The voice of rural India, or Bharat as against urban India, is getting more strident by the day, the latest being the month-long Maratha agitation in Maharashtra. The basic demand for reservations by this dominant community in the state is a symptom of a much larger issue which is the neglect of rural India and the neglect of the agriculture sector, echoed all over India in various forms. The underlying issue is the raw deal given to agriculture, and agriculture labourers who work in the fields and their dependents. In Latur in Maharashtra for instance, the drought was severe yet the government made only half-hearted attempts to deal with it. It was only after an agitation — where people were told about their rights to get work under the rural employment guarantee scheme etc. — and the court strictures about holding cricket matches on water-guzzling pitches, that water supply was given to the people of Latur.
India lives in her villages and the majority of the population of India is dependent on agriculture. Yet neither the Centre or the state governments have tackled the problems of unemployment, education, health and other necessities in rural India. Globalisation as it has been acknowledged has made the rich richer and poor poorer and rural India has taken a major hit. Take for example the Seventh Pay Commission award that has fixed Rs 18,000 as the minimum wage for a peon. The minimum wage of an agricultural labourer is a mere Rs 200 per day which also exists mostly on paper as they rarely get this amount. The farmers don’t get remunerative prices for their produce as it would hurt inflation in urban areas. Even foreign direct investment (FDI) comes into urban areas, increasing the money supply in urban areas. The government fails to recognise that this money supply is the cause of inflation and not the prices of foodgrain. India has been integrated into the high-cost global economy where everything from education to health is expensive and unaffordable by rural India.
The government has no policy to deal with this situation and prefers to give out doles that do not make for a sustainable economy. The government is ignoring this situation at its own peril. It is also a blot on the basic principles of democracy where all citizens are supposedly equal. Yet, Indians in rural India are being treated differently from their urban counterparts. Ironically, democracy provides avenues for citizens to vent their grievances and agitations are accepted and in a way diffuse situations. This is only postponing the day of reckoning and testing the patience of rural India. These little little fires everywhere will lead to a major conflagration and it is hoped that a government as enlightened as the Narendra Modi government is able to focus on rural India.
