The Indian farmer continues to lead a very miserable life even after fifty seven years of country’s independence. He is still dependent on the vagaries of nature. He is bound to suffer on account of the changing moods of nature.
Sometimes he has to face the grim situation of drought while sometimes his crops become victim of excessive rain. His life is always at risk, and therefore he is never happy.
The Indian farmer is exploited by the landlords and the moneylenders. We know most of the land is owned by the Zamindars and is rented to the farmers. No doubt Zamindari system is not in existence now but land continues to be owned by the big landlords through benami transfers of land.
The farmers, in absence of their own land and money, become helpless. They have no alternative except working hard in the fields from dawn to dusk. They bear hot winds during summer season, biting chilly winds in the winter.
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They work in the open fields even when there is heavy rain, but they never complain to anyone. And what is the return of all this? Do they get a large portion of the field? No, not at all have they got very little and the major portion is taken away by the landlord in the form of land revenue.
Their pathos doesn’t stop here. They often suffer the fury of flood and drought and sometimes do not reap any harvest at all making their life worse than hell.
The first and foremost reason behind the pathetic condition of our farmers is that they are facing extreme poverty due to which they just strip school and finally go to the fields to feed a nation. But education is important in the fields too. Unlike the farmers of the developed countries, Indian farmers, due to poverty and lack of education, do not have access to technological advancements in agriculture.
They do not have been equipped with scientific knowledge to make the most out of their fields and their experience. As a result, they still grow food in the old way taking help of the age-old bullocks and axes instead of tractors and other modern machines. This method may have worked many years ago, but the nation is growing in population. Pressure is rising and tradition simply can’t support the demand.
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The growing industrialisation has also played havoc in the life of the farmers. Many farmers have become unemployed due to setting up of industries even in the rural areas. Since, they are illiterate and know no other vocation; they are driven from the pillar to the post in search of some means of earning his livelihood. The government is making sincere attempts to improve their lot and we can hope there will be change in the future.