US & EU Nations Hatching Big Conspiracy Against Indian Farmers: BKU's Rakesh Tikait
India observes Kisan Diwas (Farmers’ Day) on 23 December every year. On this day, in an interview with Sputnik India, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait shared his views about agriculture in the country.
SputnikKisan Diwas, also known as National Farmers’ Day, is observed on 23 December every year in India to celebrate and recognise the hard work of the country's farmers.
It was decided to observe Farmers’ Day on 23 December, as the date marks the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, who is known for his work done for the welfare of farmers.
The former prime minister is also hailed as the “son of soil” and “champion of India’s peasants”. In order to honour his contribution towards upliftment of the Indian farmers, the federal government in 2001 pledged to observe his birthday as “Kisan Diwas”.
Some of his notable reforms were the Debt Redemption Bill of 1939, the Land Holding Act of 1960, and the Zamindari Abolition Act of 1950. It was because of reforms brought by Singh that thousands of farmers got relief from moneylenders and thus reduced the suicide rate among them.
On this occasion,
Sputnik India has reached out to
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesman and farmer leader
Rakesh Tikait, who shared his views about
situation of agriculture and farmers in the country, the benefits of government schemes, and changes for farmers after the farm laws were withdrawn.
Situation of Farming in India
Talking about the situation of agriculture in India, Tikait told Sputnik India that over time, the market has increased, but the rates at which farm goods are being bought from farmers have not increased, and the purchasing power of farmers has declined.
“If you compare, prices of everything have increased in the last 20 years, but the rates at which farmers are selling their agriculture products have not increased in the same proportion. The farmers have to buy seeds, fertilisers, and other things to be used for agriculture at high rate but are not getting enough return which forces them to loan, so they are under the burden of debt. In such a situation, they are forced to sell their farmlands and do something else”, Tikait stated.
He further said that if this trend continues, then in the coming years, farming will no longer be done in India.
The farmer leader also suggested that there is a major conspiracy being hatched by the US and European nations against farmers in India to shift factory production to the country, and because of this, the
agriculture sector in the country may come to an end.
“The US wants a country which can be used to replace China and because of population, availability of cheap labour and plenty of land they see India as the best option. As plenty of agricultural land is available in India, the US and European countries want to establish big industries here so that they can use the cheap labour of India, manufacture their goods and reap huge profits”, Tikait claimed.
Are Welfare Schemes Really Benefiting Farmers?
Sharing his views about the welfare schemes rolled out for farmers, the BKU spokesman said that schemes are always for the benefit of the people, but they should be effectively implemented.
Citing the example of sugarcane farmers, Tikait said that payments to sugarcane farmers have been pending for a long time with sugar mill owners. Thus, if the government really wants them to benefit, then rather than transferring INR 6,000 ($72) to farmers’ bank accounts in a year, it should work for farmers to get their payments from the mill owners.
“Apart from this, the government should give free water to the farmers so that they can use it whenever necessary for farming. Farmers are not able to water their crops timely due to the shortage of water, thus their crops either get damaged or are not of good quality”, the farmer leader stated.
He also demanded that farmers should be given money under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) so that they don’t have to invest extra money in hiring labour for farming.
“Various types of labour work are involved in farming and the labour cost has risen significantly. So, the farmers have to shed out extra money to hire labour, which adds to their cost and then they don’t get enough price for their crops, because of which they suffer loss. This is the reason why people are not interested in farming, rather looking out for other jobs”, Tikait said.
Changes After Rollback of Farm Laws
Tikait was one of the prominent leaders who led the year-long
farmers’ protest against the now-repealed three farm laws.
Talking about changes after the farm laws were rolled back, the farmer leader said that so far, there have been no changes in the situation.
“See, the farm laws were a kind of disease which we prevented from spreading through our protest. However, there are chances that it might come in some other way. So, we as farmers can’t relax and sit back. We will continue to protest till the farmers get their rights”, Tikait said comparing the three farm laws to COVID.
He further said that the best way to pay homage and tribute to Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary and Kisan Diwas for farmers to pledge that they will continue to be aware of their rights.