RSS chief tells farmers to unite and help each other but avoid agitations

Mankapur (Adilabad): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday called upon farmers to unite and solve their problems while in distress but avoid embarking on agitations. However, he said he has no objection to the present farmer protests as such agitations will go on.

He was addressing a gathering of 1,500 farmer families practising organic farming in erstwhile Adilabad district. The event was organised by the Ekalavya Foundation (NGO). He performed a ‘Go Puja’ at the event.

Bhagwat stressed on the need for agriculture-based employment and business to strengthen the national economy. Organic farming can create both employment and business.

He shared his experiences during his visits to the continents of Africa, Europe and America. “The vegetable there were tasteless due to excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers. Vegetables used to be tasty in India at that time,” he said.

The RSS chief said the country will become stronger and farmers will be liberated from debts and distress.

Bhagwat hoped that the cause of organic farming will be spread across the country. “India will become a role model to the world in the near future,” he said and appreciated the efforts being made by Venugopal Reddy of the Ekalavya Foundation for encouraging farmers in organic farming.

He described the farmers of Indi as “scientists” and agriculture fields as “laboratories”. He added: “Farmers are doing experiments and Indian farmers are having more traditional knowledge than the scientists of any agriculture university.”

Bhagwat said farmers would do well to take up organic farming and continue with the responsibility of feeding the country though they did not get much yield and profits. “With organic farming, farmers become self-reliant in terms of preparing their own seeds, natural manure and pesticides with cow dung and urine as fertilizers and pesticides.”

“Organic farming will reduce the cost of investment and make farmers self-reliant. They will not have to depend on businessmen and moneylenders for agricultural inputs and investment,” Bagwat said.

The RSS chief insisted on crop rotation to get rid of pest attacks and use of natural manure to keep the soil fertile for more years. He added that doing agriculture is a tradition of Hindu Dharma.

Bhagwat said he himself was involved in agriculture-related activities in his childhood. His father and forefathers were engaged in agriculture.

Some of the farmers practising organic farming have shared their experiences on the dais in the presence of the RSS chief. Religious leader Narayana Guru said the kind of food people took will shape their character. “People will become ‘sathvik’ if they took satvik food.”

Tight security arrangements were evident for the event in view of Mohan Bhagwat’s presence. Ekalavya Foundation representative Keshav Reddy also spoke.

The RSS chief arrived at Nirmal on Thursday night and had interaction with local RSS members and leaders. BJP MPs Dharmapuri Aravind, Soyam Bapurao and BJP district president Payal Shankar and Palvai Harish Babu were among those who met Bhagwat.