Sir,

I am writing to thank the CGPI for posting the report entitled "No more peasant suicides! No more!" on the march of hundreds of children in New Delhi under the banner of Lok Raj Sangathan against peasants' suicides that have become a daily feature of Indian life. While it is widely recognized that the epidemic of peasants' suicides has struck hard and deep in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, having spread from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh where the severity was intense, it is also known to affect Karnataka. It is less widely known that the malaise is present even in Punjab, the showcase state for the 'Green Revolution'. I found it very touching to read that the children of victims from Punjab were present at the rally, which must have undoubtedly lent poignancy to the solemn event.

The blame for this atrocious state of affairs has to be placed firmly at the doorstep of the Indian Government and its agricultural policies. The policies of Government have also always been and continue to be aimed at the advance of capitalism into the agricultural sector. These policies have willy nilly led to the decimation of the peasantry in many parts of the country and have plunged the lives of those who produce food for the country's over one billion into the worst kind of despair and destitution. The stories that were common a decade or two ago about the condition of weaving communities, where epidemic of suicides were first reported, are now associated with the peasantry. These artisans in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere were the custodians of traditions of art and craft coming down through millennia, and were found redundant with the advance of capitalism into the textile sector. If any one is to think that any sector of the economy, or any profession, is immune from such attacks of capitalism, it would be naive. What is a booming sector today can be the sick sector of tomorrow. The condition of peasants and weavers is a grim milestone of what could be in store for any one.

Having said the above, I also thank the party for reproducing the text of the Memorandum presented to the Union Minister for Agriculture. Any reader can conclude that the demands enshrined in the Memorandum are just and is a list of what any responsible state should be doing anyway. It has been pointed out long ago in Indian political thought that the peasant must occupy centre stage in the organization of the economy. It has been opined by Chanakya and even by Bheeshma that the peasant may be taxed, but not so onerously so as to drive him into destitution. This simple fact has been ignored by the satraps of the UPA Government, and for that matter all preceding Governments. By paying lip service to the peasantry, the Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh in the early years of his Government attempted to, and succeeded in stabilizing his coalition. The tragedy is that in the year 2008 the Indian people have no way of holding their 'leaders' accountable to the promises they make.

It needs to be mentioned time and again that at the root of the ills of the Indian economy is the capitalist system, and that the policies of each and every Government is to serve only this brutal and oppressive system. The times are calling for unity against this system and against the policies of the Governments that serve this system. The march of January 31, 2008 is surely an important landmark in the struggle. I thank the party website for carrying the report on this event.

Sincerely,
B Seetharamiah, Dharwar