The announcement of Maharashtra Marketing Minister Harshvardhan Patilthat state Govt. will purchase the cotton at the rate of MSP that is Rs.3000/- has been added fuel on the on going agrarian crisisdue to cotton and soybean crop failure due to excessive water logging resulting ‘root rot disease’ and other pest attacks over 42 lakhs hectors in vidarbha effecting more than 3 million distressed and debt trapped crisis hit vidarbha farmers, has been main cause of fresh restarting farm suicide spiral as four more farmers suicides have been reported in different part of suicide prone districts
Recent victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis are –
1. PANDURANG MANKAR of GOND BURANDA in YAVATMAL
2. SHESHRAO JADHAV of SHEMLAI in WASHIM
3. DEVRAO NANHEWAR of LADBORI in CHANDRAPUR
4. DAYARAM SARDAR of WADALI in BULDHANA
Taking toll 600 farmers suicides in year 2010 Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS )informed in press release today
‘Heavy rain spoiled the complete cotton crop in more than 3 million hector resulting huge economic losses to tune of more than Rs.4000 crore ,adding fuel extreme despondency, despair and accumulated actuate deep distress restarting the unfortunate spiral of farm suicides in west vidarbha as per report reaching here due to very heavy rain and Bt. Cotton failure causing as result of excessive water logging resulting ‘root rot disease’ which has spoiled Bt. Cotton crop in record 110 lakhs hectors in India .’Tiwari added.
This is clear cut sign of severe agrarian crisis in the region because of the fact that for kharif season 2010-11 area under cultivation of Bt.cotton is above 32 lakhs hectors in vidarbha alone and record rain and massive floods in cotton cultivating areas has damaged most of standing Bt.cotton crop and excessive rain has jumped the cultivation cost to double, but expected yield is likely to reduce to 50% resulting more than Rs.27,000 crore huge financial losses to Indian cotton growers, hence our demand to raise cotton MSP of Rs.4500/- per quintal to compensate farmers accumulated losses ,it need of the hour , Kishor Tiwari of VJAS added.
Recent announcement of Union Agriculture ministry has added fuel in the on going agrarian crisis in cotton growing region of India through it’s price-fixing arm - Commission for Agricultural Pricing and Costs (CACP) that the prevailing minimum support price (MSP) of cotton will be unchanged for this khariff season 2010-11,as Earlier Vidarbha cotton farmers are demanding the increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of cotton from the current Rs.3,000 a quintal to Rs. 4,500 high lighting the steep rice in cultivation cost and heavy losses and damaged most of the standing Bt cotton crop due to Excessive rains ,that healing touch will save agrarian economy of region and will help to stop cotton farmers suicides in the region ,Kishor Tiwari added.
“Distressed and dying farmers needs food security ,health facility to critically ill members of distressed farming community and provision for direct financial assistance to daughter marriage along with free fodder and potable water but till date only promises are given ,not relief resulting these farmers suicides” alleged Kishore Tiwari of VJAS.
‘we are expecting central intervention to stop this mass genocide of innocent farmers who are victims of wrong policies promoted by state as in dry land area rain sensitive crop like Bt.cotton is being cultivated in more than 95% causing huge financial losses to the cotton farmers and water crisis in the area. We have demanding the ban on rain sensitive crop in this region and promotion of food crop in all rain fed area of vidarbha since 2004 but nobody is giving any attention to this serious demand resulting more and more farm suicides in the region’ Tiwari added,
"Only a price of 4,500 can help cotton growers tide over the difficult situation caused by excessive rains, we will ask all parties to help cotton growers of India,” VJAS stressed in press release today.
Land Development Bank ordered forcible recovery in a ‘Gandhigiri style’
NAGPUR: September 29, 2010
Co-Operation and Marketing Minister Harshvardhan Patil has issued fresh order of forcible recovery now in different style of Gandhigiri by beating drum before the house of short listed willful defaulters as Land development bank in a Naxal effected Gadchoroli district has given debt recovery notice to one debt trapped marginal farmer named Shivshankar Rajaram Adgela age-55 of village sironcha that bank officials will start Dharana Agitation before his house with drum beating and slogan shouting a since 10 a.m. to.5 p.m. on 5th October in order to recovery the 1992 tractor loan of Rs. One lakh eighty thousand of which he has returned one lakh fourty five thousand and now they are demanding Nine Lakh twenty seven thousand which against the law of land that banker can’t recovery more than basic amount as part of interest..
LDB bank officially declared earlier that there will not any forceful recovery of vidarbha farmers due wet drought and huge crop failure this year but now state administration seems have green signal to start in such Gandhigiri type of recovery that will damage the image of agrarian community at large
‘This is totally contradictory to the announcement of co-operation and marketing minister Harshvardhan Patil in Mumbai on Thursday that The one-time settlement (OTS) will now be available till March 31, 2011 and uncalled for as this will lead to auction the land mortgaged with LDB against the term loans and thus dispossess the farmers of land and now Chief Minister Ashok Chavan should intervene to stop this forcible recovery as this is not the time even if farmers wants to repay the loan under OTS ’Kishore Tiwari VJAS urged in press release today.
‘VJAS has no objection regular recovery but objected action of seizure of land and forcible recovery now recent letter issued by LDB bank is much more serious as they have asked respective Bank manager to form team of bank employees and first move laud speaker in the village and then start drum beating slogan raising and they have termed this action as ‘Gandhigiri’ which will force the debt trapped to commit suicide, we will protest such action of recovery as all debt is disputed one needs to scan as per recent OTS orders’ Tiwari said .
‘crisis driven LDB banks of west vidarbha is till awaiting Rs.446 crore of loan waiver amount paid to apex bank in march 2009 by NABARD moreover STATE Govt. failed to pay interest waiver 70% amount has not been paid already received in 2006 from central Govt. It’s apathy of Maharashtra Govt. that diverted the money to western Maharashtra and allowed these banks in vidrabh is become ‘bankrupt’ as even the OTS scheme which was announced by the state government in September 2007 for around 1.25 lakh members of the LDB and its branches, could not take off in west vidarbha and cotton farmers were kept out of OTS net ’Tiwari allged.
‘Issue of the unpaid salary of around 550 LDB employees of vidarbha sine December 2009 has been interlinked with forcible recovery of outstanding due of dent trapped farmers and now as agrarian crisis are further deepen ,LDB cant go on interlinking both issues and Nabard and Maharashtra Govt. to settle the salary payment issue in order to avoid innocent victimization of debt trapped farmers ,those Govt. should continue legitimate action against willful defaulter as per recent announcement of cooperative minister’ Tiwari urged. =============================================
Decision of the Government to impose export duty of Rs 2,500 a tonne on raw cotton and 3 per cent of the free-on-board value of cotton waste with retrospective effect from April 9 and restriction on all cotton yarn exports be registered with the Textiles Commissioner's Office in Mumbai and No yarn will be allowed for exports by the Customs Department until it is registeredwith the Directorate- General of Foreign Trade,is been strongly opposed by vidarbha cotton farmers which is under severe Agrarian crisis is in international news due to on going cotton farmers suicide @ 8 hours in day since June 2005 , Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS )informed in press release today.
"The duty has been imposed due to bring down the cotton prices in the domestic market as Central Government and the Textile Ministry is working under pressure of a powerful textile lobby andwill cause huge economic losses to the more than 8 million Indian cotton farmers who have opted Bt.cotton crop for kharif season 2010-11 in 110 lakhs hector but the record rain and massive floods in cotton cultivatingareas has damaged most of standing Bt.cotton crop and excessive rain has jumped the cultivation cost to double, but expected yield is likely to reduce to 50% resulting more than Rs.27,000 crore huge financial losses to Indian cotton growers, hence our demand to raise cotton MSP of Rs.4500/- per quintal to compensate farmers accumulated losses but central Govt. has turned down the demand now with putting restriction and export duty ,Govt. has rubbedsalt to the wound of the dying Indian cotton farmers” Kishor Tiwari of VJASadded.
‘As this season it was expected that Indian farmer will get good price to the raw cotton as adverse weather conditions have significantly brought down the cotton production in China, Pakistan and USA and There is good demand for Indian cotton and the Cotton Advisory Board has pegged the exports at 80 lakh bales this season but these restriction on cotton export will certainly crash the prices of raw cotton in India resulting mass cotton farmers suicides hence we demand the centre should withdraw these order and give export incentive to the cotton exporter and enhance to raise cotton MSP of Rs.4500/- per quintal to compensate farmers accumulated losses ,it need of the hour , Kishor Tiwari of VJASadded.
"The cotton prices were increased by 20-25 per cent and yarn prices by 40-45 per cent in the domestic market in last four months but only exporters got benefited as farmers sold all raw cotton in less than MSP before that steep price hike, it has been the part routine exploitation of poor farmers in which executive and ministers are playing key role ,same story is set get repeated this year too” Tiwari said.
Subject- Demand to cancel 'Peepli (Live)’s official Nomination to the OscarsAcademy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category
Nagpur -Saturday , 25th September , 2010,
1.Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) , farmers advocacy group in vidarbha ,the epicenter of Indian ‘Agrarian crisis’ which has claimed 2,00,000 farmers suicides in last decade and Maharashtra western region which istermed as dying field of cotton farmers where more than 40,000farmers committed suicides has objected the basic theme and script of filmPeepli Live produced by a mainstream filmmaker Aamir Khan and Directed by Anusha Rizvi as a black comedy or lampoon or satire on very serious issue of agrarian crisis with hooking to absolutely wrong endthat the ‘farmer is committing suicide for compensation’, vidarbha farmers and farm widows arranged massive protest on 15th auguston the day after the released last moth and urged Maharashtra Govt. to ban it’s screening immediately as it is hurting sentiments of8 millions of distressed and debt trapped farmers of Maharashtra who are being forced to commit suicide due towrong policies of Indian Government . We have officially lodged our complaint to Film Censer Board cancellation censorship certificate to the film which is pending before authorities for the final decision with the our valid objection that The film shows how the protagonist of the film (Natha) decides to commit suicide as he is about to lose his plot of land because he is unable to pay back the bank loan. The protagonist's brother encourages Natha to commit suicide so that his family can live off the compensation money. People all over India watch films and hence follow and believe in some storylines. Today when I am fighting to get compensation for 40,000 farmers' widows, this movie sends out a wrong message. The farmers committed suicide due to several problems such as being unable to pay back the loans, infertile lands and continued sub-division of family owned plots of land, and not because they wanted their wives or family members to get compensation.
2.Now Film Federation of India, Chennai has added fuel to on going controversy by nominating "Peepli (Live)" for India's entry to the Oscars Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category. vidarbha farmers has strongly objected the baseless argument of L. Suresh, chairperson of the Film Federation of India that "Peepli (Live)" has been chosen for its stark portrayal of the state of Indian farmers and the vibrant depiction of the media in our country as we strongly demand that this decision of sending "Peepli (Live)" for India's entry to the Oscars Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category be changed and ministry to intervene to cancel the Film Federation of India decision .
3.We recalled that when vidarbha farmers and widows objected the Peepli (Live)with the arguments that issue of farmers suicide is painted in the movie and it has insulted the whole agrarian community and our objection was reciprocatedby BJP national leader L.K.Advanias he was also pained with main theme of satire and wrote own his blog
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Peepli Live theme should’ve been NREGA, not farmer suicide: Advani
LK Advani wishes farmers' suicide wasn't the subject of Peepli Live
"I told Aamir Khan: I have been to villages in Andhra and Vidarbha where many such suicides have taken place. And I can well imagine how distressed these families would feel if they were to see the film and find that the tragedies they have passed through were being made an object of mockery. The film would have been very effective if it had chosen some subject like NREGA as the central theme
The villages which film goers generally see in Bollywood movies are phoney, studio outfits. As a rule, the actors are no different. They also are patently urban folk and not the farmers, rural folk etc, they portray in the film... But I wish for the main theme of the story, the film-makers had chosen some subject other than farmers' suicide.”
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4.When section media reported that objection to movie is from the so called farmers leaders that when TEHELKA organised a screening of the film recently for Vidarbha farmers in the vidarbhavillages and found thatUrban audiences may be toasting the film but Vidarbha farmers strike a different note
WHEN WILL you commit suicide so that I can become a Thekedar,” asks Natha’s son in Peepli [Live]. The scene, along with many of its satirical moments, has given the audience a reason to chuckle and its producers a reason to smile. But for those whose lives it sought to mirror, the film is a mockery of the reality they are a part of. This was evident when TEHELKA organised a screening of the film recently for Vidarbha farmers in the Pandhar Kawada village.
Labelled as the ‘suicide belt of India’, it is believed that 7,160 farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha since 2004. Yet, when we invited the families, the very prospect of watching a film had them excited. The audience included farmers, their families and widows of those who had committed suicide.
Sitting in a corner, Indubai Balakrishna Ashtekar, searches for a chapter from her life. As she finds it missing in the film, Indu begins to tell her story. Her husband Balakrishna was a farmer in Sakra and took a loan of Rs.60,000 from local moneylender Vijay Badkulvar. After paying the interest, the loan amount rose to Rs. 84,000. Having paid Rs. 65,000, he was hoping that the moneylender would waive off Rs. 19,000. It turned out to be wishful thinking. He mortgaged his land amid preparations for his daughter’s wedding while Badkulvar went to court. Unable to keep up, Balakrishna committed suicide in January this year. His suicide note held Badkulvar responsible for his death. Even though investigations followed, the police favoured Badkulvar. “Farmers do commit suicide, but not because of any compensation that their families can receive after their death,” says Balakrishna’s widow.
A similar view is echoed by Aparna Sanjay Malikar who lives in Barakathva village Her husband met with a similar fate after failing to repay a bank loan of Rs. 1.5 lakh.
The farmers often take loans from banks to buy seeds. But after a disappointing harvest, they find themselves unable to repay. Last year, the rainfall was below expectations while this year it has surpassed all. In both cases, the profits are affected and, consequently, the debt remains unpaid. Some of the farmers who also take loans for their children’s education, marriage and health are left in the lurch. While Peepli [Live] has been lauded for its unique theme and entertainment quotient, no one in the audience seemed to believe that the film even came close to mirroring their dilemmas.
‘The film insults the wives and children of such families,’ says Bharti, the widow of a deceased farmer
Some of them even lament that as the number of people committing suicides rose in Vidarbha, cases were filed against the moneylenders. “As a result, most moneylenders have stopped giving loans to the farmers,” says Devdutt Anandrao Jadhav, a farmer from Ghatanji taluka. This state of affairs, like several others, does not find a mention in the film. No wonder then that most audience members found it making a “mockery of our situation”. “No farmer would like to die hoping to get compensation for his family after his death. In fact, most families do not even get money,” says Bharti, widow of a deceased farmer. “The film insults the wives and kids of such farmers.”
MOST VILLAGERS seemed to believe that theirs is a peripheral reality that can only make for a black comedy — nothing more, nothing less. Kishor Tiwari, president of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, an organisation working for the welfare of farmers, says Peepli [Live] did well in urban centres because the audience there is far removed from reality. “Thank god, it did not come to villages,” he says. Mohan Yadav, who also works for the Samiti, says, “The film shows how media and politicians get involved when Natha announces that he’d commit suicide. In reality, when farmers commit suicide, even the Tehsildar does not bother to check.”
More voices come up as the screening reaches its final scene and the farmers sense a disconnect from the film’s social milieu. Bheemebai Takaam, an Adivasi woman from Yavatmal, throws light on a recent incident that ended in dozens of farmers being arrested in Dharmagota. Their crime? They had been using government-owned land for farming.
Commercial success, great acting, superb direction, Peepli [Live] has had several feathers in its cap. For these farmers, however, the film is little more than a fable.
5.Here are the reports ofsome famous documentary makers who have made very serious documentaries on farmer suicide and has very strong opinion that farmers suicide can not be issue of any type black comedy or satire ,
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Peepli Live' is not about farmers, say documentary makers
MUMBAI: What is common between Anwar Jamal and Prashant Pethe? They have made features and documentaries on farmers and do not believe that "Peepli Live" has much to do with the acute problems faced by India's farming community.
"'Peepli Live' is a film about the insensitive middle class, the media, politicians, etc. Nowhere is it a film about farmers. Where are the causes that lead to his condition, his problems with seeds, monsoon, pesticides, etc.? The real issues of farmers are never touched upon," says Jamal, director of the moving documentary "Harvest of Grief" on farmer suicides in Punjab.
While most know Punjab as the land of plenty of green and yellow fields, big glasses of lassi and butter, thanks to Bollywood, not many know that in the last 20 years, over 40,000 farmers have committed suicide in the state. This is what Anwar's film that has been shown in festivals across the world deals with.
According to a report, 200,000 farmers have ended their lives since 1997 and it is said the rise in indebtedness is the root cause of farmer suicides.
Deepa Bhatia's "Nero's Guests" is a gut wrenching documentary that shows the contrast between city life, and that of farmers in the country. The film, which took her five years to make, travels to the farmer suicide capital of the world - the Vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra - with journalist P. Sainath, the man credited with bringing the issue into urban attention.
Deepa, a reputed editor of Bollywood, says, "Farmer suicide is a crisis of huge magnitude that has not got adequate space either in the media or in the mind of the middle class. Sadly, most urban people don't engage with society. I wanted to understand the issue and having known P. Sainath, I found in him the right means to approach the subject."
Deepa had collected over 500 hours of footage for this hour-long documentary.
Satish Manwar, director of what is by far the most popular feature film on farmer suicides and also the most poignant - the Marathi film "Gabhricha Paus" (The Damned Rain) -, says, "India has diverse groups who do not interact with each other. Farmers are one such group about whom the rest of the nation doesn't care much.
"But it is an issue waiting to explode and unless we as a society pay attention to it, it will snowball into a major internal crisis."
The desire to engage was what prompted Satish, himself from the dry Vidarbha region, to slog for four years before he found a financier. "It was a 'different' and difficult subject which no one was willing to fund. Finally after a producer backed out, Prashant Pethe produced it."
This black comedy about a wife, who, distraught by a neighbour's suicide, does her best to keep her farmer husband in high spirits, proved to be a critical and commercial hit and has recovered its money.
But even Satish feels that "Peepli Live" is not really about farmer suicides. Yet, neither he nor anyone else has any complaints about "Peepli Live" as a film and believe the very fact that it got made is a cause for celebration.
It no doubt brings farmers' plight into the limelight. They now want to ask the people "what do you do, now that you know?"
"You have to decide that for yourself. I can only show you and I have. There are so many issues; just start engaging with life around you and do what you can," says Deepa.
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6.Honorable Minister when a Ph.D. Student ,Department of Social and Political Thought
YorkUniversity, Torontopeepli live movie thenwrote in counter currents and
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Peepli [Live]: Peeping Live Through The Fake Realities On Screen
Over 200,000 farmers have committed suicide across India since 1997. According to some reports, since 2002 a farmer commits suicide every 32 minutes in India. This is the harsh reality of shinning India that is always kept under the rugs. The state which is trying very hard to industrialize at all costs has declared an open war against agriculture and agrarian society. It is seeking to become a superpower by making cities its economic and political hub and making farmers leave agriculture (so that they can work as surplus cheap labor in the cities). It is this dismal state of agriculture and farmer suicides, that Aamir Khan Productions' Peepli [Live] is set against. In my opinion, the film fails miserably in talking about the issues insightfully and critically. I see agrarian crises as complex and mutli-layered web of relationships and processes of financial indebtedness, corporatization of agriculture, massive industrialization, trade liberalization and deprivation in farming communities, which often leads to mass migrations and displacements and suicides in many instances. The Indian state is deeply imbricated in these capitalist processes, often as the violent initiator. Struggles and resistances around land and agriculture become intrinsic parts of these processes. In the quest for realism and political satire, the film ends up mocking the harsh realities of the state of Indian agriculture and farmers.
In brief, the story is about 2 brothers Natha and Budhiya. Unable to repay a bank loan they took for farming they are on the verge of loosing their ancestral land, unless they pay interest on the loan. With nowhere to go and full family to look after, Budhiya persuades Natha to commit suicide when they learn that the government is willing to compensate families of dead farmers with Rs. 1 lakh. This “sensational” news of a farmer suicide is soon picked by national news channels. The story is less about Natha but more about how he becomes the focal point for media and politician circus. His plight becomes a tool in the hands of those with power (media, politicians and police) for personal gains. The film offers an excellent critique of media and politicians. But that is not something very novel now. What the film could have done was to give insights to the politics of suicides and agriculture. With less surprise, the film fails to do so.
Aamir Khan is touted as the new liberal, politically conscious and aware of his moral responsibilities. His previous films have to be acknowledged for raising issues like anti-colonial politics (Lagaan), “radical” student politics (Rang De Basanti), competitive pressures faced by middle class children (Taare Zameen Par) and Indian society's obsession with career oriented education aka engineering (3 Idiots). A lot could be said about these films, but I just want to say one line. Despite my strange liking for Aamir Khan and his work, these movies dealt with the issues in a very superficial ways and barely touched the surface.
True to his approach of mainstreaming serious cinema, Peepli [Live] is a big disappointment on many fronts. It is true that this is a popular multiplex film, then why should I spend so much time and energy critiquing it? For a political cynic like me, such attempts are of no worth. But I think it's important to critique it since the film and its reception collectively presents a pseudo liberal aura of political consciousness, intellectuality and morality. So a film that prides itself on being politically and intellectually driven (along with the audiences), and yet fails to go even a nanometer beneath the surface needs to be critiqued.
It would be unfair to say that the media has not covered the issue of farmer suicides. It has, but not enough to understand the issues clearly. Apart from the reports by P. Sainath and Vandana Shiva, there has not been much information available on agrarian crises. Experts and intellectuals blame these suicides on the polices of trade liberalization, corporate globalization and large scale industrialization of agriculture. The beginning of present agrarian crisis needs to be located to the 1980s when the terms of trade were going against agriculture , urban-biased policies were dominating the capitalist state policies, and farming was becoming a loosing proposition. The crises are ecological, economic, and social, each inter-linked with the other. So right from Green Revolution and its terrible aftermath in Punjab and production of Bt-Cotton, to large scale land acquisition of agricultural lands for not-so-public projects (like SEZs, malls, sanctuaries, townships etc.), introduction of GM food crops, contract farming, land displacements and many others, have led to the present dismal state of agriculture in India. Things are so bad, that the farmer can no longer sustain her family and opt for suicide as a final solution. It's not that the state is not aware of this. In fact, it is the neoliberal state that is actively working to undermine agriculture and “move” the country towards “modernity” and capitalism by adopting industries and disowning agriculture. The government's urban-centric policies are forcing farmers and agricultural laborers to quit agriculture and move to cities. This is supposed to somehow narrow the disparities gaps between rural and urban India and lead towards a “modern and prosperous” India. There seems to be very little understanding to realize how important agriculture is to Indian economy and society. How different are these issues from those that the Maoists and adivasis are fighting for in Central India. Perhaps not a whole lot different? These are also not very different from the issues in Lalgarh and Nandigram. Nor are they different from struggles against dams in Uttarakhand, or against SEZs in Haryana and Maharashtra, or against sanctuaries in Rajasthan, or many other such land and agriculture related struggles across India.
Against this backdrop, Peepli [Live] hardly talks about the factors that may have led to Natha and Budhiya to talk about suicide. Somehow the film ends up trivializing and mocking such a grave issue. I wonder how hard it would have been to throw a line or two about this context in the middle of the whole mocking of individual media persons and politicians? How hard is it to critique the state policies, corporate houses, class/caste relations and capitalism? I guess...very! Which class and corporate interests is the film catering to?
In the quest of neo-realism and authenticity, the cast of the film is mostly unknown and new. The village was also quite “authentic” looking village. The village characters are made realistic by making them swear a few times in each line and speaking aggressively. So I guess a person is more of a real villager if s/he swears a lot. That's authentic! The film at moments is no better than some orientalist images of poor India. The circulation, operation and reception of the film is a testimony to that. Is poverty a 'show' in the show-obsessed fraternity of middle class? I acknowledge that there's a thin line between being realistic and romanticizing, but how hard is it to be a little less superficial? The film attempts to attain a self-reflexive mode through the critique of the power of the camera, and fabricated reality, which, paradoxically the film itself turns out to resort to. The film tries to critique the media portrayals of the issues and village life by shooting through the media's lens. But what is interesting is that the film itself captures the lives through the same frames and lenses. The trivializing and exotifying happens in both frames.
Caste is always downplayed in Bollywood. There's a small reference to a dalit leader hijacking Natha's suicide as a caste issue, but caste relations are not questioned or challenged in the film. What role do caste relations play in the village and farmer suicides? Many reports have shown how indebtedness and agrarian failures have affected people from lower castes and class backgrounds more than those from the upper castes/classes. There is an expected silence on the caste question.
The portrayal of the female characters in the film is also very disappointing. The English news channel reporter appears to be unconsciously chasing leads for her personal gains and pride. Natha's mother, although bedridden, is always swearing and complaining. And Natha's wife is shown to badger and assault her husband, brother-in-law and mother-in-law. She is always shouting and abusive. There is not a single positive female portrayal in the film. In the hit song Mahangai, about rising prices, inflation is the husband's other woman who is eating away all the money from the farmer's pockets, wreaking havoc and ruining lives. The song is also performed in an all-male gathering. From a feminist perspective, there is a gendered dimension to the farmer suicides and indebtedness. These dimensions are much deeper than just shouting, complaining and swearing. How women positions and interests are compromised in times of financial crises? How do these suicides affect the “left-behind” women? Many reports, like by P. Sainath, have shown that women farmers have also committed suicides in large numbers, but the official (and unofficial) records deny these claims since women are hardly the owner of the land. Thus just because women are not the legal owners or workers on land they are denied the label of a “farmer” and hence their sacrifices and suicides are not worthy enough to be accounted for. The feminist movement(s) since their beginning have always stressed on price rises and agricultural problems, and made these issues their central issues. This gender discrimination and imbalance is a major issue in rural India and agrarian crises, on the which the film is conveniently silent.
In the closing scene we see that Natha is working as a construction worker in Delhi. He is shown with all the sorrow and sadness in the world. Though it's a strong moment in the narrative, it again fails to provide critical insights to why Natha is there. It seemed to me that Natha is in Delhi, because he is escaping the media and politician circus in his house and constant threat to his life arising from his alleged desire to suicide. This ends up trivializing the massive inflow of migrant workers to urban centers fleeing the the complex problems of indebtedness, drought and deprivation. Is he in the city to escape or to survive? Why do we see so many migrant workers in the cities from rural agricultural areas? Escaping is not the real issue, people leave because they need to survive. The changed Natha with his beard gone and shorter hair is not in the city to take 'sanyas' but find ways to survive. The real-estate and industrial boom in urban India is fueled by the regular induction of poor migrant workers from the villages only. The grand 'development' narratives of the country are only through the exploitation of these workers. Behind the glamor and lights of these 'development' are the exploitation and sufferings of these urban and rural poor and marginalized people. This is missed from the narrative of the film.
I must also confess that I saw this film in a posh multiplex and along with the expensive tickets also bought the the giant combo deal of popcorn and drinks. I did initially feel guilty of buying this and watching Peepli [Live] and the apparent contradictions of my social positioning and politics. But that guilt soon withered away, when the popcorn and the drink became the only way I could sit through 96 minutes of torture. Along with the disappointment of the film, I was also annoyed by the way people around me reacted to it. Somehow for most people in the multiplex the film was a laugh riot. They laughed every time any of the village character swore, they laughed anytime the two brothers spoke. In the opening scene, traveling in a tempo, Natha asks his brother what will happen if the land is sold. It is a powerful scene. Yet people around me found it super amusing. I really failed to understand that why such a film generated so much laughter. Given the superficiality of the script, it was still not a funny film.
There seemed to be a strange tribute to the protagonist of Munshi Premchand's Godaan, Hori Mahato in the film. In the novel, Hori is a poor peasant who is desperately longing for a cow, since cow is a symbol for wealth and pride. He does get the cow but ends up paying for the cow by his life. Similarly in the film, Hori, a landless peasant, makes a living by digging earth. He dies while digging earth, which was his only way for survival. Thus Hori's plight hasn't changed in more than 60 years. While making this tribute to one of Hindi literature's biggest protagonist, the film still failed to question the continuance of farmers' plight and agrarian crises. Primarily because the film cunningly takes up from the moment the real event has already taken place. In a sensitive narrative, like the works of Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal and Govind Nilhani, the film probably would have ended with the farmer succumbing to the pressure of the financial crisis, minimal profit (or usually loss), government extortion and feudal oppression and consequently deciding to commit suicide. But what this film chooses to portray instead is an epilogue filled with media clowns and political ring masters.
The directors Anusha Rizvi and Mahmood Farooqui worked within the theatrical traditions of Habib Tanvir's Naya Theatre for the film. Naya Theatre traditions bear a great degree of respect for the poor and the oppressed. In this theatrical space, satire and humor is used extensively to make critiques of the state policies and the capitalist system. In his plays, Habib Tanvir always reserved the space for swear and aggressive language for the most downtrodden, the most oppressed. It's meant to give them the power to make the sharpest critiques and show their anger(s) and frustration(s). His most popular protagonist under this tradition is Charandas Chor. Even in the Sanskrit Natya-Shastra (Theatre), Vidhushak played this role. He would comment on contemporary situations and thus transcend the spatial and temporal dimensions of the narrative, and speak in languages other than Sanskrit to underline his class differences and political positioning. This feature is shared by different performance traditions and characters like Shakespearean character Falstaff. Perhaps due to this reason, we hear foul language mostly from Natha and his family. But this tradition becomes humorous and comical. The language looses its anger and critique and for the audiences it becomes comical (more so when the female characters use foul language). This transition from theatre to film thus is very fractured and weak. Instead of showing respect and solidarity with the oppressed and their problems, it ends up making them humorous. The film would have been much better as a theatrical performance, but as a film it is a dismal rendition of the theatrical traditions and styles.
A farmers advocacy group in Vidarbha, the area with the highest suicide rates, Vidarbha Janadolan Samiti (Vidarbha People's Movement Committee) has asked for a ban on the film. The group has urged the Maharashtra government to ban the film on the ground that the movie trivializes the issue of farmer suicides and is far from reality. They have argued that the film is an insult to the poor farmers who have been the victims of globalization and wrong policies of the state. However banning the film can actually be counter productive, since the film will get more attention than it deserves. And within democratic spaces, banning is not the solution.
The storytelling style is different, but the film refrains from making a strong statement. It failed to highlight the real issues and concerns of farmers. The real questions and problems are camouflaged behind the media and politician circus. The attempts for a satire turns out to be a sad caricature of the rural life. The village life has much more depth and layers than what this film set out to sketch. The agrarian crises is not a myth but a harsh reality that sooner or later the country will have to face. The film didn't seem to leave people questioning and disappointed with the status quo. It lacks the anger and creativity and leaves the audience unaffected. I am quiet confident that the filmmakers and the multiplex audiences would pat on their backs for making and appreciating such a political and moral film. This is the only way for the liberal middle class mind to free itself from its guilt and apathy. But how long can these minds run away from their guilt and apathy and not ask the questions and realities that haunt India?
Nishant Upadhyay is aPh.D. Candidate, Department of Social and Political Thought
YorkUniversity, Toronto
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7.Hon,ble minister would please arrange to read thesecomments that throw light on the fact how the movie has done larger damage to farmer suicide issue wrotejaideep hardikar who has been keeping watch on the vidarbha agrarian since 1997
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Peepli (Live) is a missed opportunity
DNA / Jaideep Hardikar / Monday, August 30, 2010 18:16 IST
In 2004, reporting on the continuing agrarian distress, we stood surrounded by a group of farmers in a cramped hut of a village where a peasant had taken his own life. As the widow poignantly narrated to us the tragic process that had led her husband to commit suicide, a slim man, a farmer, sitting in the gathering said in the rustic local dialect, even as others giggled: “Amhi bi lainit havo ji [We, too, are in queue]."
Vidarbha’s countryside is full of such dark humour, which comes alive even in gloom.
Once the gathering had stopped giggling, the man added with chilling poise: “We must fulfil different conditions before we die if our families are to get compensation.”
As we found out and reported later, the man was right. The government indeed had some 40 conditions for the bereaved family to get compensation, a pro-forma that was dropped later to give quick aid to the families, a majority of whom are still to come out of trauma.
The first comment was dark humour; when he added his observation, it became satire.
That small event had ‘text’ (something had happened); ‘context’ (it’s been going on); and ‘sub-text’ (what people think about it), something that I expected to see in Peepli (Live), given the expectations aroused in the run-up to its release. It’s being lauded as a landmark film, but I came back unimpressed.
The film, seen like any other movie, is good, but in the context of discussion on it, it fails to meet those expectations and inexplicably stops – every time it promises to – short of entering into serious satirical depths.
I love good humour and effective satire. And I think our generation is missing films from that genre that blend contemporary issues with satire. The one movie that immediately comes to mind in that league is Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. I am not comparing the two films, but Peepli (Live) neither comes through as satire nor as a comment on the issue. I’d rate Well Done Abba, a Shyam Benegal film, as one recent film in that league.
Peepli (Live) uses the farmer (Nattha) as a hook, something that a television serial Bairi Piya did some time ago with the stereotypical portrayal of farm widows. Farmers’ suicides as an issue are on the public conscience. So they get used as a hook, but the film’s central plot gets lost in how the media trivialises an issue – any issue. Or their saturation coverage!
It’s a film that, like many other attempts in recent time, tries to scratch the surface, but as a commercial reality stops probing the core. In the process, it harps on stereotypical portrayals and flows with the popular general perceptions: corrupt and selfish politicians, poor and drunkard farmers, insensitive babus, quarrelling women, and raucous media.
A friend once argued, villagers are neither Luddites nor slaves; can we, as the media, not drop our preconceived notions about village life and look through the changes? In Peepli (Live), the filmmakers have not even attempted to show that changing village life.
The film has its moments and there are scenes that make you laugh, and some that are poignant and a telling comment on the state of affairs in the country, the most sensitive one being where Budhiya and Nattha (the two farmer brothers) are talking about how they are set to lose the land their forefathers tilled for ages.
This is the scene where the two talk of committing suicide to save the land for their future generations. Or the one where the babus deliver a hand-pump (Ek Lal Bahadur) as a solution to their problems!
Every time I thought the film was about to enter into depth, it stopped and deviated to another episode. It avoided getting into detail. There isn’t a scene where either Nattha or Budhiya are shown working their farms. You don’t see them as farmers.
I also found the characters half-baked: Nattha, Budhiya, the village itself, Nattha’s wife and mother (who are always quarrelling with each other), and even the agriculture minister Salim (played by Naseeruddin Shah).
In the end, I wondered, what’s the message that the film is attempting to deliver? Does it make me more sensitive or aware about the issue? Does it challenge my assumptions? And of all the questions, will it stay in my conscience for a long, long time? Alas, no!
Jaideep Hardikar, DNA's correspondent in Nagpur, has covered Vidarbha's agrarian crisis extensively.
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8.‘Peepli Livehas made big question mark to 1,60,000farm widows who are demanding compensation after their bread earner farmer committee suicide due to debt and crop failure asthis movie shows that vidarbha cotton farmers are committing suicidesfor getting aid where as Govt. of Maharashtra has rejected more than 90% cases of farm suicides rejecting claim of dying family member of debt trapped farmer more Peepli Livewill give strong support to politicians, bureaucrats and their apathetic approach towards problems that farmers arenot forced to kill themselves where as they themselves killing for compensationhence we demanded the ban of the film and cancellation censorship certificate to the film but concern authorities has turned blind eye on issue resulting it’s nomination to as India's entry to the Oscars Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category.
PRAYER
You are kindly requested to arrange )" cancellation of Peepli Livenominationfor India's entry to the Oscars Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category directingChairperson ,Film Federation Of India,Chennai .
Eight more Vidarbha Farmers suicides reported in last 72 hours –VJAS urge urgent Central Relief Aid to 3 million wet-drought hit farmers
Nagpur-24th September, 2010
Heavy rain and cotton soybean crop failure due to excessive water logging resulting ‘root rot disease’ and other pest attacks over 42 lakhs hectors in vidarbha effecting more than 3 million distressed and debt trapped crisis hit vidarbha farmers, has been main cause of fresh restarting farm suicide spiral as eight more farmers suicides have been reported in different part of suicide prone districts
Recent victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis are –
1. JIVAN KHEWALE of ZULLAR in YAVATMAL
2. NAMDEO KUKADKAR of KOLZARI in WARDHA
3. PANDURANG BHONDAVE of SHINDI in NAGPUR
4. PREMLALA SOTHAWANR of VIHIRGOAN in GONDIA
5. VITHALRAO DHOTEof KAWADAPUR in CHANDRAPUR
6. TIKARAM WANJARI of MANPUR in YAVATMAL
7. DIGAMBAR THAKAREof MALKHED in YAVATMAL
8. VINAYAK SHIRNAKE of AMAGOAN in WARDHA
Taking toll 595 farmers suicides in year 2010 Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS )informed in press release today
‘Heavy rain spoiled the complete cotton crop in more than 3 million hector resulting huge economic losses to tune of more than Rs.4000 crore ,adding fuel extreme despondency, despair and accumulated actuate deep distress restarting the unfortunate spiral of farm suicides in west vidarbha as per report reaching here due to very heavy rain and Bt. Cotton failure causing as result of excessive water logging resulting ‘root rot disease’ which has spoiled Bt. Cotton crop in record 110 lakhs hectors in India .’Tiwari added.
This is clear cut sign of severe agrarian crisis in the region because of the fact that for kharif season 2010-11 area under cultivation of Bt.cotton is above 32 lakhs hectors in vidarbha alone and record rain and massive floods in cotton cultivating areas has damaged most of standing Bt.cotton crop and excessive rain has jumped the cultivation cost to double, but expected yield is likely to reduce to 50% resulting more than Rs.27,000 crore huge financial losses to Indian cotton growers, hence our demand to raise cotton MSP of Rs.4500/- per quintal to compensate farmers accumulated losses ,it need of the hour , Kishor Tiwari of VJAS added.
Recent announcement of Union Agriculture ministry has added fuel in the on going agrarian crisis in cotton growing region of India through it’s price-fixing arm - Commission for Agricultural Pricing and Costs (CACP) that the prevailing minimum support price (MSP) of cotton will be unchanged for this khariff season 2010-11,as Earlier Vidarbha cotton farmers aredemanding theincrease in the minimum support price (MSP) of cotton from the current Rs.3,000 a quintal to Rs. 4,500 high lighting the steep rice in cultivation cost and heavy losses and damaged most of the standing Bt cotton crop due to Excessive rains ,that healing touch will save agrarian economy of region and will help to stop cotton farmers suicides in the region ,Kishor Tiwari added.
“Distressed and dying farmers needs food security ,health facility to critically ill members of distressed farming community and provision for direct financial assistance to daughter marriage along with free fodder and potable water but till date only promises are given ,not relief resulting these farmers suicides” alleged Kishore Tiwari of VJAS.
‘we are expecting central intervention to stop this mass genocide of innocent farmers who are victims of wrong policies promoted by state as in dry land area rain sensitive crop like Bt.cotton is being cultivated in more than 95% causing huge financial losses to the cotton farmers and water crisis in the area. We have demanding the ban on rain sensitive crop in this region and promotion of food crop in all rain fed area of vidarbha since 2004 but nobody is giving any attention to this serious demand resulting more and more farm suicides in the region’ Tiwari added,
"Only a price of 4,500 can help cotton growers tide over the difficult situation caused by excessive rains, we will ask all parties to help cotton growers of India,” VJAS stressed in press release today.
VIDARBHA JANANDOLAN SAMITI PRESIDENT – KISHORE TIWARI, B.E. (Mech.Engg.), M.B.A., LL.B., M.A. (Pub. & Admn.), M.A. Sociology, M.I.S. (USA), Fellow - I.E.H., Fellow – Institution of Engineers (India)- CHARTERED ENGINEER BACKGROUND : Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti is fighting for the cause of common man since 1998. Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti is constantly pursuing its battle on various fronts like – a.Administrative b.Judicial c.Quasi-judicial d.Legislative e.Parliamentary f.International levels PUBLIC ISSUES : 1.Farmers suicides 2.Mal nutrition of Tribals. 3.Plights of Rural economy 4.Drinking water 5.Right to Food 6.Right to Education 7.Problems of Minorities 8.Issue of Separate Statehood to Vidarbha THE EFFECT OF MOVEMENT : The continued follow up and Jan Andolans of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has resulted in many success broadly classified as – 1.Waiver of small farmers crop loans 2.interest remission to marginal farmers 3.right to food to the lacs of tribals. 4.Primary Education to every rural students. 5.Farmers packages 6.BPL benefits to thousands of poor families. 7.Justice to unwed mothers
The announcement of Maharashtra Marketing Minister Harshvardhan Patil that state Govt. will purchase the cotton at the rate of MSP that is Rs.3000/- has been added fuel on the on going agrarian crisis due to cotton and soybean crop failure due to excessive water logging resulting ‘root rot disease’ and other pest attacks over 42 lakhs hectors in vidarbha effecting more than 3 million distressed and debt trapped crisis hit vidarbha farmers, has been main cause of fresh restarting farm suicide spiral as four more farmers suicides have been reported in different part of suicide prone districts 
