ALL India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) notes with great concern the horrific rise in the incidents of farmers' suicides in the country. Farmer suicide is a post-liberalisation phenomenon. It started and has intensified since 1995. Neo-liberal economic policies pursued by successive governments led to devastating changes in the country’s agricultural policy. As a result, public investment in agriculture gradually declined. Newly-adopted fertiliser policy caused the closure of public sector manufacturers and dependence on import which resulted in continuous increase in its prices. New patent policy allowed big multinational companies to capture our seed and pesticide markets leading to unprecedented rise in their cost. Declining investment in irrigation promoted private irrigation system which increased water prices. Massive increase of diesel and petroleum prices only added to the cost of  pump irrigation and  transportation. Costlier electricity also contributed to the rise in pump irrigation cost. 

The government's surrender in WTO also did away with quantitative restriction and our farmers were thrown into the wild competition with agricultural products from advanced countries. Not only that,  Free Trade Agreement with several developed countries heightened the stiff competition. The change of policy from production for consumption to production for export also brought new problems for cultivators. All these contributed to the increase of import cost and massive increase in the cost of agricultural production. Along with that, the government procurement policy failed to pay remunerative price to the farmers for their produce. This made farming continuously a loss-making venture. As there was no cheap institutional credit, farmers were also forced to borrow money from private moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates. All these factors pushed farmers to mounting debt and failure to repay the loans forced them to end their lives.

This is the impact of globalisation and neo-liberal economic policies. In the past two decades, about 3.2 lakh farmers have committed suicide. Large numbers of suicides took place in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Many other states also witnessed similar trend. Even in West Bengal, farmers  suicides have been reported in the past three years.

The All India Kisan Sabha decided to study this menace and build up struggle against it. To begin with, I visited Telangana state, which saw the maximum number of suicides in the past six months. After formation of the state of Telangana on 2 June 2014, up to 17 January 2015, there were 693 cases of farmers suicides. In nine districts, it was happening at an alarming rate. While the state was part of Andhra Pradesh, during the same period last year, a total of 129 farmers committed suicide in the state. This year, only in Telangana, the number grew five times. What were the reasons of such massive growth of suicides?

I, along with leaders of Telangana State Kisan Sabha, visited some areas of Warangal district, which experienced the highest cases of suicide at 90. We visited two mandals of the Jangaon division – Vacchanapet and Charial – on 18 January. A total of 18 farmers have committed suicide in these two mandals and we could visit the houses of 12 of them. Detailed reports of the case study are given below:

1. We first visited Vacchanapet  village where a farmer, Somalla Sami, committed suicide at the age of 32. He cultivated paddy and cotton in five acres of own land and seven acres of tenant land. He took Rs 90,000 bank loan and Rs 6 lakh private loan at an interest rate of 36 percent. There was no rain for three years. So he dug one bore-well at a cost of Rs 80,000. But due to drought production suffered and it was nearly two quintals. In normal times, production would have been five to seven quintals. Also there was no government procurement and the price crashed. He could not repay the loan and committed suicide on 23 November 2014 by consuming pesticide. His wife Saritha, also an agricultural labourer, had a group job card for MNREGA, but there was no work during this period. They have two sons -- 10-year-old Karthik and 7-year-old Vijay Kumar.  They go to a private school in the village. As there is no work, they are facing starving-like situation. Saritha's brother, also an agriculture worker, stood by her. An FIR was lodged and a government officer once visited her house. But no compensation or widow pension was given to her.

2. Then we visited another victim in Kotkoor village of the same mandal. P Sidhya Reddy (43) committed suicide on 3 February 2013. He also cultivated paddy and cotton on one-and-a-half acres of own land and 2 acres of tenant land. He had a bank loan of Rs 30,000 and private loan of Rs 2.3 lakh at 36 percent interest. He sowed paddy but the land fully dried up. Cotton production was 1.7 quintal and he could not recover the loan amount. His wife Santoshe has got job card but there has been no work since last year. Their daughter Sweta (14 years) and son Rajinder (11 years) go to a village school. An FIR was lodged but no government officer visited them and no compensation paid.

3. In another  village, Kotkoor, of the Vacchanapet mandal, Laxmi, wife of Yellaia, committed suicide on 23 November 2014. Her husband is suffering from prolonged illness and unable to. Her daughter Akhila (10 years) and son Ajay (7 years) are severely malnourished. She cultivated cotton in three acres and maize in two acres – their own land. They took bank loan of Rs 1 lakh and private loan of Rs 2 lakh. But the production was negligible – only 1.7 quintal cotton and maize cultivated land dried up. She purchased a cattle for Rs 40,000 but it died. There was no food at home and neighbours helped the family after her death. They had sold two acres of land last year for repayment of earlier loan. But the rest of the loan was not paid and that led to her to commit suicide. An FIR was lodged but it stated the death was due to bad health. No compensation paid.  They live in a house built with Indira Awas Yojana grant.

4. Doke Seemu (30 years) of Katkoor village of Bacchanapeta mandal committed  suicide on 14 March 2010. His widow Rejita said that they cultivated 3.5 acres of own land and 2 acres of tenancy land and cultivated paddy and cotton. No bank loan was given to them, so they took Rs 3 lakh private loan at 36 percent interest. They dug two bore-well but both failed.  Due to drought, production was much less and they could not repay the loan. Her husband committed suicide. She lodged an FIR and one officer visited their house but no compensation was paid.  They have no job card and no work she could get. With two children -- Ramchandra (8 years) and Mani (5 years), she has been living a miserable life. Her mother's family gave some help and recently she received widow pension. Local Kisan Sabha people helped her but no local MLA or MP visited them. 

5. Kanduru Malya (40 years) of Charial village committed suicide on 11 August 2014. His widow Ailava is living in great difficulty along with her three daughers -- Rajita (20 years), Bhawani (18 years) and Bhagya (14 years).  They could not be married off due to dowry demand.  They cultivated three acres of own land and four acres of leased land, lease rate was Rs 10,000 per acre. They took Rs 3.5 lakh private loan at 36 percent interest rate to dug three bore-well but all failed. They also work as agricultural labour and have job card but no work was there as block exhausted the fund last year. An FIR was lodged but no compensation was paid to them.  No government official, MLA or MP visited their place and they are living in acute poverty and starvation.  They even did not get the death certificate. His father Chandy is very old. She applied for widow pension but has not yet received it. 

6. Ragula Karunakara (24 years) committed suicide on 21 August 2014 in Kedaverugu village of Charial Mondal by consuming pesticide. He cultivated cotton in two acres and maize in three acres of land. He took three acres of land on lease. As it was rain-fed area and there was deficit rainfall, he took Rs 3 lakh private loan at 36 percent interest rate. He spent Rs 1 lakh for his sister’s marriage and rest for digging bore-well, but it dried up and damaged the crop. His mother Laxmi, along with two daughters, is now living in distress.  

7. Another farmer-cum-agricultural worker, Sinu (30 years), of Kedavarugu village of Charial mandal committed suicide on 20 June 2014. He cultivated 1.5 acres of own land and three acres of leased land and sowed cotton and maize but both the crops were damaged. He also took private loan and dug three bore-wells but all dried up and his debt burden increased. Besides, the tenancy rate is very high. His widow, Bhagya, lodged an FIR and police accepted the case as suicide, but no compensation has been paid. She applied for widow pension but she has got nothing so far. She also is an agricultural worker but had no work. She is starving with her two children Amulya and Saicharan. No people's representative visited her and no assistance was given to the family.

8. Kokanda Rajaiya (40 years) of Gurja Kunta village of Charial mandal committed suicide on 20 July 2014. His widow Radha along with two children Arvinda (14 years) and Mukhi (7 years) met us.  She said that they cultivated one acre of own land and three acres of tenancy land at Rs 5,000 per acre rent and sowed paddy and maize. They took Rs 3 lakh private loan at 30 percent interest and dug ten bore-wells but all dried up. Production decreased due to drought and he could not repay the loan. So he committed suicide. An FIR was lodged but no compensation granted so far. His widow got pension last month.

9. P Nagaraj (40 years) committed suicide in Charial village. He took loan of Rs 4.5 lakh from private source at 36 percent interest rate and Rs 50,000 from bank.  His two bore-well failed. His widow Laxmi gave the details about the suicide.  She has one daughter Anuradha and two sons -- Anuj and Ashok. They study in a government school. They took five acres of land on lease at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre. The crop failure made him indebted and led him to commit suicide. His wife did not get compensation or  widow pension.

10. There is a tragic double suicide in a family and on same day.  Bhingi Shaibe committed suicide at Chunchana Colaure village of Charial mandal. He cultivated two acres of own land and took Rs 3 lakh private loan. But due to crop failure, he was forced to commit suicide as his widow Renuka  told us. They have two daughters – Radhika (16 years) and Anusha (14 years).  An FIR lodged but the cause of death was not accepted as suicide.  As Bhingi committed suicide in the day, his father-in-law, Misaviraiya (50 years) from Musthayala village of Chanal mandal visited his house and arranged for cremation of his son-in-law’s body.  After that, he went back to his home in the evening and committed suicide. His daughter, Renuka, was married to Bhingi. He also was deeply indebted. He cultivated three acres of own land. He took private loan of Rs 4.5 lakh at 29 percent interest rate but his  three bore-wells failed and he was in great difficulty regarding  repayment of loan. In this situation, when his son-in-law committed suicide, he also could not bear it and committed suicide in the same night. His widow Balama told us all this story in tears and she is now living with her three daughters -- Anjaiya, Kanakavelu and Srisailen -- in great distress. They are agricultural workers but there was no work. They lodged an FIR but no officer visited them and no compensation was given.

12. The last case of suicide we visited was in Chunchanecota village of Chanal mandal.  The farmer, Baliya (55 years), committed suicide five years ago. His widow Mallava along with her three daughters -- Kankaiya (35 years), Mahes (25 years) and Yadava (27 years) -- met us and narrated their painful story. Mallava cultivated three acres of own land  and took Rs 3 lakh private loan at 30 percent interest rate. But due to crop failure and non-availability of minimum support price, he was deeply indebted and frustrated. They lodged an FIR and no government response has come in so many years.

All these 12 cases of suicides tell us the  tragedy of farmers in Telangana. All the nine districts, including Warangal, are rain-fed and faced continuous drought for the past three years.  This year also 36 percent deficit of rainfall was recorded. There is irrigation only by underground water through pumpsets. That is also not fully utilised due to non-supply of electricity. Most of the bore-well  dug dried up which only added to the debt burden of the farmers. The region lost its crop diversity and now only three crops are cultivated, i.e., paddy, maize and cotton.  The above study showed the miserable fate of farmers of Telangana.

In Andhra Pradesh, between 1995 and 2003, the total number of suicides committed by farmers was 14,516. It rose further and between 2004 and 2013, the number stood at 22,466. The total number of suicides in Andhra Pradesh since the neo-liberal policy was implemented reached 36,982. But after the formation of Telangana, the number rose at an unprecedented rate. From June 2014 to January 2015, in nine districts of Telangana, 693 farmers committed suicide.  But the government officially accepted only 68 deaths as suicide. There was a three-men screening committee and it examined each case and decided which was suicide case. In this period of 20 years, only 1,357 cases were accepted out of 36,982 as suicide and ex gratia of Rs 1.50 lakh had been paid. Other cases were not considered as suicide so no compensation was paid.

Andhra Pradesh, since beginning, implemented neo-liberal reforms vigorously and that resulted in such unprecedented spurt of farmers' suicide. The 70th Round of National Sample Survey showed that the highest farmers' indebtedness was recorded in Andhra Pradesh at 92.9 percent, followed by Telangana 89.1 percent compared to national average of 51.9 percent.

Several causes -- both natural and man-made -- have contributed to the crisis in the agricultural sector in Telangana. Most of the areas are rain-fed and occasional drought adds to the crisis. The irrigation  system is not good and major irrigation is dependent on groundwater. But the problem of electricity and huge price of diesel created problem for such irrigation. Many farmers take land at tenancy and the rate of tenancy of land or lease-rent is very high. The bank loan is very small and maximum loan come from money-lenders and rater of interest is varied from 29 to 30 per cent or even more.  Maximum loan is used for cattle purchase or bore-well digging and most of the bore-well dried up.  These only intensified indebtedness.  

Even with three to four acres of own land, farmers are very poor as production rate is very low. Most of them are forced to take land on lease with very high rate up to Rs 10,000 per acre and that also add to the indebtedness. The price of produce is not remunerative and no proper procurement by the government at  MSP and even MSP is not adequate in comparison to cost. So the farmers' income is not adequate to run their family as well as to repay loan.  Many suicide cases are not accepted by government that denies the families compensation. Police in most cases do not write report. FIR is not lodged always and if it is lodged, the cause of death is mentioned as other than suicide. In most cases, no official visit to the victim's family and give any compensation. Even widow pension is not given to their widows. Most of the farmers are also agricultural labourers. Some have job card, many have not. Last one year, there has been no work under MGNREGA. It only adds to their poverty and starvation that cause frustration and lead to suicide. Crop diversification has disappeared and only  three crops are sown like paddy, maize and cotton. But the input cost of these crop cultivation has increased many-fold.  

And surprisingly, in not a single case, local MLA or MP has visited the victim's families. So their cases of sorrows were not raised to various forums and government and administration were not brought under the  pressure to solve this perpetual problem of farmers' suicides. All these families and their children are living in poor conditions. Malnutrition is visible in their face. Most of them live in huts and houses built under Indira Awas Yojana. Their children go to local government schools but they do not get proper quality education.

The Telangana State Rytu Sangham (affiliated to AIKS) is engaged with these serious problems faced by farmers. They are taking up the suicide issue and organising campaign against it. They are also studying further details of this problem in all the districts to identify the common issues involved and to prepare proper charter of demands and build up struggle against the policies that led to this crisis. All India Kisan Sabha also discussed the issue with great importance as this is the single most manifestation of agrarian crisis. It self-critically discussed that adequate struggles could not be built up against this problem. 

It has been decided that AIKS should not only go for campaign on the issue but take appropriate action against this menace also. In each case, Kisan Sabha units should intervene immediately and organise farmers for strong militant movement to force the government to listen to farmers' demands and take appropriate action. AIKS will also take up the matter in all others states. Its leadership will visit areas with larger number of farmers' suicide, such as Vidharba and other places in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, etc. to identify common issues and build up nation-wide movement.