The Paradox of India’s Bread Basket: Farmer Suicides in Punjab

[Reposted from PRAXIS The Fletcher Journal of Human Security]

Mallika Kaur

The rising number of farmer suicides in the Punjab region of India exposes the problem of extreme rural insecurity, which contradicts the prevalent narrative of one of the fastest-growing national economies in the world. Traditionally agrarian, Punjab’s agricultural output was increased manifold when the Central Indian Government chose Punjab as the site for the “Green Revolution” in the 1960s. Three decades later, without any alternate source of employment, small and marginal farmers of Punjab continue to pursue the environmentally and economically unsustainable agrarian practices of the Green Revolution, while accumulating high agrarian debt. Though estimates vary, reports of a significant number of farmer suicides are emerging from the region known as India’s “bread basket.” The Central Indian Government’s lack of attention to the phenomenon is exacerbating social inequalities, structural marginalization, and agrarian anxiety. After exploring the roots and various dimensions of Punjab’s agrarian problem, including the effect of predominantly male suicides on women and children, this article suggests immediate policy interventions necessary on the part of the Central Government in order to create a rural human security that is equitable, inclusive, and lasting.

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In a news article in The Times of India, we read about how the Punjab government has responded in recent days, with financial support to grieving families.

And a study in 2010 also sheds light on this very sad and troubling situation among some of the farmers in Punjab.  Written by Dealluck Irengbam in the International Journal of Management & Business Studies, the author states:

Punjab is going to approach environmentalism ,labour diversification and economic growth moving forward. The agricultural system that had been introduced as part of a development, project has failed for especially the weaker parts of Indian society ie agricultural labourers, marginal and small farmers. It already boasts one of the highest unemployment rates, and despite its agricultural success, farmers livelihoods have been declining resulting in a record number of farmer suicides. The various reasons, for suicides
among Punjab farmers is perturbing enough to warrant a serious study. In the present case, suicide among Punjab farmers have by all means become a public issue as these are no longer confined to isolated cases.