Saturday 25 October 2014

Kaththi – a voice for the Farmers

The movie brings the Issues of Farmers and Agriculture in India to the audience (public). The movie with the heroic approach has action, romance, sentiment etc.  If we look in to it leaving behind the controversies surrounding the producer or political aspiration of the hero, it is trying to unfold the problems deteriorating the status of agriculture in India.


In 2012, the National Crime Records Bureau of India reported 13,754 farmer suicides. The movie mock at the negligence of the Media, Bureaucrats or even the public outside the Agriculture.

A farmer never suicide for the loss of livelihood, 
he do so only when he lose his self-respect.

This movie illustrates the farmer suicide as a tool to receive media attention. The consecutive murders of farm-land owner to serve the corporate interest also give an insight on the selfish desire of the modern literate. 

The exploitation of Natural resources esp. the ground water by the Multi-National companies is illustrated in the movie.   The corporate is vilified to the core; it shows the business without ethics in the current era of kali Yug. It list down few products from lemon made dishwasher to strawberry flavored condom make the strawberry & lemon inaccessible to the deprived section. The recent incidence of RIL KG controversy, Sahara Scam, 2G Scam, Coal gate Scandal, UB Groups insolvency stand evidence for it. The movie also downhill the status of the “developed cities”, as they depends on the rural areas, for the essential/ basic necessities. Beyond CSR spending, Corporates should have bit of ethical & moral responsibility towards the Society.

The Mass Media either be print or visual remains to be a business firm rather than being a responsible 4th pillar of the democracy. The movie mock the Media by exposing their striving attitude towards Hot News line like Rape, Riot, Infidelity, etc. The technological advancement brings the world in the box, which has been made possible by the Media. But now a day it became an Entertainment industry leaving behind their audacity towards social injustice. The media should have Social responsibility beyond their business interest. When the checks and balance of the Legislative-Executive-Judiciary framework fails, Media is the only remedy. It is the voice of the people. It educates the uneducated. The media should consider rural journalism and Agri-Journalism.

The Integrity of the responsible bureaucrats is questioned in the incidence of such derogation of life line and dignity of the farmers. The products made by man can be given the price tag but not the morality, ethics, dignity and self-respect. The reluctance of bureaucrats towards the downtrodden reminds us the Gandhiji’s Talisman.

The lack of political will put the Farmer in the agony and it degrades the status of Agriculture. The law makers should abjure from pro-corporate strategy at the cost of poor in turn it would result in Anti-Agricultural policies.  Many existing and pending policies directly or indirectly affecting the agriculture, such as
1.     Land Acquisition for Non-Farm purpose.
2.     Promotion GM Crops and Field Trails for BT
3.     National Water Policy might deprive their basic source for Agriculture.

But the movie failed to explain some essential things,
Before pointing at others… Need of the hour is to think… “What we have done?”
First know the Sources and secrete of water?

What is our concern to preserve it?

What should be done...
Rain water harvesting, renovation of pond, recycling Sewage from industries and domestic outlet before entering the stream …
Are we doing any of the following??


Dr. Nammazhvar suggest for root top water storage (as the ground has been sufficiently polluted, it will be clever only if we can catch the water directly from the sky), adequate space much be provided for the rain water to percolate in to the ground…

 If we fail to realize all these at this helm, 
then the tarred road is ready for us 
to march towards our graves.  
What is Sustainable Agriculture?

Impact of GM, BT crops… Why Agriculture depends on the Chemical Fertilizers (NPK)… a small question in the movie little thought provoking… When did you plant a tree last time? Are we…
          The farm lands demand the waste back from the human. But the rapid urbanization hinders the cycle. The farm produce are consumed by the urban cities but the waste are either dumped in to unwanted yards or outpoured in to river streams.

The movie must have been more Pro-Agriculture rather than Anti-corporate. The communist dialogues, heroic appearance, tear shedding clips… aims at fringe benefits rather than for social cause… 

Agriculture is the umbilical cord of our country. It is a culture. It is the life line. It can never be perceived to be a business either it can compete with it. It is the duty of every individual and the people in power to respect the farmers and their service through Agriculture. When a time, makes a country to depend the other for food, then it is the end to the vision of our Great Leaders and Ancestors. The country producing Arms & Ammunition can never rule the world; it’s possible only by the country which can feed the world.

Further reading on Status of Agriculture in India:
a.     The article discuss about August 2003, launch of ‘break bottle’ campaign by SP & BJP.
b.     It also mentions that soft drink contains lethal pesticide and its ban by parliament canteen following Delhi based CSE report.
a.     Continuing Agrarian crisis due to excessive spending on the Agro-Input in the form of HYV, Pesticide, fertilizers…
a.     The UN report 2007, list down increased usage of chemical fertilizers cause the soil infertile, three years of drought led to zero yield as the reason for farmers distress in India.
b.     It also gives the figure that about 200 farmers committed suicide between July 2005 to Feb 2006, there were almost 2 suicides a day in this eight month period.
5.     Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives
               6.      Water Management – Case studies in India
                                                                                     i.      Poptrao Pawar – Hiware Bazar – Watershed Programme – Based on Anna Hazare’s Ralegan siddhi Model.
                       

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