CED Publications
CED Publications
"The steps proposed
in the budget will give relief to nearly four crore
farmers, at an estimated outlay
of Rs.60,000 crore. As stressed by Mr. Chidambaram, this is a major
step in
recognising the indebtedness of the country to farm families who,
through their toil in
sun and rain, are safeguarding national food security and sovereignty.
The
question arises whether this step will mark the end of farmers'
dependence on
moneylenders and traders for their credit needs".
-
MS
Swaminathan
"Loan
waivers are at best temporary palliatives to the problems facing rural
India. Significant
and sustained improvement in the welfare of the rural population is not
possible without a faster pace of growth in the rural economy and an
improved
quality of education and health services. Increased public spending
will not
achieve this. It is essential to address deeper problems rooted in the
overexploitation and degradation of land and water; government policies
that
encourage wasteful use of resources; the inefficiency of public
systems responsible for
implementing programmes, regulating the use of common service
facilities, and
ensuring quality infrastructure and support services."
-
A.
Vaidyanathan
"The
waiver does bring great relief to large numbers of farmers. But it is
no solution
to even the immediate crisis let alone long-term agrarian problems.
Nothing in this bud
get will raise farm incomes."
-
P.Sainath
The heart
of the problem lies in the fact that the costs of
cultivation have risen phenomenally since the reform process began in
1991. He
estimates that the per acre cost of cultivation has gone up from Rs
2,500
in 1991 to Rs 13,500 today. It is this disconnect between the cost of
cultivation and the price for the produce that is pushing increasing
numbers of our farmer
into life crushing indebtedness.
-
Sitaram Yachury
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The
‘Unknown’ Baba
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“
Why is
it then that none of the obituaries of Baba Amte, whether coming from
the highest echelons of
political leadership or from the media, have talked of his commitment
to the philosophy
of Sangharsh aur Nirman and his tireless advocacy of alternative
development models
based on sustainable lifestyles? Why have they confined themselves to
the "in service of humanity" mode? Even
here, Baba transcended the conventional notion of "service" undertaken
out of charity, pity
or a patronising attitude, by interweaving his work with leprosy
patients into the social struggle
for their livelihoods and dignity. This, too, was missed by the
obituarists.
The strategic silence on Baba's struggle for an alternative development paradigm based on equality, social justice and sustainable lifestyles is indeed deafening. Is it because Baba's philosophy of socio-political reconstruction does not yield itself to the prevailing neo-liberal framework dictated by market forces and the hegemony of global capital? After all, Baba's political message of development emerges from the famous Gandhian dictum that "there is enough on this earth for everyone's need but not enough for the greed of the few." A determined search for an alternative model of development can be postponed only at grave risk to the world's future, especially in view of the looming twin disasters of global warming and depletion of natural resources, and the conflicts they threaten to unleash. Such a search would be our real tribute to Baba, who dared to walk on the path blazed by Mahatma Gandhi a century ago in his epochal Hind Swaraj “. - Anil Sadgopal,
Tehelka Magazine, 08 Mar
2008
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