Indian Farmer Hangs Himself at Protest over Land Reform
Al Jazeera
A farmer has hanged himself in front of hundreds of protesters gathered in India`s capital to rally against the government`s reform of land-purchasing laws.
Television footage of Wednesday`s protest in New Delhi showed the father of three sitting in the branches of a tree before taking a scarf and hanging himself as police, protesters and media crews looked on.
He was rushed to hospital, but declared dead on arrival.
Local media said a suicide note had been recovered from the farmer`s body, which said he had recently suffered crop losses because of unseasonal rains in Rajasthan.
Narendra Modi, the country`s prime minister, said the nation was "deeply shattered and disappointed" over the death.
"At no point must the hardworking farmer think he is alone. We are all together in creating a better tomorrow for the farmers of India," Modi said on Twitter.
Anger was mounting over whether police and rally organisers did enough to save the man, as a political row erupted over who was to blame for the suicide.
“In front of our eyes”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP), who organised the rally, quickly came under fire from political opponents for continuing the event even after the farmer was taken down from the tree.
"We want to ask AAP why they didn`t stop their speeches when they heard that the farmer had died," said Sambit Patra, a spokesman for Modi`s Bharatiya Janata Party.
But Kejriwal put the blame on police, saying "he climbed the tree in front of our eyes."
"I kept telling the police to save him, but the police are not in our control," Kejriwal said from the stage during the rally.
The demonstration was held in opposition to changes to the Land Acquisition Act introduced by Modi`s government, which it said would make it easier for businesses and the government to buy land from the farmers.
A number of farmers have committed suicide across India in recent weeks. The Times of India reported, citing the state government`s figures, that at least 600 farmers killed themselves in just Maharashtra state in the last three months alone. In 2014, the same state reported almost 2,000 farmer suicides, the report said.
Original article with Al Jazeera video
Farmer Hangs Himself from Tree at New Delhi Rally
Deutsche Welle
A farmer has committed suicide in India by hanging himself from a tree during a protest rally in New Delhi. Hundreds of Indian farmers have killed themselves this year after unseasonal rains destroyed their crops.
A farmer from India`s western state Rajasthan hanged himself from a tree at a protest rally in New Delhi.
The man, Ganjendra Singh Rajput, left a suicide note, in which he said, "My father drove me out of the house because my crop failed. Please tell me, how do I go back home?"
Hundreds of Indian farmers have committed suicide this year after heavy rains spoiled their winter wheat produce. The government has not released figures, but media organizations and NGOs estimate the number of deaths between 200 and 600 as of March 2015.
Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who organized the rally to protest New Delhi`s new law that made land acquisition easier for multinational organizations, said they did not sense immediately that the farmer was trying to kill himself when he climbed the tree.
"Initially we did not realize what was happening. Many people climb trees at the rallies at Jantar Mantar [in New Delhi] to get a better view." Volunteers of the AAP rushed the farmer to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
Opposition politicians demand government action
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government has come under criticism for not taking farmers` deaths seriously, expressed his condolences.
Opposition leader Sachin Pilot of the Congress party described the suicide as unfortunate. "Thousands of farmers are killing themselves, more are contemplating suicide. Those who occupy positions of responsibility must consider why this has happened," Pilot added.
Modi`s government needs to address these issues on a "war footing," said prominent activist Madhu Kishwar, drawing attention to the deteriorating situation of agrarian communities in India.
According to government data, 11,772 farmers in 2013 and 13,754 the year before committed suicide because of heavy unseasonal rains or droughts, that led to low crop yields and rendered growers incapable of paying back loans. Expensive seeds like those of genetically modified crops have also put farmers in debt.
Earlier this month, the Indian Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh insisted that only around one tenth of these deaths could be attributed to "agrarian distress" or cases in which suicide notes were found, the Indian media reported.
Singh`s statement was severely criticized by rights` organizations and NGOs.
Photo: Ganjendra Singh Rajput protesting in the tree from which he later hanged himself. Source: Al Jazeera.
Related articles:
Modi`s land reforms hit major roadblock (18 April 2015)
India`s Modi Faces Opposition from Farmers to Land Reforms (22 March 2015)
Opposition Unites to Oppose Modi Land Reform Push (17 March 2015)
Indian farmers balk at land law reforms (25 February 2015)
Govt approves ordinance to ease Land Acquisition Act to push reforms (29 December 2014)
India’s New Land Reform Policy (13 August 2013)
Land Reforms in India (Oxford Companion to Economics in India, undated)
Land reform in India (Wikipedia)
