nadu farmers, who had earlier campaigned in New Delhi, will be contesting against PM Modi from Varanasi. While the intent in both cases seems to be rather symbolic, it does, however, signify the anger sweeping the countryside. 

At a time when farm incomes have plummeted to its lowest in the past 15 years and rural wage growth has seen a steep fall — from 11.8% in 2013-15 to 0.45% in 2016-18, the National Sample Survey Office estimates say 3.2 crore casual rural workers lost their jobs between 2011-12 and 2017-18. Of these, 3 crore were farm labourers. 

Despite the news and a few  analyses, the dominant narrative has again shifted back. Agricultural crisis that took so long to emerge at the centre stage of the political debate has once again been relegated to the background. ‘The effort to bring emotions (nationalism) in the elections will lead to all  other issues going under the carpet. The farmers will continue to die,’ says farmer leader Vijay Jawandhia from Maharashtra. 

One reason why people in cities do not feel concerned, and that is why the prominent discourse remains impervious to the suffering in rural areas, is because of unequal development woven through the process of economic growth. To illustrate, why only water shortage, the problems that a crippling drought would normally bring are rarely felt in the cities. Simply because all efforts have been to build the cities and make them drought-proof over the years. Rivers flowing in rural areas can go dry, the soil become parched and crops wither, but the development design ensures regular tap water supply in cities, or for at least a few hours during the day. While cities have a 24-hour power supply, ask a farmer how many hours does he get electricity? 

A few hours away from Mumbai, life comes to a standstill. Go to Bangalore, it is rare that you can even get a distant feeling of a severe drought that prevails just a few kilometres outside of it. It is this kind of insinuation that keeps the urban population disconnected with its rural hinterland. 

Why only blame the urban-centric media, which hardly has any roots in mofussil towns, even the academia and bureaucracy remain oblivious. When the urban elite and the middle class is least interested, it is futile to expect politicians to fill the gap. Unless each one of us, irrespective of political ideology, thinks of the farmer when talking of elections or when voting, farming will never swing political decision-making. 

As the Prime Minister said in an interview, thinking of the farmer is nationalism too.

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