Documenting farmers’ plight

July 04, 2018 12:00 am | Updated 03:49 am IST

In the light of noted author and Kota Neelima’s latest book, “Widows of Vidarbha: Making of Shadows”, chronicling the life of sixteen widows of Indian farmers, a panel discussion was organised at the Dalmia House at Tees January Marg in Delhi recently where the author and Sanjay Dalmia, an industry leader, offered the audience an insightful perspective on the various development-led policies of the government vis-a-vis farmers.

The discussion was moderated by senior journalist Gargi Parsai, who has written extensively on agriculture and rural development issues.

Speaking on the occasion, Kota Neelima said, “The government and political parties deal with farmers like patrons, deciding who does and doesn’t deserve support. However, when it comes to corporates, the same State trusts businessmen with not just massive loans but friendly policy. The question has to be asked: Is it really a democracy where the rich get what they want and the farmers commit suicide because he is invisible to the state?”

Dalmia made recommendations to the governing bodies as well as other fellow Indians to uplift the status of farmers in the country.

Sanjukta Kullu

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