On The
Struggles and Achievements
On the
question of Peasant Suicides in Punjab
Special Correspondent
Like all
the pockets of the so called green revolution in the country the phenomenon of
peasant (agriculture labourers included) suicides is on the rise in Punjab
also. The phenomenon as such reached its climax and became the most glaring manifestation
of the deep-rooted crisis of the peasantry later on but actually it had started
coming into existence in the decade of nineties itself –with the fading of
green revolution on the one hand and with the adoption of so called new
economic policies by the rulers of the country on the other hand. The former
meant: fall in the per acre yield and in the total productivity, hence in the
real income of the peasants. The latter meant: terms of trade being tilted
against the agrarian sector resulting in many fold increase in the prices of
the agricultural inputs as compared to the prices of the major crops, thus
making agriculture highly none-remunerative;
fast dwindling state investment and subsidy support in agriculture; further
alienation of land through acquisitions and through unbearable indebtedness and
pauperization of the peasantry, thus aggravating existing scarcity of land with
the lower layers of the peasantry lack of proper support-structure in case of
crop failure owing to spurious seeds and pesticides etc. apart from natural
disasters; further shrinkage of work-opportunities for the agri-labourer and
the landless peasants as well as rise in general unemployment of the sons and
daughters of peasants. And above all,
further squeezing of the cheap sources of loans for lower wrungs of peasantry
and consequently throwing the hapless peasamt pauperised because of above
factors before rapacious money lender, who ultimately devours not only the
entire earnings of the peasant, not only his land, but also his life, thus
becomes the chief culprit in the matter.
In this context, fighting for the
permanent solution to the phenomenon meant fighting in the direction of
removing all of the above mentioned factors responsible for the phenomenon and
ultimately making the peasantry crisis-free by way of abolishing landlordism, usury
and exploitation by the native/foreigner big capitalists. As the phenomenon of suicides had not come to light
as yet, it could not be taken up as an issue of struggle then, still the fight
against above mentioned factors responsible for the phenomenon had started
taking shape in the very nineties. Distancing from the slogan of connecting the
prices of crops with the price- index so vociferously propagated by the pro-landlord
leadership of the BKU–Lakhowal and
Rajewal factions and to some extent established in the ranks of the
organizations was being made on the part of some sections of the peasant leaderships still within the organization
led by Pishora Singh Sidhupur and instead the efforts were being made by these
sections to bring peasant indebtedness on to the immediate agenda of struggle.
Section led by the present leadership of BKU(Ekta)-Ugrahan then representing
the leadership at district levels in the then organization was most steadfast
among those determinedly giving inner-organisational fight against the vacillating leadership and valiantly
fighting against the class-enemy and the state administration on the issues,
sometimes single-handedly, sometimes with its firm ally the Punjab Khet Mazdoor
Union (PKMU) and at other times in joint activity with other peasant and
agricultural-labour unions.
Consequently, there were a lot of
agitations and struggles on the indebtedness-related issues of various
hues, about all ending with positive results. For example thousands of cases of
embezzlement of accounts by the commission agents (as money lenders) were
settled in favour of peasants saving
them of huge burden of debt in each
case; the prevalent practice of police interventions (in favour of money
lenders) stands stopped everywhere, esp. where some or the other peasant
organization exists; arrests of the peasants for recovery of back loans were
prevented in thousands of cases and hundreds of arrested peasants in this
context got released from jail under the pressure of militant agitations and
the practice now is as good as stopped,
though the governments have not repealed
the concerned clauses of the law; Innumerable cases of debt related land
attachments/auctions had been stopped in so many decades thus saving lacs of
acres of land from the clutches of money lenders; even the attachments being
made now a days in the revenue offices are also being successfully opposed,
though the process of ordering fresh attachments/auctions
continues unabated; furthermore, in the years May 2006 to 2008 and again in 2010
to 2011 serious efforts of the governments at forcibly acquiring lands were
successfully rebuffed through valiant struggles made through joint activities
of various peasant and agri-labour organizations resulting in compelling
governments in some cases to increase the compensation to the satisfaction of
the peasants ; in several cases retracting the notifications; in some
capitalists or companies not coming forward sensing the heat of the situation
and in one case giving back a portion of the notified land to the original
owners , as well as giving compensation of three lacs to each family of agri-labourers and others
whose employment was effected due to the acquisition. Above all the congress and the Akali Dal both had to
change the policy of forcibly acquiring the lands. Some of these struggles had
been prestigious and outstanding struggles in the recent history of peasant
movements in Punjab in which the then govts had to eat an humble pie as they
took them as an issue of prestige. In some of them government resorted to
severe repression against the BKU(ekta) Ugrahan with the intention to suppress
it but in vain.
When in 2005—06 the phenomenon of suicides as such came to light the BKU
(Ekta) Ugrahan took it seriously and resolved to make it an issue of active struggle.
For doing so it immediately conducted survey of suicides by going door to door
in which it found 3389 cases (both peasant and agri-labour) of suicides , on
the basis of which it calculated more than 40 thousand suicides in the state in
between 1991 to 2007 .Then it prepared a
proposal for the permanent solution of the problem and a draft bill for the
pro-peasant law both of which were accepted by five peasant organizations and
were projected by them at the September
19 , 2006 joint rally at Chandigarh having participation of more than 15000.
And then both these documents were given
to all the legislative members who were to participate in special session on
the issue called by the then congress
govt. led by Captain Amrinder Singh. For publically highlighting the issue and
mobilizing the aggrieved families, it organized a successful public hearing in
Bathinda in which renowned economists and social activists were called. The
hearing was a great success.
A salient
point regarding the survey of the suicides was that till then nobody bothered
about the suicides of the agricultural labourers .The economists of
universities were not aware of it, the govt. did not bother about it and none
else did. But by dint of its concrete survey it influenced the economists about
these suicides. The PKMU substantiated it through a survey of 26 villages in
Muktsar district, which found 101 cases in one district alone. Influenced by
these figures the economists surveyed the cases of agri-labour suicides and
found 2927 cases in between 2002 to 2011. Ultimately the government had to
concede the fact. Another unattended factor, in this regard was the plight of
those peasants who lost their entire land and became landless. BKU (Ekta)
Ugrahan conducted sample survey in the villages under its influence and found
that 18% of the peasants have lost their entire land. Further, it worked out
the concrete demands of this section including the return of their lands. Then
it chalked out plans to draw them in the ongoing peasant struggles
So for as the question of
launching practical movement on the question is concerned, the union seems
quite clear about one thing that the direction of the movement on the issues
flows quite opposite to the basic interest of the section of the ruling classes
and their policies as represented by their respective governments and their
administrations, so they will not allow the voice to be raised in favour of such
demands, what to speak of launching struggles on them. It is quite clear to the
union from its own experience as to how the money lenders of Rama Mandi on
being annoyed at their failure to consummate the land attachment in one case
tried to hire goons to get a senior leader of the union killed. A senior
officer of the police wished to kidnap the same leader for the same reason and
harm him physically and the Badal govt. started a reign of terror for more than
a month to demolish the union for the simple reason that it wanted to launch a
peaceful 4 day sit-in on the above mentioned demands. So, the fight on these
demands cannot be simple and straight. It is
bound to be tortuous, complicated, prolonged and bloody one. The union
also seems to know that these demands being so closely linked to the lives and
basic class interests of the overwhelming majority of the peasantry and almost
entire section of the agricultural
labourers, it is not so easy for rulers to brow-beat them if the union
treads cautiously ; applies massline correctly; prepares the whole organisation
politically, organisationally and mentally; feels never satisfied with the
already mobilised masses, reaches out to newer and newer sections esp. the
concerned ones; raises the tempo of the movement through a process and puts
pressure on the government in advantageous situations on the basis of fully
mobilised forces. It is the pattern on which it achieved so many successes on
the question of indebtedtness, land attachments, and acquisitions of land etc.
It is the same pattern on which it had pressurised the Badal govt. in 2009 and
2011 to concede ( in the form of written official letters) Rs. 2 lacs as
compensation to the aggrieved families, along with a govt. Job to one member
each of such families; it was made to
get the survey conducted through the universities, to count suicides of agricultural
labourers in such surveys; to give compensation to the families of those who
committed suicide not because of indebtedness, but because of economic distress
and got the official letter for the D.C.’s of the discussion to see through
such cases and give the compensation. Though the govt. did not implement its
own assurances and commitments, it exposed its own class character and its
relations with the peasantry; it gave solid material to the union to expose its
real class character and relation with people and it helped the union to
provide consciousness about their rights and their relation with the ruling
parties and their govts. And ultimately it had to implement many of its major
commitments under the pressure of the 6 day-night sit-in of thousands of
peasants and agri-labourers and on seventh day gherao of the the entire
mini-secretariat of Bathinda (encompassing offices of the DC, ADC, SSP, IG and
DIG etc). It had to pay in cash under pressure more than eighty crores as
compensation to the aggrieved families; it had to pay Rs.3 lacs to each of more
than hundred of agri-labour families as compensation for their loss of
employment during the acquisition of land for Gobindpura thermal plant. It had
to concede possession of more than 125 plots to the agri-labourers and had to
give letters for the possession of thausands of plots for them throughout
Punjab (though it retracted from it under the excuse of code of conduct) and it
had to accept many of the practical demands of the agricultural labourers regarding
Manrega, PDS and Shagan Schemes etc. It all has worked in the direction of
establishing their faith in struggle and their faith in the leadership and it
has enhanced the prestige of the leadership. All this had not only enlarged the
number of women folk in the movement, rather it had added to the militancy of
the movement, because of the participation of the most oppressed women section
of the aggrieved families and lastly it had made a dent in the cast-bias and
had brought the peasants and the agricultural labourers much closer to each
other. A clear proof of it came forward when the govt. retracted from giving
plots to the agri-labourers on the
excuse of code of conduct, the peasant
activists rushed enmasse to their colonies for mobilising the workers for
plots. As a result of mobilised support from 62 villages in Mansa and an adhock
district committee was formed in Barnala, where PKMU had no units before.
The struggle goes on. It is the election
year in Punjab. Both opposition parties the cong. and AAP are raising voice on
the question of peasant indebtedness and suicides. Some of the peasant
organisations have launched sit-in struggles on this issue.
The BKU (Ekta) Ugrahan is also in the field, it is the 16th day of its state level morcha (in the form of a massive sit-in). Something positive is expected to come out.
13-06-2016
