To Hell With World Cup!

Yes, you read it right. To hell with the world cup. To hell with the celebrations. To hell with all the free land and money being showered by different governments on the players. How can I jump, scream, have gallons of beer and cheer for the Nation when a few kilometers away the farmers and feeders of my country are taking their lives in hordes?

Do you know on an average 47 farmers have been Committing suicide every single day for past 16 years in our Shining, next economic power, progressive with 9% growth, great India!

Last month, 5th of March, Friday evening, when the city’s watering holes were getting filled up, when all the DJ were blaring out deafening music, when we were busy discussing India’s chances in World Cup, sitting in CCDs and Baristas... just 100 kilometers away from Banaglore, Swamy Gowda and Vasanthamma, a young farmer couple hanged themselves leaving their three very young children to fend for themselves or most likely, die of Malnutrition.

Why did they do it? Were they fighting? NO. Were they drunkards? NO. Did they have incurable diseases? NO! Then WHY??? Because they were unable to pay the credit of Rs 80,000 (A working IT couple’s one month salary? 2-3 months EMI?) for years, which had gradually increased to 1,20,000. Because they knew that now they will never be able to pay it back. Because they were Hurt. Hurt by our government who announced a huge reduction on import duty for Silk in this year’s Budget (decreased from 30% to 5%).They were struggling silk farmers and instead of help from Govt. they get this! Decrease in Import duty means, now the markets will be flooded with cheap Chinese silk (as everything else!) and our own farmers will be left in the lurch.

17000 farmers, on an average, have been committing suicide every year, for past 15 years, on the trot. Can you believe it? Most of us wouldn’t know this fact. Why? Because, Our great Indian Media, the world’s biggest Media is NOT interested in reporting this! Why? Because they are more interested in covering Lakme India fashion Week. They are more interested in ‘why team India was not practicing when Pakistanis were sweating it out in stadium on the eve of the match?’. They are more interested in Poonam Pandey.

 Media is supposed to be the third eye of democracy and also called as the fourth estate, but now it has become real estate. Pure business.

So any attention from Media is out of question. Who is left then? The Government? But we all know how it works. The other day, I was passing by Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore and happen to read the slogan written on its entrance, “Government Work is God’s Work”. Now I know why our government  has left all its work to God!

Yeddiyurappa announced Plots for all the players. But land? In Bagalore? You must be kidding Mr CM. So he retracts and now wants to give money. But where will it come from? Taxes,  yours and mine. Don’t the poor farmers need the land or money more than those cricket players who are already earning in crores? Dhoni already has a 200 crore endorsement deal apart from earnings from national cricket, IPL and other resources and now again showered with few more crores and acres of land across country. Did anyone ask him if he really needs that?

SBI, our govt owned bank will give you loan at 6% interest rate if you are buying a Mercedes but if a poor farmer wants to buy a tractor, you know how much our govt bank is charging him? 15% !!! Look at the depths of inequality... Water is Rs 15 per litre and SIM card is for free! For how long can we bite the hands which are feeding us? This recent Onion price fiasco was just a trailer... Picture abhi baaki hai doston!

Mr Sharad Pawar. BCCI president and Agriculture minister. Both. What an irony! He has put all his time and efforts in IPL, other forms of cricket and lobbying for the post of ICC president and completely ignored agriculture. Ironically, again, a large no of suicides in past few years have been from his own state, Maharashtra. In 2008, Lakme India fashion show venue was in a Mumbai five star hotel and was covered by 500 journalists and the theme was ‘Cotton’. A few hours drive from there, Cotton producing farmers were committing suicides, at least 4 to 5, everyday! And this was covered by how many TV journalists? ZERO!

60-70% of population of India is living on less than 20 Rs a day. A bottle of Diet coke for us? I doubt if our Agriculture ministers and BCCI presidents understand the difference between APL, BPL and IPL? The Electricity used in a day-night match could help a farmer irrigate his fields for more than a few weeks! Do you know that load shedding is also class dependent? 2 hrs in Metros, 4 hrs in Towns and 8 hrs in Villages. Now, who needs electricity more? A farmer to look after his crop day and night, irrigate, pump water and use machines or a few bored, young professionals with disposable incomes, to log on to Facebook and watch IPL?

How can we splurge thousands for our birthday parties and zoom past in our AC vehicles and sit on cushy chairs in our AC offices and plan a weekend trip to Coorg when on the way, in those small villages, just few minutes’ walk from the roads, someone might be consuming pesticide or hanging himself from a tree for just 10-12 thousand rupees. How can we?

There was much panic when there was swine flu. Every single death in the Country was reported second by second, minute by minute. Why? Because it was directly effecting our ‘Salaried, Ambitious,Tech-Savvy,Middle-Class’. So there were masks, Special relief centres, enquiry centres set up by govt to please this section of society. On the other hand, 47 people are dying, every single day for past 15 years. Anybody cared to do anything? NO. Anybody is reporting anything? NO.  Then what kind of Democracy is this? And what kind of Human Beings we are?

It has been observed that within months of a male farmer taking his life, wife follows, either by first poisoning the kids first or leaving them on their own. In Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, a distressed female farmer went to the govt. seed shop, bought a bottle of pesticide, on credit, went home and then drank it. She was under debt for most of her life and now... even her death was on Credit!

Centuries ago, there was a Roman emperor, called Nero. He was a strong ruler and also very fond of parties, art, poetry, drinking and a life full of pleasures. Once He decided to organize a grand party and invited all the poets, writers, dancers, painters, artists, intellectuals and thinkers of society. Everybody was having a great time eating, drinking, laughing, and socializing. Party was in its peak when it started to get dark… Nero wanted the party to go on. So He ordered and got all the arrested criminals, who were in his jails, around the garden and put them on fire! Burnt them alive, so that there is enough light for the guests to keep on enjoying!! Guests had a gala time though they knew the cost of their enjoyment…Now, What kind of conscience those guests had?

What is happening in our country is not different from Nero’s party. We, the Middle-Class-Young-Well-earning-Mall-hopping-IPL-watching and celebrating-Junta’ are the Nero’s guests enjoying at the cost of lives of our farmers. Every budget favours the already rich. More exemptions are being given to them at the cost of grabbing lands of our farmers in the name of SEZs, decrease in import duties in the name of neo-liberal policies, increase in the loan interest rates if product is not worth of Lakhs and Crores. Yes, that’s what we are, Nero’s guests!

Am not against celebrations. Am not against Cricket. Am Not against world cup. I would be the first person to scream, celebrate and feel proud for any of India’s achievements but... only if all my fellow countrymen, my farmers, my villagers are also standing with me and cheering, only If they are not taking their lives ruthlessly, only if there is no difference between interest rates of a Mercedes and a tractor. That would be the day I will also zoom past on a Bike, post Indian win, with an Indian Flag in hand and screaming “ Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. But No, not today. Not at the cost of My feeders. Until then, this is what I say. To hell with your Malls. To hell with your IPL. To hell with your world cup. And to hell with your celebrations.