On the brink: Heavy rains push Bundelkhand's small farmers to the edge

By Bharat Dogra

The people of Bundelkhand are in a crisis. This year's long and heavy monsoon rains have destroyed crops across the region, but it's the most vulnerable farmers who have been hit the hardest. These small and marginal farmers, many of them women and members of the Sahariya tribal community, are now facing the grim reality of lost harvests, lost livelihoods, and an uncertain future.

I recently visited a small hamlet in the Babina block of Jhansi district, where I spoke with a dozen small farmers. They each own just an acre or so of land, and all of them told me the same devastating story: their entire rainy season crop—maize, groundnuts, urad, and moong—has been completely ruined. The incessant rain made it impossible to even plant seeds; those who tried to push through lost not only their potential harvest but also the precious seeds themselves. Instead of ripening crops, their fields are now overrun with wild grass.

The fallout of this disaster is twofold. First, these farmers rely on working on larger farms to make ends meet, but with crops failing across the board, there's no harvesting work to be had. This means they'll be forced to migrate in search of labor, traveling to distant cities like Agra and Bhopal, or even closer towns, just to survive. Their desperation will make them even more vulnerable to exploitation.

Second, the loss of this season's crops means they have no resources to plant for the next, or rabi, winter crop. The very real fear of going hungry is compounded by the prospect of having to borrow money at high interest rates just to plant seeds again. For these farmers, who live on the edge of poverty, this isn't just about financial loss—it's about survival.

Some people may think that this is a problem for everyone, but the difficulties of these small farmers often go unnoticed while the challenges of their more influential, better-off counterparts get more attention. For example, a farmer named Lakhan persisted in trying to plant his seeds despite the rain, but his efforts were in vain. Now he's in an even worse situation, having lost his seeds and with no crop to show for his labor. He's so desperate for food that he's completely dependent on odd jobs and the government’s monthly free grain program, which, for him, provides rations for only three of his nine family members.

While the more prosperous farmers are also suffering, their situation is much different. A farmer named Pawan Sahu, for instance, had a successful vegetable-growing business that was completely wiped out. Despite his significant losses, he has other sources of income to fall back on. He has the education and resources to recover. Lakhan and his neighbors, however, do not. For them, this crisis is a matter of life and death.

Organizations like the volunteer-led group Parmarth are trying to help, reaching out to the authorities and providing aid where they can. However, they need more resources and more attention on this "less visible" crisis.

While we can all do our part, the primary responsibility for providing aid rests with the government. Extensive damage surveys must be conducted immediately to include all small and marginal farmers, sharecroppers, and tenants. This is crucial to ensure that adequate relief reaches everyone who needs it.

This isn't just about helping farmers recover from a bad season—it's about protecting the most vulnerable among us and ensuring they have a fighting chance to plant the next crop and put food on their tables.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine, and A Day in 2071

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog