He is no blowhard. He has struggled, suffered, hoped and endured from the age of 21 being inspired after reading the book A call to the nation by Swami Vivekananda. The book that turned the course of his life and career, remembers wistfully Akshya Kumar, “The love I bore for my motherland India became a thousand fold after I had gone through the book of Swamiji. He was equally fascinated towards Gandhian dialectics and had his initiation in Gandhism at Wardha at the institute of Gandhian studies and had successfully completed the course; a diploma in Gandhian philosophy under the tutelage of noted Gandhian Rabindra Verma. Here, he came in contact with two friends from MP and Maharashtra, Amit and Raju, and they travelled throughout the nook and corner of the country to study the intricate problems of Indians. “If your mission is true, helps come from unseen corners,” the words of Swamiji reverberated through Akshya Kumar’s ears, and that indeed came true. People came in numbers with benevolent gestures and offered them food, clothing, shelter and even the money necessary to keep them going on their mission. The trio worked for restoration of peace in Assam and worked in critical times in vulnerable areas of Maharashtra. The key to a prosperous India rests on the shoulders of kisans, they were convinced while studying the plight of farmers. Akshya Kumar was also emboldened by the spiritual teachings of Praveena Taidesai, disciple of Vinoba Bhave. He was also inspired by the late Bimala Thakar, an ardent disciple of Jayaprakash Narayan. He spoke to Sugyan Choudhury of The Pioneer from his office at Patia, Bhubaneswar.
How did you come to work in your home State from the national scenarioIJ
I had completed my Bharat Darshan from 1993 to 1996. I was a leading Gandhian activist in the Assam Peace Process from 1996 to 1998. In the wake of the 1999 Super Cyclone in Odisha, my spiritual guide Praveena Taidesai directed me to work in the process of relief operation and rehabilitation in my home State. I along with my friends rushed to Ersama in Jagatsinghpur district, where at least ten thousand people had died. We saw crores of rupees both from the governmental and nongovernmental organisations pouring in. It was the right time to work for relief and rehabilitation. But while reconstruction works were on, corruption became rampant. We demanded housing and the Government informed us that only six thousand houses could be rebuilt. But we along with 30,000 people at a meeting concluded that out of the same resources 24,000 houses could be built. The Government didn’t pay heed to our formula and arrested 27 of us including myself. When we were released from jail, people in large numbers joined us to work hand in hand. Thus, a movement was born, called Navnirman Samiti, on December 26, 1999. We demanded a roof overhead for every family, irrigation facilities for farmers, right to work for everyone, information to one and all. With massive public support, Navnirman Krusaka Sangathana was formed out of the parent body Navnirman Samiti in 2010 at Jagatsinghpur. The concept was that unless the farmers’ plights are improved, the country will never prosper. We have three demands for Odisha’s agrarian community, namely, price, prestige and pension. When industrial items are manufactured, they take into account many things like profit, risk factors and taxes and thereafter they put the price tag as MRP. But when the farmer produces paddy or any such produce, the Central Government fixes the price with the concept of minimum support price (MSP), not minimum justified price. So, our fight is between MSP for farmers vis-Ã -vis the maximum retail price (MRP) for industrialists. Why should there be a maximum price tag for industrialists when there is the concept of no minimum justified price but the MSPIJ Why should there be one set of rules for industrial houses and another for kisans who constitute 80% of the country’s populationIJ A farmer is doubly empowered (a) for having a vote (b) bring the producer and provider of food to fight against hunger. If the farmers unite, all discrepancies and anomalies from our nation will disappear. We look forward to that day when Gandhiji’s Ramrajya or the Eldorado will happen in reality. Take for example the 1972 index when paddy per quintal was Rs 80 only. An officer was getting Rs 120 to Rs 150 while a peon was getting Rs 18 per month. Gold for 10 grams was made available at Rs 240. Now, look at the glaring discrepancies. In case of salary, it has been multiplied by a thousand times, and in case of gold, it has been increased by 100 to 120 times. But in case of paddy, it has increased by only 15
What are the other two points you are going to talk aboutIJ
The other two are prestige or dignity and pension of the farmer. A farmer possessing the twin powers of a vote in hand and the owner of the food has to salute at least thrice to a block peon for ventilating his grievances before the BDO or the agriculture extension officer. Neither the peon nor the officer offers him a seat. He is harassed and humiliated. Even socially, when he goes to his father-in-law’s house, he is looked down upon for being a farmer. That is why a farmer never tells his son to be a farmer. Why should a farmer do so, when a lawyer asks his son to be an advocate, a doctor asks his son to be a doctor and a brazen faced politician asks his son or daughter to be a politicianIJ This is because our attitude to the farmer has not changed. Shastriji had given two clarion calls to the nation, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”. The problems of Jawans are taken care of, but what about the problems of KisansIJ The welfare government has probably no real agenda for transforming agriculture and the agrarian community. While an officer draws Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 as social security allowance, the farmer has none. Hence, each farmer from the age of 20 should be provided Rs 5,000 per month till the age of 60, after which they should be supported by a fairly descent pension. Gandhiji’s mantra for Ramrajya will then be not a dream but a
What are your significant achievements so farIJ
We have achieved small demands. For example, when the FCI is giving Rs 22.50 per bag to the miller and when the miller instead of using FCI bags are taking the farmer’s bag, they should return some portion of the money to farmers. They were not doing so, but after our persistent agitation, now the millers have agreed to return Rs 6 to Rs 7. Similarly, when societies and the millers were procuring paddy from farmers, they use to deduct 10 kg to 7 kg per quintal maintaining that they were not as per FAQ standard. We protested this nexus between millers, societies and officers. The result is there is no cut per quintal although we had protested the earlier system in Jagatsinghpur district
What are your other visions for farmersIJ
We demand that social security allowance at the rate of Rs 5,000 a month be provided to each farmer family so that by spending Rs 21,600 crore, the State can cover 36 lakh farmer families. What’s wrong in it when the Government is bearing a burden of Rs .27,500 crore annually for the 2% of employees only. We also demand on similar lines before the Union Government for realising the practical Gandhian concepts of a vibrant and prosperous India by applying the same principle of extending social security allowance to each farmer family.