Wednesday, February 10, 2010
FARMER SUICIDE AND COLLECTIVE ACTION
Farmer suicides are a common sight in our newspapers. However, these suicides are mostly committed by well-to-do farmers who try to diversify their cropping patterns in the direction of cash crops. These well-to-do farmers do have considerable amount of social recognition and this prevents them from seeking support from external sources in the hour of crisis. Lack of support coupled with social prestige leads to isolation. Once, a person is isolated from the society, he is already dead from the inside! This isolation hinders the process of collective action of similar farmers in times of crisis.
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2 comments:
I agree with you basanta. In Vidharbha, we see that the cotton farmers commit suicide as they feel trapped in the vicious cycle of debt and do not know how to get out of it. May be collective action is required to prevent these suicides
the factor of social prestige hinders a person to come along and work with people below his status, due to this reason they prefer to remain isolated and help their ego. However this in long run due to some misfortune drives the person to suicide. hence the need to make the social prestige factor less relevant can save lives of many
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