Skip to main content

Empty pockets, hungry stomachs: Punjab rural workers raise 'legitimate' demands

By Dr Gian Singh* 

A joint front of rural and farm labour organizations of Punjab will be holding a three-day protests in Patiala starting on August 9. Among the main demands of these groups are repeal of the Agriculture Act and the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020, imposed by the Central government, strengthening the public distribution system, providing cheap ration, and repeal of anti-labour amendments to the labour laws.
Other demands include waiving all institutional and non-institutional loans incurred by workers and poor farmers and providing them with interest free and unsecured long term loans, providing land to the landless labourers, arranging compensation and jobs to the suicide victims, and allotment of plots of 10 marlas (302.5 sq yards) to the needy labourers.
There is also the demand for grant of Rs 5 lakh for construction of houses, allotment of plots already allotted, providing permanent employment to labourers, stopping privatization of government agencies, providing full year work and wages to the entire family under MGNREGA for Rs 600 per day, redistributing land among the landless, ensuring that one-third of the panchayat land is leased to the Dalits, ending social and governmental oppression of Dalits under caste oppression, and enhancing social security for the needy.
To study the debt and poverty of farmers and farm labourers in all the three agro-climatic zones of Punjab under the guidance of this author, a survey of 1,007 farmers and 301 farm labourer families from 27 villages of 27 development blocks was conducted for the year 2014-15. The survey revealed that as we move from the large peasantry to the marginal peasantry, the situation with regard to their debt and poverty is deteriorating.
According to the facts that have come to light regarding farm labourers, this is the lowest rung of the ladder of rural agricultural economy. The statistics and facts speak for themselves that the pockets of the farm labourers of Punjab are empty and their stomachs are hungry.
About 31 per cent of farm labour households are subsistence earners, 27 per cent are semi-earners and the remaining 48 per cent are dependent. Out of the farm labour households, 94.68 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes, 4.32 per cent to Backward Castes and only 1 per cent to general castes.
Of the farm labourers, 19.6 per cent live in unfinished houses, 72.43 per cent in semi-permanent houses and only 7.79 per cent in permanent houses. 41.2 per cent of the families of these workers do not have a bathroom and are forced to use public places for bathing. 42.06 per cent of these households are illiterate and only 2.7 per cent have completed graduation and 0.7 per cent have completed post-graduation level education. 23.28 per cent of these households are up to 15 years of age and 7.03 per cent are over 60 years of age. All the families surveyed are landless.
If we look at the pockets of the farm labour households, we find that the average annual income of a farm labour family in Punjab is Rs 81,452. The annual per capita income of farm labour families is Rs 16735 which works out to Rs 1,395 per month and Rs 46 per day.
To understand the statistics, facts, and hidden truths of the above survey for the hungry bellies of farm labourers, we need to know the level and structure of their consumption expenditure, the poverty in them, and the debts they incur. It will be useful to consider the level of, resources, interest rates and some other aspects related to their debt.
The annual consumption expenditure of farm families in Punjab is Rs 90,897. Farm families spend the most on non-durable goods (Rs 51,477). This is followed by spending on services, socio-religious rituals, and durable goods.
If we look at the consumption expenditure structure of the farm labour households, it is found that 56.63 per cent of the total expenditure is spent on non-sustainable items. Food is the most important commodity among non-sustainable items and an average farm labour household; 14.06 per cent of the total consumption expenditure is spent on food items. This is followed by milk and milk products and clothing at 11.56 per cent and 5.58 per cent, respectively.
An average farm worker family spends 18.62 per cent of total consumption expenditure on services. In services, the largest share (8.72 per cent) of the average farm worker household's consumption expenditure is on health services. The average farm household spends only 4.39 per cent on education. This is followed by spending on transportation, entertainment, and communications.
On an average, indebted farm labourers have a debt of Rs 68,330 per household, of which about 92 per cent is from non-institutional sources
An average farm worker family spends 16.43 per cent of total consumption expenditure on socio-religious rituals. The highest share (13.92 per cent) of socio-religious ceremonies is spent on weddings. An average farm worker household spends 8.32 per cent of its total consumption expenditure on sustainable goods. The largest share (5.67 per cent) of durable goods is spent on home construction, new room construction and home renovations.
The per capita annual consumption expenditure of farm labour families in Punjab is Rs 18,676. These families spend Rs 10,576 per person on non-sustainable items which comes to Rs 1,556 per month and Rs 51 per day.
From these figures it is clear that the level of consumption expenditure of farm labour households in Punjab is very low. Field surveys have revealed that these families use many of the products provided by the farmers in return for work. Sometimes these products are used by the farmers and later given to the farm labourers.
The most disturbing fact in this regard is that the farming families hand over their used clothes and other items to the farm labourers. Many of the durable items used by these families are already used (such as old bicycles, mopeds, scooters, chairs, utensils, etc.).
There are different definitions of the poverty line. One definition that no sensible person can disagree with is that those who cannot meet their basic needs are considered poor. The governments of most capitalist countries are not ready to adopt this definition. Working out of the poverty line definition in India on the basis of income and consumption, an expert group estimates, more than 82 per cent of households are forced to endure poverty.
Poverty forces farm labourers into debt trap. An average indebted farm labourer has a debt of Rs 68,330 per household, of which about 92 per cent is from non-institutional sources and the remaining 8 per cent is from institutional sources. Most of these households borrow to meet their consumer needs. 52.11 per cent loan per household is at 22 to 28 per cent interest rate and 3.86 per cent loan is at 29 per cent or more.
Although the debt burden of the farm labourers may seem small, considering the low level of income of this class, this debt is creating many untold problems for this them. Among these, problems are low wage labour, bonded labour, physical abuse of women, suicides, and political slavery.
Given the socio-economic conditions of the farming families in Punjab and the contribution of this section in the agricultural sector, any sane person would come to the conclusion that the demands of this section are quite legitimate which should be immediately accepted by the Central and State governments.
---
* Former Professor, Department of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Modi govt intimidating US citizens critical of abuses in India: NY Christian group to Biden

Counterview Desk  the New York Council of Churches for its release of an open letter calling on the Biden administration to “speak out forcefully” against rising Hindu extremist violence targeting Christians and other minorities in India. In the letter addressed to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other major elected officials, the NY Council of Churches expressed "grave concern regarding escalating anti-Christian violence" throughout India, particularly in Manipur, where predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo tribals have faced hundreds of violent attacks on their villages, churches, and homes at the hands of predominantly Hindu Meitei mobs.

Green revolution "not sustainable", Bt cotton a failure in India: MS Swaminathan

MS Swaminathan Counterview Desk In a recent paper in the journal “Current Science”, distinguished scientist PC Kesaven and his colleague MS Swaminathan, widely regarded as the father of the Green Revolution, have argued that Bt insecticidal cotton, widely regarded as the continuation of the Green Revolution, has been a failure in India and has not provided livelihood security for mainly resource-poor, small and marginal farmers. Sharply taking on Green Revolution, the authors say, it has not been sustainable largely because of adverse environmental and social impacts, insisting on the need to move away from the simplistic output-yield paradigm that dominates much thinking. Seeking to address the concerns about local food security and sovereignty as well as on-farm and off-farm social and ecological issues associated with the Green Revolution, they argue in favour of what they call sustainable ‘Evergreen Revolution’, based on a ‘systems approach’ and ‘ecoagriculture’. Pointing ou

Link India's 'deteriorating' religious conditions with trade relations: US policymakers told

By Our Representative  Commissioners on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) raised concerns about the “sophisticated, systematic persecution” of religious minorities by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a hearing on India in Washington DC.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

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.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Why is green revolution harmful for nutrition, food safety, environment, climate change

By Bharat Dogra*  A lie repeated a hundred times will not turn a lie into a truth. The big media should realize this and stop perpetuating the lie of the green revolution saving India from hunger, long after the world has awakened to the reality of how harmful the green revolution has been from the point of nutrition, food safety, environment and climate change.

Alarming Odisha arrests, 'illegal' detentions ahead of Vedanta bauxite public hearing

Counterview Desk  More than 80 lawyers, legal academics and researchers have written to the Governor of Odisha raising concerns about the “alarming arrests and illegal detentions” of about two dozen persons from Rayagada district in Odisha in anticipation of the upcoming public hearing for the Sijimali bauxite mine proposed by M/s Vedanta Ltd.