Patna,(BiharTimes): As farmers are on warpath in several states, mostly the BJP-ruled ones, a question which demands answer is: why is it that there is no such agitation in Bihar?
It is true some farmers did protest at Gardanibagh in Patna when chief minister Nitish Kumar was addressing Kisan Samagam at newly-built Gyan Bhawan near Gandhi Maidan on Friday, the truth is that Bihar has seldom seen the same level of protest as elsewhere. It is the state which has, in the last couple of decades, witnessed least number of suicides by farmers, though neighbouring Jharhhand has––even in the recent weeks. Starvation deaths too are seldom reported now.
This is so notwithstanding the fact that Bihar has a long history of agrarian unrest. Massacres and counter-massacres by private armies of the landed farmers and Maoists had been quite common till a few years back.
Though, as elsewhere in the country, farmers get less for their produces and are not full satisfied with the policies of the government towards them yet there is no such widespread protest against the Centre or state government.
Sensing the situation elsewhere in the country, Nitish Kumar called a meeting of farmers in the state capital in which he said the main focus of his government’s agriculture road map is on increasing income of farmers and ensuring sustainable development of the sector. He also assured farmers of providing them minimum support price with 50 per cent additional incentive.
But it is not because of these recent announcements by him that the farmers have not taken to the streets. If they are not protesting it is largely because an overwhelming number of farmers are marginal or small and they do not rely totally on agricultural earning. Farmers in Bihar hardly grow surplus foodgrains to sell in market. So over the years they have evolved an alternative source of earnings.
There is huge migration from Bihar, both within and outside the country and the state is among the top remittance earners of the country.
In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra bumper output of pulses and other cash crops led to sharp fall in their prices. Demonetization further aggravated the problem.
As dependency on loan is not so much in Bihar the demand for its waiving is not so strong.
Farmers in India are now facing the problem of plenty and not scarcity as in the past. They have been let down by successive governments. The anger against the BJP is much more stronger as Narendra Modi has failed to fulfil the promises made on the run to 2014 election.
Patna,(BiharTimes): As farmers are on warpath in several states, mostly the BJP-ruled ones, a question which demands answer is: why is it that there is no such agitation in Bihar?