The present regime must act immediately. The Prime Minister and his Government should be serious about the soldiers' and the farmers' issues and not treat them as election rhetoric
Security from the enemy and security from hunger are two fundamental aspects of a nation. While the former is ensured by the soldiers on the borders, the burden of food security rests on the farmers. But, unfortunately both have been forgotten by the present Government.
Two days after Narendra Modi was nominated as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, he had addressed former servicemen in Rewari (Haryana) on September 15, 2013. This was his first election rally where he had promised that once “a strong Government” with “a strong leader” will be in place at the Centre, neither Pakistan nor China will dare to look at India. If the soldiers were dying, it was because of the “problems in Delhi”, Modi had remarked.
What is the situation after three years of ‘a strong Government’ in DelhiIJ There have been 42 per cent more terrorism-related deaths in Jammu & Kashmir since the Modi Government came to power, compared with the last three years of the UPA-II. The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has increased 72 per cent, from 111 personnel in the last three years of UPA-II to 191 in the BJP’s first three years. During the third year alone, 98 jawans and officers laid down their lives in Jammu & Kashmir, which is a 61 per cent jump compared to the corresponding year of UPA-II.
As per the Ministry of Defence data, 60 soldiers were killed in 2016, compared to 33 in 2015 and 32 in 2014. Recently, two Army jawans were killed in attack by Pakistani troops in the Poonch sector, a third incident in this sector during current year. This was followed by killing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer by terrorists in Srinagar.
The numbers speak for themselves. It appears that the Government is nowhere in the picture and the defence forces are fighting a lonely battle. There is no forward movement to suggest that situation will improve in near future. Diplomatic action is almost absent to ease tensions along the borders.
Instead, the provocations from the BJP and its ideological cohorts have become the hallmark of its Kashmir policy, leading to unprecedented unrest in the Valley. Not only in Jammu & Kashmir but in Maoist-affected areas also, casualties of security forces continue unabated during the last three years. Failure in foreign policy fronts, absence of a consistent strategy against Pakistan, non-existence of apolitical design to deal with the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Maoist-affected States are the reasons for increase in death of security forces during this period.
Political pundits in the Government had projected demonetisation and surgical strikes as effective deterrents against terrorism, but the numbers of deaths have proved them wrong. The Prime Minister, who was very vocal to blame the previous UPA Government on these issues, has failed to stop enemy atrocities against Indian soldiers. The lack of seriousness to deal with the situation is evident on the part of the Government from the fact that we do not have a full time Defence Minister after Manohar Parrikar was repatriated to Goa. Ad-hocism is responsible for the absence of policy-making in critical areas in the ministry.
Coming to farmers, Narendra Modi, in his Pathankot rally on April 25, 2014, had promised that farmers would get at least 50 per cent profits of their produce from the market price if the BJP-led NDA came to power. Agriculture would be made more ‘productive, scientific and rewarding’, was the promise made in BJP manifesto. But the reality is that agrarian crisis has deepened and condition of farmers worsened in past three years. Farmers’ margin over cost has declined during this period.
The Government in its affidavit in the Supreme Court has admitted that more than 12,000 farmers have committed suicide on an yearly basis during its tenure. The incidence of suicide is higher in BJP-ruled States such as Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Neither is the Government coming with any comprehensive plan of action nor with any institutional mechanism to address the agrarian crisis.
The Supreme Court was right in its observation that the solution to every problem does not lie with its referral to the Niti Aayog. Several State Governments have announced waiving off of farmers’ loans but their impact will be limited to immediate relief. The major reasons for suicide are increase in input costs, lack of institutional credit, crop loss and non-remunerative prices.
Unfortunately, either policies are absent in these crucial areas, or even if some policies are in place they are marred by shabby implementation. Because of the inherent limitations, the crop insurance scheme announced by the Prime Minister has failed to achieve the desired results. To make agriculture sustainable, the grower has to be able to make a profit. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) must be increased to the level that apart from covering the cost of production, it should give a reason for the farmers to cultivate.
Another important aspect is that the Government has to ensure that its export-import policies do not contradict with interests of the farmers. For example, even when the Government was aware that there would be sufficient production of pulses, it continued to import pulses, which led to crash in prices of pulses.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is another example. On the one hand, the Government claims to take measures to reduce the cost of production in agriculture. On the other, its imposes GST of 18 per cent on pesticides and 12 per cent on fertilisers. The rates being higher than the existing tax rates, it will push the input cost upward. The ultimate loser will be the farmer. Such policy contradictions need to be avoided. Further, to make agriculture more productive, the government will have to ensure adequate investment for agricultural research. Given investment priorities, access to credit and technology, agriculture has a tremendous potential to absorb a major chunk of the growing labour force.
On the ground, what is more disturbing is the lack of empathy of the Government towards soldiers’ and farmers’ causes. There appears to be a disconnect between the plight of the soldiers and famers and the government's perception of it. While jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav was dismissed from service for questioning the quality of food, farmers were killed in broad daylight in Mandsaur for demanding loan waive-off. Chanakya had said that the day when a soldier has to demand his dues or, worse, plead for them, the king loses the moral sanction to rule. The same is also applicable to the farmers who feed billions through their hard work.
The present political regime must act, and it must act immediately. The Prime Minister and his Government should be serious about the soldiers’ and the farmers’ issues and not treat them as election rhetoric. There is no difference between failing the soldiers and farmers, and failing the nation.
(The writer is a Supreme Court lawyer and Congress’s national media panelist. Views expressed here are personal)