Farmers' suicide: Pressure mounts on leaders ahead of rally to mark Vibrant Gujarat summit inaugural

Sagar Rabari

By A Representative
Even as the Sanyukt Khedut Sangharsh Samiti – the joint action committee of farmers' non-political bodies – has declared it will go ahead with its plan to “oppose the wasteful expenditure behind the Vibrant Gujarat 2015 extravaganza” on January 11-13, apprehensions have run strong that the Gujarat government will do all-out to crush their planned meeting of farmer activists to converge at Adalaj on January 11 for a protest. The committee has said, the “farmers' rights rally”, which began on January 1, will show its might, come what may, reaching Adalaj, in the outskirts of Gandhinagar, Gujarat capital.
Pointing out how the committee's leaders are being hounded, Sagar Rabari of the Khedut Samaj-Gujarat said, intelligence and the police have been “constantly tailing” committee leaders. He added, “It is quite obvious from this behaviour that the government is running scared of the farmers. The government is now actively trying to suppress the voice of the farmers. We apprehend that the government may try to take the leaders into preventive detention and may employ all unconstitutional and undemocratic means at its disposal to stop the farmers from getting to Gandhinagar.”
“Requesting” the state government to “put faith in democracy to let the farmers exercise their democratic right to voice their demands”, and “refrain from creating an environment of fear, and rather listen to the farmers’ agony and distress”, Rabari said, “In the same breath, let us also tell the government not to mistake our democratic and law-abiding behaviour as our weakness; we are fully capable to announce and carry out more aggressive programmes.”
“The government may consider this as one rally, for us this is the beginning of our struggle”, Rabari said in a statement, adding, “We are resolved to fight to the end. Our struggle will not end with the completion of the Vibrant summit. We will fight, but we will secure our rights.” Already, the campaign, he claimed, has “received widespread support of the farmers across the districts” -- especially in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Junagadh, Rajkot and Surendranagar.
Suicide by four farmers over the last fortnight over poor price for cotton (click HERE to read), with the Gujarat government refusing to increase the minimum support price, is said to be the main reason behind the new round of protests. Meanwhile, in an open letter, several voluntary organisations and activists has told the CEOs attending the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit (VGGIS) 2015 that the Gujarat government's “blind race towards mindless industrialization, because of crony capitalism, has endangered traditional livelihoods and rendered farmers unemployed and unemployable.”
The letter said, “The skilled and semi-skilled people in traditional occupations, considered as unskilled or semi-skilled by the present model of development, are not absorbed in new industries envisaged by the Gujarat government and is blatantly taking the poor for a ride and misleading the people about the fraudulent Gujarat model of development”.
“Having lost their water, land and coasts (for fishing) these poor people are left bereft of any sustainable rehabilitative support save the one-time compensation for land lost (very meagre and often belated). Before signing MoUs with the Gujarat government, ensure that you meet and interact seriously with the impacted people/communities”, the letter insisted.
It added, “Hundreds of NGOs representing several million members of civil society are already opposing extremely strongly the MOUs/Agreements signed which not only affect their livelihoods but also their sense of dignity which we are sure you would not wish to happen. Hundreds of people’s movements are ongoing and more may be launched across the country to oppose the fake promises made by Narendra Modi and his government.”
The resources (land, water, coasts) that are proposed to be sacrificed by the Government are part of a well thought out crony capitalist ideology which the people of India oppose tooth and nail. All these realities are being hidden from you by the Government of Gujarat and the Government of India.
The letter further said, “At the earlier Vibrant Gujarat events too several MoUs were signed but very few have been executed due to resistance from the dispossessed and poor people of Gujarat who are backed solidly by many NGOs/people’s movements. Should you wish, we would be happy to send to you some examples of the unfair and unjust economic policies that Modi has attempted to execute in the state as the Chief Minister but failed to do so because of massive resistance of the people.”
Of tens of activists who signed the letter included veteran former Congress leader Sanat Mehta, president, Khedut Samaj-Gujarat; Sagar Rabari, Secretary, Khedut Samaj-Gujarat; Persis Ginwalla, Jameen Adhikar Aandolan Gujarat (JAAG); Indukumar Jani, Editor, Naya Marg, Ahmedabad; and Rohit Prajapati, senior activist, Vadodara, and others.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Search This Blog