[Photos] Farmers From Across India Form ‘Parliament’ at Sansad Marg, Delhi

After the government refused to listen to them, farmers from across the country formed their own ‘parliament’ – the Kisan Mukti Sansad – just a few feet metres away from the Parliament in New Delhi on Monday.

Thousands of farmers gathered at the Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) under the banner of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella forum of 184 organisations of the agrarian community, demanding unconditional waiver of loans and remunerative price of their crops.

Replicating the Parliament of India, this ‘parliament’ also had 543 MPs who presented the farmers’ demands in the form of a bill. However, what grabbed the eyeballs was that all the ‘MPs’ were women who are associated with the farming community.

Majority of the women ‘parliamentarians’ were those whose husbands, parents or other family members committed suicide because of debt.

Several heart-breaking stories were unearthed when Newsclick spoke to these ‘MPs’ from different regions of the country.

Name: Manisha

Age: 18 years

Village: Gowaraipally (Siddipet district, Telangana)

Unable to pay back a loan of Rs 3 lakh, Manisha’s father (45-year-old Mallesham) and mother (35-year-old Lakshmi) committed suicide on February 27, 2015, and November 22, 2014, respectively.

A standard 12 dropout, Manisha had to leave study and start working as a daily wage labourer to support her brother Nitin, who studies in 9th grade.

Name: Kantabai Pandurang Vise

Age: 35 years

Village: Bhise Wagholi (Latur, Maharashtra)

Vise’s 18-year-old daughter killed herself by drinking pesticide two years ago. She took this extreme step because her father, the owner of a small one-acre farm, was not in a position to pay dowry for her marriage. She did not want him to sell the small piece of land for her marriage. A loan of Rs 2 lakh added to their worries.

She earns around Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per year from the farm. In addition, her husband also works as a construction worker, which gets them an additional Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per year.

Rs 1 lakh was allotted in her name as compensation but she actually got only Rs 30,000, which she paid as instalment of her loan.

Vise has two more daughters and a son. The elder one among them has attained marriageable age, she says. Each day she lives in the fear of losing another daughter due to the same reason as her eldest daughter.

Maharashtra has the worst record when it comes to farmer suicides. In 2015, around 3,030 farmers ended their lives in the state.

Name: Venalla

Age: 18 years

Village: Vachya Tanda, Warangal, Telangana

Her father committed suicide on October 12, 2016, after he found it difficult to return the amount of money he had borrowed from a bank and a money lender for cultivation. Following his death, Venalla’s mother underwent deep trauma and lost her mental balance.

Venalla, a second-year graduation student, also has two brothers aged 10 and 8 years each. The burden of her mother’s treatment and her brothers’ academics have taken a toll on the 18-year-old.

As many as 1,358 farmers committed suicide in 2015 in Telangana, putting it only second to Maharashtra.

Name: Kulsumben Usmanbhai

Age: 30 years

District: Surendrangar, Gujarat

Her cotton crop on 20 acres of land was completely destroyed because of heavy rainfall. Her husband, who was a farmer, has now become a rickshaw puller to meet the basic needs of the family.

Kulsum says despite putting all efforts, her crops always gets ruined either because of nature’s fury or is sold in the market at a price lower than the amount spent on production. She is unable to send her seven-year-old son to a good school.

Name: Padmawati Swami Hiramath

Age: 55 years

Village: Bidar, Karnataka

After the death of her husband 30 years ago, Hiramath used to live with her brother, a farmer who killed himself five years ago as he was unable to pay back loans.

Now, Hiramath cultivates pulses and sugarcane on her 10-acre land. Her four young children, as well as her brother’s kin, are all involved in farming. Hiramath says she is left with almost nothing after spending on insecticide and labour.

Data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says that a total of 12, 602 farmers committed suicide in 2015, out of which 8,007 were farmers and 4,595 were farm labourers.