Thousands of peasants from all over India gathered at the National Convention of Farmers at Erode in Tamil Nadu during 16-18 th February, 2007. The Convention was organized by the Federation of Tamil Nadu Agriculturists Associations, Bharat Krishak Samaj, Thamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, and many other peasant organizations. Besides Tamil Nadu, peasants came in large numbers from Orissa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam, Punjab, Maharashtra and other states.

The extreme anger of the peasants with the anti-peasant policies and activities of the central and state governments and the big capitalists and multinationals was strongly reflected in the interventions of the activists. Speaker after speaker condemned the blatantly cynical attitude of the Indian state to the plight of the peasantry. They pointed out that while the Indian government has been gloating over the high rates of GDP growth, the peasants are losing everything that they have, and are being driven to desperate measures such as suicides. Even after the temporary waiver of loans and interest on loans in Vidharbha, Andhra Pradesh and other places, the suicides have not stopped. This indicates that there is a profound crisis in agriculture and piecemeal waivers or subsidies are not the answer to the crisis.

Participants at this convention pointed out that the government of the capitalists is not interested in the well-being of the peasantry. They called on the peasants to end their marginalization and take an active part in the political process. The massive landgrab of agricultural land in the name of industrial development, or for setting up Special Economic Zones, came under severe fire. The peasants demanded, as a right and not as a privilege, that they should be provided with agricultural inputs at affordable prices and the state should ensure that their products are purchased at remunerative prices through a properly organized procurement mechanism.

The convention condemned the wasteful expenditure of the central and state governments on defence, interest payments and the bureaucracy. They demanded that the state should allocate more funds for irrigation, transport and post-harvest facilities for the peasants. Peasants from Tamil Nadu demanded that the state take immediate measures to halt the alarming depletion of ground water levels by drawing water for wasteful purposes such as for Colas, and look at the feasibility of interlinking river waters.

The National Convention has given a fillip to the growing struggles and political unity of peasants against the capitalist imperialist orientation of the economy.