Book: A Rural Manifesto: Realizing India’s future through her villages
Author: Feroz Varun Gandhi
Publisher: Rupa
Pages: 825; Price: Rs.995
Rural India is suffering. The agrarian crisis is a major issue and it is also a reason why farmers are committing suicides across India. Farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their products. For many years now, peasants have realised their exploitation and they are demanding implementation of the report and recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers headed by Dr M. S. Swaminathan. It was submitted a decade ago and the parliament needs to discuss it seriously. In the last two years, the country witnessed a number of farmers rallies. Thousands of farmers walked down from Nashik to Mumbai and also a massive rally was organised in Delhi. They are demanding a special session of parliament to discuss agrarian crisis. The Congress party has assured a separate budget for farmers in their election manifesto. Various political parties including BJP and Congress are raising farmers issue in these elections and promising them of ‘good days’.
A Rural Manifesto: Realizing India’s future through her villages is a new and thick book written by Feroze Varun Gandhi, a BJP politician. The book highlights rural distress and throws light on the potential resolution. It’s a timely book. The author-politician writes, “The idea of writing a tome, nay, a dense synthesis of facts, forecasts and, at times, personal anecdotes, came from my travels in India’s dusty hinterland.”
The book covers various aspects concerning the agriculture and rural distress. The chapters are on agricultural inputs, on water availability, on energy access, on agricultural marketing, on non-farm income, on handicrafts, on rural labour, on rural education, on rural healthcare, on rural credit and a way forward.
The author writes revamping irrigation is an important way forward. He favours drip irrigation. But, drip irrigation is not an easy solution in a country like India where generally farm lands are too small to generate sustainable income. Drip irrigation also needs huge investment initially. According to author, “The high initial cost ($500-$1,500 per acre) remains a significant barrier, with banks reluctant to provide loans on small ticket sizes.” Seventy two per cent of our farmers are small and marginal and they own just six per cent of the agricultural land. Again, drip irrigation requires an uninterrupted or assured power supply.
Varun Gandhi travelled across the country and highlighted the plight of rural people. He is a BJP leader from UP and wrote in details about the condition of people from his constituencies, that is, Pilbhit and Sultanpur. He always remains in controversies. There are couple of hate speech cases against him. As a politician he needs to push his rural agenda and influence the power centre. The issue of agrarian crisis is very serious and needs out of the box thinking. The number of suicides by farmers are increasing and it is a matter of concern. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has noted more than three lakh farmers’ committed suicide between 1995 and 2015. All political parties, in their manifestos, talk about resolving the agrarian crisis, but once elections are over other issues take forefront and the peasants’ issues get neglected.
It is time to act and stop the sufferings of farmers. Rural distress and agrarian crisis needs to be discussed and a permanent solution should be found out. The book will help in taking debate on agrarian crisis forward.
