Death trap. Politicos mum on farmer suicides in Vidarbha poll campaign

Pune

In 2023, Maharashtra witnessed a tragic toll as over 2,850 farmers took their own lives. The Vidarbha region accounted for 1,439 of these suicides, representing 50 per cent of the total farmer suicides in the State. Yet, as five constituencies in this region gear up for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19, the silence around this pressing issue is deafening.

For years, Maharashtra has unfortunately led in farmer suicides in India, with Vidarbha’s numbers being particularly alarming and persisting as a concerning trend for decades. From PM to CM and opposition leaders to local candidates, all politicos seem to have overlooked the stark reality of farmer suicides, instead focusing on ‘vikas’ in their campaigns.

During his first public rally at Ramtek on Wednesday, PM Narendra Modi outlined his vision for Maharashtra, Vidarbha, and the nation, promising to accelerate development and usher in a new era of progress. However, he did not address the issue of farmer suicides in the region.

The first phase of polling will include constituencies such as Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli-Chimur, and Chandrapur, with the remaining parts of Vidarbha going to polls in the second phase on April 26. This region is deeply affected by the agrarian crisis and contributes significantly to the number of farmer suicides in the State. According to government records, there were 2,942 farmer suicides in Maharashtra in 2022 and 2,743 in 2021.

Farmers taken for granted

“The absence of any debate or discussion on this critical issue is glaring, highlighting a concerning disconnect between political rhetoric and ground realities,” says activist Gangadhar Atram, who works closely with farmers in Vidarbha. He points out that political parties take farmers for granted, and farmer suicides are not part of the mainstream political narrative. Atram notes that even the farmer community is swayed by emotive issues during elections, often forgetting the grim ground reality when casting their votes. “Political leaders are well aware of this,” Atram adds.

Kishor Tiwari, who has been working with the cotton farmers’ movement for over two decades, notes that the number of farmer suicides in Vidarbha has increased in recent years. He laments that no political party wants to discuss this issue, as all parties have failed to address it effectively and prevent these tragic deaths. “There is a groundswell of resentment among farmers, and political leaders are not even uttering a word about this. The cotton economy in the region has completely collapsed, and the distress has multiplied,” said Tiwari.

Unending Tragedy

Sahebrao Karpe, a farmer from drought-prone Yavatmal in Vidarbha committed suicide along with his wife and four children on March 19, 1986. A suicide note he left behind said, “It is impossible to survive as a farmer.” Karpe had mixed rat killer zinc phosphate in food and served it to his family before consuming it himself. This tragic event marked the beginning of a series of farmer suicides in Maharashtra. Karpe’s suicide was the first documented case of farmer suicide in the State, and today, 37 years after Karpe’s suicide, Maharashtra is known as a farmer suicide zone.

“Are farmers’ lives so insignificant that no one takes serious note of their tragic deaths?” questions Babytai Wagh, a farmer from Washim, her voice filled with anguish. “Elections may come and go, but the problem will remain,” she adds, her words carrying a weight of despair and frustration. In 2012, Babytai’s husband took his own life due to mounting debts, leaving her to bear the heavy burden of his loss.

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