Punjab, pesticidies
Punjab's draft agri policy comes a cropper
Umendra Dutt
Kavitha Kuruganti

Technocratic mindsets continue to suggest unviable scientific interventions when farmers need support for collectives and natural means of production

WE ARE happy that the Punjab government has started a process to form an agriculture policy for the state. This is very timely taking into account the numerous fronts on which the farming crisis in Punjab is manifesting itself. However, there are some limitations and problems with this policy which will dampen the effort and may not bring in the desired result.

Punjab in fact is a classic example of the “produce more and perish” paradigm of the Green Revolution. While Punjabi farmers have the highest productivity levels in some crops with adequate market support systems put into place for such crops (rice and wheat), their resources are probably the most degraded, not to mention the environmental health issues which this agriculture policy does not acknowledge in all the seriousness they deserve and the levels of indebtedness and poor income levels despite all the effort by farmers in adopting the Green Revolution paradigm. What's surprising about this draft policy is its correct placing of all the symptoms of the crisis that Punjab farming presents, but a wrong diagnosis and therefore, same old prescriptions, even though a mention or two is made of innovative institutional approaches.

Cow herd
From herd to house
GOI Monitor Desk
Two settlements, one staring at property boom and another engrossed in it, represent rural India's changing landscape where commons are turning uncommon

NOKHA TOWN in Bikaner district of Rajasthan has an air of urgency. Large number of jeeps vying for road space with big trucks and lorries while trains, both long distance and local, hurtle past the barrier at regular interval. From the largest agriculture-based market established by erstwhile king of Bikaner, Maharaja Gangasingh, Nokha has transformed itself to a place known for a fledgling cement industry and small scale units manufacturing blankets and electrical items among other products.

MNREGA
Rural job scheme: Can we get it right?
Rashi Gaba
Manu Moudgil
A compilation of research studies done on the largest job scheme of the world answers most doubts and offers solutions too

THE RURAL job scheme, officially known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), has received more brickbats than bouquets in its six year run. With Rs 1,66,000 crore spent between 2006 and 2012, many call it a government dole rife with corruption and lack of long term vision. Lately, claims about its negative impact on agriculture have also been made. So what does a number of studies analysing both pros and cons of the scheme tell us?

Bt cotton
'We need to get out of the Bt trap'
GOI Monitor Desk
BORN TO the families of teachers, Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl always wanted to 'change the world'. Moving from English literature to mainstream journalism to independent film making, the husband-wife duo has developed a valued understanding of India's development model and how it fails us. Their film, 'Cotton For My Shroud', which focussed on suicides by cotton farmers in Vidarbha, got recognition at the 59th National Film Awards. Here they talk about their motivations, urban-rural divide, GM food and why we need to question the constructs foisted on us.

Guni Mission
Practitioners of good faith
Ravleen Kaur

Traditional knowledge about herbs possessed by various communities might be lost soon but for efforts like the 'Guni Mission'

CHATURBHUJ PRAJAPATI is documenting science in his own way. Popularly known as 'Vaidji' or traditional doctor at Ramnagar village in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, the 55-year-old has trained more than 25 people in the art of identifying beneficial herbs and documented more than 300 medicinal plants along with their names in various languages and dialects. He intends to increase this list to 500 and then document their usage as well for the reference of future
Home makers
Can this burden be bought?
Akriti Gupta

Households chores are increasingly being devalued as everything gets judged in monetary terms. Can putting a price tag on home maker's job ensure greater equality?

THOUSANDS OF years have passed, and a woman’s existence is still verified by that of a male in her life. We’ve all heard of the famous saying – “Behind ever successful man is a woman”, and people often say it in passing without realising its significance. Women have been standing strong behind their men for eons now, yet they are often ignored and overlooked as invisible nurturers and home makers.
UID
Compulsions of an identity
GOI Monitor Desk

As UID turns mandatory for availing public services, courts remain the only redressal authority. But for how long?

March 2, 2013, proved to be a day of symbolic victory for the critics of Unique Identification Number (UID) as the Chandigarh Administration decided to revoke its order making the number compulsory for vehicle registration and issuance of driving licence. Involving collection of biometric information of the residents, UID (also known as Aadhaar) is being hailed as a platform to transfer government subsidies directly to the poor and hence stop leakages in the system. Though the Union government and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had earlier announced that the enrolment is voluntary
Hilltemple
On the knees to nature
Manu Moudgil

The famous rat temple near Bikaner is just one of the several instances of a conservation practice common to Rajasthan

VISIT MATA Karni Devi Temple at Deshnoke village near Bikaner and you won't be surprised by the rats scurrying freely in the shrine's precincts. Travel shows, including those on Discovery and National Geographic channels, have already covered the uniqueness extensively. The rodents, regarded as reincarnations of the goddess’s devotees, underscore the divine relationship we share with other living beings. However, a much deeper relation with nature is evident on the 2,100 hectare woodland near the temple which is regarded sacred. Called 'Oran' or 'Devbani' in local parlance
The biggest cover-up
'We need to declassify all records about Netaji'
GOI Monitor Desk

Disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been the biggest mystery of modern India running for almost seven decades and involving multiple international link ups, national political interests and mysticism. GOI Monitor talks to journalist-turned researcher Anuj Dhar who recently came up with his second book on Bose which tries to clear several doubts

Q. First of all, congratulations for having written such a well-researched book on the mystery. How do you gauge the sentiments on this issue in today's India when most of the people closely linked to Bose and championing the cause of a fair probe have passed away?

Thank you for the kind words. Justice, transparency and accountability are not tied to any particular period. While the generations before us definitely had a direct connect to Bose, ours is well placed to understand this complex issue. Much more information is available now than ever. I sense scattered but sufficient interest among public over the issue of Bose’s fate. All it needs is a little channelisation.

Farming income
'Income support not MSP can help with farming woes'
GOI Monitor Desk

IN A free wheeling talk with GOI Monitor, food and trade policy expert Devinder Sharma favours income support for farmers, attacks FDI and indicates that there is a smear campaign going on against the civil society

Tell us about the farmers' commission which the Karnataka government has decided to set up based on your recommendations.

To understand that, let's first talk about all the efforts that have gone into pulling farmers out of poverty. During green revolution, a common parlance gained ground that more you sow, more you produce and hence more your earn. The message found acceptance among farmers who invested a lot of money buying pesticides, fetilizers, seeds and the machinery. However, even after over 40 years of green revolution, the farmers are practically on the poverty line. The NSSO survey of 2003-04 tells us that the average income of a farming family of five members is Rs 2,115. There were only three states above this limit

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Bloggers

 

Devinder Sharma

Ground Reality

Devinder Sharma is an award-winning journalist, writer, thinker, and researcher well-known and respected for his views on food and trade policy.

 

Priyanka Borpujari

Just Be

Priyanka is an independent journalist based in Mumbai. She believes independent journalism alone can bring about true stories from the grassroots that need to be told.

 

Hemant Goswam

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Hemant Goswami is a Chandigarh-based social activist with valuable expertise in tobacco control, civil rights and governance issues.

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