Confronting the AGRARIAN CRISIS.

One of the biggest concerns, that our country today is facing is that of variation of crop production and exponential increment in the failure rate of different crops that we produce. These variations don’t have any fixed pattern actually, it could be because of environmental, rain-based, man-made reasons. We barely tend to glimpse what's profound inside, and have no clue how's it influencing the life of our nation's agriculturists, isn’t it?

How often you have bargained from the vegetable vendors and not even once from the supermarket? The answer is more obvious than the question itself. Farmers also known as the “ann-daata” in Hindi or the one who is the producer of food are ignored badly. Although they produce the very much bread for every individual of our country, they are living a miserable life in debt with loans, fear of crop failure, market fluctuations of price rate, and what not. They were hardly given any food compensations in case of market un-stability or crop failure.  Such were the instances where farmers have attempted suicide due to these problems. According to reports of National Crime Records Bureau of India, suicides of 8,007 farmers and 4.595 agricultural laborers were reported in India in 2015. There is no government report on farmer suicides published after that from 2016-17 and the major agitations by farmers in these two years. On looking more deeply, the max number was set to 18,241 in the year 2004. And the suicide rate was so fatal that it is now termed as ‘agrarian crisis’. It accounts for almost 11.2% of total suicides in India. Even Indian media does not seem to be much concerned, as they are more interested in extravagant news for increasing their TRP and trying to set up a new record on a day to day basis. For what reason is that, in spite of the fact that we have so much all around cutting edge in the field of innovation, we are as yet hearing such cases relatively consistently? If you don’t believe this, why not check today’s newspaper, you might have a solid likelihood of finding no less than one instance of it. There were many cases where farmers protested against the government, but no proper outcome was received from the Government’s side.

India, which is an agrarian country with a dependency rate of 70% of people directly or indirectly upon agriculture.  Today we have such a large number of new inventive and diverse strategies for agribusiness that has enhanced the profitability rate, as well as the nature of grains which are currently created, are significantly more superior, than that which was pre-existing. Not even that, this era is more focused on producing crops without the use of pesticides and others toxicants which is harmful to health and environment that is Organic farming. Scientists are researching and bringing forward genetically modified superior seeds. But we failed to understand the very basic problem that needs to be checked as soon as possible. Although our country is progressing towards growth development with the adage of “sabka saath sabka vikaas”, still there are farmers who are illiterate and don’t know about the new methods which are available to them. In addition to that credit givers are exploiting them to the fullest with high return rates. Although environmental factors like monsoon, drought etc are not in our control, researches and predictions from scientific background could be provided to them, so that they can plan well in advance for these variations. It’s already high time for action, simple expressions of guarantees won't be sufficient to annihilate this issue. Old government policies need to be changed, new methods of production should be given a try, and subsidies should be increased with the increasing inflation.  Regular checks should be made on the conditions of productivity, and the rate of illiteracy should decrease exponentially.

If this crisis is not being taken under control, in the coming time there are high chances of a drop in growth rate, and the opening of other pitfalls which might look small but are very deep within and it might affect the stability of our country. These farmers just like us are citizens of India, have family and responsibilities. But to cope up with such economical standards in the present day is undeniably difficult for them. They have little resources to work with.  And for them, there is much more to lose than to win. It’s time that we have to venture forward and look into this problem with a more serious and concerned approach. Because if we fail to do so, there will still remain a gap between rustic and urban India, and we can’t afford to lose them, because without them India would never be able to march the beats with other successful countries of the world in the coming time

TRANS-gression : An unheard voice!

 “There will be haters, there will be doubters, there will be nonbelievers, and then there will be you, proving them wrong.”

Dear “educated” society,

         You have seen me on traffic stops,railways and buses,celebrating, dancing and singing on the day you were born or on your naming ceremony. But still you ignore me, you hate me, you deny my existence. You never accept me in your so-called community.Never gave me my rights which I deserved. Yes, I’m talking about transgenders like me, which comes under the LGBT community.

You still have doubt about my gender, right? Whether I m a male or female or neither? . I will tell you what I’m in simple words, may be you will understand. My soul is trapped in a body which is of opposite gender,more scientifically all I could say is I was born a normal boy or girl as you are, but I was not able to accept that role, I was more comfortable with the other gender. Thus, people call me transgender. I have many names, people call me “kinnar,hijras, chakkas, aruvani” and what not, but none call me a human. Even my parents never accepted me as a child. Was it really my fault?

I m as much as human as you are, I also have feelings just like you. I also want the education, want to work, have a family and live a happy life just like you. But life was always biased with us, these social restrictions, orthodox mentality never gave me enough space in this community to breath. I was pushed into poverty, just because you thought that I was not worth employment. I was forced to live in slums in which none of you have ever visited even once, just because my family never accepted me. The conditions were so bad that we were even denied health services. We were restricted to public spaces, because you thought it will make you feel uneasy. Politics and decision-making right have been out of reach for us. And what to talk about politics, we were not given civil right until now. We were sexually harassed and abused in buses and trains, even there were cases in which we were thrown out of moving trains.Even police refuse to file cases for us, and what to say about media, “The fourth  pillar of democracy”, Have you ever heard any of the cases about the problems we face in daily lives on the news channel, no, a girl winking for a boy is far more important than our lives right? Justice was never served on our plates. Just to meet our livelihood, we have to work as sex workers. Because of this depressed, rejected life, many like me have attempted suicide.

After all this, if you still call yourself a human, then I want to ask you, “Where have you sold your morality?”

We have dreams just like you, we just want what we deserve.  Don’t judge us on basis of dress or sex. Don’t encage us inside the walls of your inherited unrefined ideologies. Because even though you curse us, we always give you blessings so that you and your family can happily live and prosper.

 All we want from you,is a normal humane treatment. Accept us as a part of your community. Show a little empathy towards us. It will really be helpful in standing up for our fight for social justice.

                                                               

With love,

an unaccepted transgender

Even though China and India are on top of the world population chart, but according to the census reports, U.S and Brazil are the countries with highest number of transgenders, followed by Philippines and Thailand. According to an estimate, India has 2 million transgenders.  Do you know one thing which is better in these countries w.r.t India is that  the condition of transgender. They are more free and socially accepted in those countries than India.

In epic Ramayana, which is the sacred book of Hindus, it was written that when Lord Ram went to forest upon being banished from his kingdom for 14 years, asks all the ‘men and women’ to stop following him and return to the city. But as the kinnars, alone do not feel bound by this direction, they decided to stay with him. Impressed with the undivided devotion, Lord Ram gave them power to confer blessings on auspicious occasions like childbirth and marriage in which, it is believed to set stage for the custom of ‘badhai ’by kinnars, in which they sing, dance and shower their blessing.

So even in those time, if people accepted them as people of blessings, then why do we fail to even to treat them as a human? In constitution it is written that each and everyone is equal of law in India.

There are various instances when these people have stepped out of their comfort zone, and irrespective of the various hurdles in their path,they have achieved a great deal and became an idol for other transgenders.

Rudrani Chhetri,who is a Delhi based transgender activist and head of the MITR Trust, has opened a modelling agency for transgenders. In an interview with TOI, she asked,“Do transgenders not have the right to flaunt their beauty?”. As the traditional agencies never accepted this idea, she worked on this concept with crowdfunding, and donations.

Kalki Subramaniam is an activist and author, writer and poet, who established a Sahodari Foundation that works for the empowerment of transgenders in India. She also fights against the discrimination against transgender.

Padmini Prakashis India’s First transgender television anchor with prime time show on Indian TV channel.

Madhu Kinnar, won the mayoral elections last year in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh as an independent candidate. She won by 4,537 votes.

Joyita Mondal became the first transgender judge in India.

Even the supreme court has recognized transgenders as a third gender, in a landmark ruling. It ordered the government to provide them with quotas in jobs and education in line with other minorities, as well as key amenities.

“It is the right of every human being to choose their gender.”

The following statements were taken from BBC news:

"Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue,"Justice KS Radhakrishnan, who headed the two-judge Supreme Court bench, said in his ruling on Tuesday.

"Transgenders are also citizens of India"and they must be "provided equal opportunity to grow", the court said.

"The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential,irrespective of caste, religion or gender."

The judges asked the government to treat them inline with other minorities officially categorized as "socially and economically backward", to enable them to get quotas in jobs and education.

There are still many cases of sexual harassment, violence and what not, that comes in the court daily. They say that “Justice delayed is justice denied”,then why proceedings of these cases are so slow that file after file pile up and hardly anyone hear their voice.

Their journey till now was too difficult, but still the LGBT community is in a constant battle, as they have to fight all the evils of society like oppression, abuse, and discrimination, whether it’s their own family or friends or anyone. And as there is no acceptance of their virtue,they are ostracized from the society and also ridiculed

Despite the fact, that our society disown them, they are still working hard to improve their condition in every aspect of life, and who are we to judge them , everyone deserves the right to make their lives better.Just because we can’t help them, so better don’t be an obstacle in their path.

So, if you still think that conditions that prevailed before still exist, then you are wrong my friend. Although they still face many difficulties, but as it is rightly said, “This too shall pass.”, the mindsets of the people are changing slowly but gradually, and it is on us to contribute a little effort from our side so that they can too have a life without any obligations.

You might be a big fan of G.O.T or friends, but still if you get time from your hectic schedule, watch this documentary named “Aaina” (watch me).Maybe a little change will occur in your attitude towards them.

Oh! Look she rises again..

“Humne tujhpe hazaaron sitam hai kiye,
Humne tujhpe jahaan bhar ke zulm hai kiye,
Humne socha nhi
Tu jo udd jaayegi, Yeh zameen tere bin sooni reh jaayegi,
Kiske dum pe sajega angna mera,
O re chiraiya
Nanhi si chidiya
Angna me fir se aaja re”
-Swanand Kirkire (Satyamev Jayate : Watch me )


So “woman”, Google just says it stands for an adult human female, but is it so?

Since aeons ago, women were treated maladroitly just as a piece of dirty cloth for wiping the dust of humanity. Despite of playing the roles of mother, sister and wife responsibly, she was considered as an object of sex, as a prize for competition, compensation for wars, and what not. She was tortured, tormented, subjugated and were also thrown to brothels in cases when they were born orphan or due to poverty conditions. No one was there to listen to the unheard screams of the flesh and blood. The curtains of male dominance were so thick that these voices never penetrated through the heart of people. In that outworn era, males were so manipulative because of the muscle power that the woman forcibly had to set their ideologies according to the man of the house even though she was also an adult, even though she had the mightiest brain that any man could ever have, she was ready to fight wars, she was ready to take all jobs that were tough for males too , she was ready to take all the responsibilities that were only taken by the male members of the society, but the dull-witted strength of male ego was reaching the unreached. Never to ask question, only allowed to follow the orders was so called the honour of the hour, and if they refused to, they were beaten mercilessly. Other atrocities that were faced by them was a countless list which include dowry and bride burning, domestic violence, disparity in education, child marriages, inadequate nutrition, sexual harassment selective abortion and female infanticide and many more. Sadly, they never had the life, they really wished to have. Circumstances were the root cause of the evil prevailing in those centuries. Then came the ‘purdah’ system and ‘sati’ system, which added fuel to the fire that were burning in the eyes of millions of women.

Why after marriage, wife moves to her husband’s house and not the vice-versa? Why at most places in India property are mostly passed from generations to generations to the sons and not to the daughter even though there is a provision in the law? In many rural areas, they still lack right to education. Why parents say,” ladki to kandho ka bojh hoti hai “? Even in religious books like Mahabharat and Ramayana , Draupadi and Sita faced some social issues. Even if someone tried to ask questions to a religion, the result was disastrous. According to Hindustan times, a PIL was filed against the famous actors Kamal Haasan for hurting the Hindu sentiments, in an interview for a private channel he remarked that, “In Mahabharata, Panchali was used as a pawn while the men gambled. She was used as a collateral. And India is a country that respects and honours a book that revolves around men using a woman to gamble away as if she were a mere object.”. Talking about Ramayana. Was it a right conduct by lord Ram to abandon his wife in exile even after
‘agnipariksha’ because of social restrictions? We all know the truth very well. Don’t you think they too deserve the right to lead a happy life, to choose their own life partners and to be more independent and break the chains of orthodoxical culture and one-sided views of the society they were living in? Why never male members kept themselves in her shoes and understand the morbidity of the situation? The reason was simple and stupid, if you are in India you might have heard a very common Hindi question in your day to day life,” Log kya kahenge?” (What will the society think of you?). This dumbass question inculcated in the mind of the people so strongly that it became their shadow of darkness which followed them all the way long. They accepted the fate without even raising a single question. We always tend to think that we are always right, but the question is where was our morality and so-called humanity then? The black hole of these customs, traditions and religions sucked out their marrow of their life. The only thing which brought them back on the track of mankind was the light of wisdom, which came from the sun of education. Time is the most powerful of all, it changes everything when it thinks it’s right and then the modern era, the society, the world in which we live today came into existence, which replaced the old and dark world full of prejudices.

Modern women have set the limits not only at par, they have reached the moon and back and tried to set a different record irrespective of the field they are working in. As Marilyn Monroe rightly said, “A wise girls knows her limits, a smart girl knows she has none.” What was missing in that prehistoric era was lack of education and fine sense of judging what was right and what not. Women now are more independent than ever, giving cut to edge competition to the opposite gender and are bringing laurels to their country. They are now setting the standards, which not only motivate teenage girls of rural areas to aspire high as possible, without peeping into the darkness of the pits they were fallen prey of. Their wings now show hope for a better tomorrow, their actions are now better speaking against the words of the cruel orthodoxy. There are many instances of women leading the world which include Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Frank, a great writer, Wangaari Maathai (environmentalist and noble prize winner), Benazir Bhutto (ex-Prime minister of Pakistan), Oprah Winfrey (actor, producer, host and philanthropist), Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi etc. Gone were the days when they were caged inside the walls of their daily chores. They are now working for themselves as taxi drivers to scientist and astronauts, chefs to supreme court judges without any hesitation. Even in the film industry, there are several movies, which depicted the true potential of woman like ‘Bend it like Beckham’,’ The colour purple’,’ A league of their own’ ,’Chakde India’ etc. Maya Angelou, who herself was a victim of sexual assault and was raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of eight became a great poet rightly wrote,” Now you understand, just why my head’s not bowed, I don’t shout or jump about. Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing. It ought to make you proud. Its in the click of my heels, the bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, the need for my care...’ Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal women, That’s me.”. There are still many social problems that are still prevalent in this day-to-day world, one of which is “triple talaq”. Many Muslim women thinks that it’s wrong on behalf of their husband to give them divorce whenever and where ever they want irrespective of whether the problem is small or large, and they are willing to go against their religion also. In news we hear many cases in which women were given divorces by their husband on WhatsApp. Is it a right conduct according to you? How we think is actually how we react. Its all because of our mentality and attitude towards them.

Time has come that we need to change certain terms and conditions in our inherited customs and traditions. Some questions are needed to be answered rationally. It is on us to change our way of looking towards them, never ever think that she is weak because she is a girl. You might never know that the girl standing next to you be one of the greatest person ever born on this planet. Their journey till now was tough, all we ask you is to be little supportive towards them. Be the stepping stones on their path towards glory and success. Providing them with education and
proper environment to grow is all they need. Take an initiative to help every girl child who is needy if possible. Because without them world would never become a better place to live in………

Oh! look she rises again!
From the pits enriched with hollowness of doctrinal customs, rituals and others mocking stings…
Wind of wisdom uplifting her torn out wings.
Aiming to touch the incandescent stars,
Deep were her grimacing scars, which she ever kept on hiding too far.
Look she rises again!

She will never be chained again,
Even in the darkest of her dreams.
Her proud flight is singing the songs of her misery, And her tears rolling down, paints the cloud resplendently. With the mixing colour of twilight and dawn. Her eyes never met the world outside her reformatory cage. But now she is freed and her head is high,
look she rises again!

She might be bewitching,
But also has the strength of the pillar
Holding the responsibility of the world and it’s up-surging transgressions,
Which no one could ever bear.
Reaching the unfathomable heights,
Once her desire burned in intellectual riots,
But still keeping up with the vicious fight,
with her rugged fist too tight,
look she rises again!