The strange death of Punjab

• Punjab is a flat, deforested and overpopulated patch of agricultural land. 
• This fertile land of five rivers has been a gateway for various armies invading the subcontinent. Punjab is one of the smallest state of India but is the biggest contributor to food grain. It contributes more than 20% of the food grain produced in India.
• As per 2011 Census, Punjab has a population of around 2.77 crores. Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, and 57.69% of the population belongs to the Sikh faith [59.9% in 2001 census]. Around 38.49% of the population practices Hinduism. Other faiths include Islam 1.93%, Buddhism, Christianity 1.26% and Jainism.
• In the state of Punjab there were approximately 120,000 active bore wells in 1970 but by 2010 that number had increased to nearly 1,300,000. Overuse of fertilisers and pesticides has resulted in lesser proliferation of rainwater and pesticides and the ground water had also turned polluted. Water of all five rivers in the state had been polluted due to discharge from dirty sewers and industry water. The state is facing acute water shortage as the groundwater is depleting at a higher rate than its replenishment. 
• The region erupted in the summer of 1947 seeing one of the greatest migrations in human history. Lahore, once the capital of Ranjit Singh’s empire and the birth place of Guru Nanak, happened to fall on the Pakistan side of Punjab, and a once cosmopolitan city was subsequently largely ethnically cleansed of its Sikh population. 
• Tensions on the Indian side of Punjab were reignited during the insurgency of the 1980s when Khalistani separatists fought for an independent homeland.
• The Punjabis of India were rewarded for their endurance, and for some time they enjoyed the luxuries which came with residing in the richest state in the country. 
• Over the last decade, the State appears to have taken a turn for the worst. The final nail in the coffin for the Sikhs is not coming from a foreign invading forces, nor is it coming from the Indian government. Rather, the Punjabi people are themselves to blame. This is not a genocidal tragedy inflicted by bullets, but rather an epidemic of drugs, widespread alcohol addiction, female infanticide, low birth rates, farmer suicides, caste discrimination, mass outward emigration and religious conversion.
• It is astonishing as to how a prosperous and seemingly innocent society has cascaded into becoming the narcotics haven of India.
• Amongst the youth of Punjab, 52% were found to be addicted to drugs, which is 18 times higher than the national Indian average of 3%. 
• The statistics regarding alcohol consumption are just as worrying. Nearly 33 crore bottles are consumed in Punjab annually.
• Sikhs are also known to have the most uneven sex ratio in the whole of India, with 900 females for every 1000 males. This should be their biggest disgrace and embarrassment.
• The fertility rates of Punjabi-Sikhs are so low that it begs the question as to whether they would continue to exist in India in the not-too-distant future. 
• Outward migration and lower fertility rates are not the only factors that explain the Sikh demographic decline. A climate of religious confusion and a lack of Sikh leadership have created a vacuum for missionaries and other religious sects to exploit.
• Unfortunately, the discussion regarding Punjab amongst western Sikhs only seems to concern the events of 1984 – the invasion of the Darbar Sahib complex, the pogroms of Delhi and the military curfews which turned the district into a garrison state. They have every right to stand in remembrance of this terrible episode in history. Nonetheless, the dialogue must move beyond this, and their attention should be focused on the Punjab of 2017 i.e. The Punjab of today.　
• It is important that they accept responsibilities for their own failures. For too long have they pointed fingers towards the central government. They seem to believe that everything is a part of a grand conspiracy by the ‘Hindu elite’ to intentionally destroy and undermine Sikhs. 
• Central government is certainly not doing enough to monitor the porous borders of Punjab to prevent the flow of opium. Recreational drugs are more accessible in the Punjab than any other State, and Punjab police often turn a blind eye to this. But ultimately, Punjabis bear the responsibility of consuming them. Though more law and order is needed, this is a grassroots movement, which should instead be focused on education and raising awareness.　
• If Punjabis have survived the authoritarian regimes of the past, then they have every reason to make their mark and flourish in a multicultural democracy, albeit an imperfect one.

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Agriculture in distress in India

• More than 50% of workforce is employed in agriculture in India, most of them underemployed.
• Agriculture constitutes 17% of GDP.
• Country will develop only when large part of its workforce is gainfully employed in other sectors.
• Many schemes have been launched to improve appalling inefficiency of agriculture, but is an herculean task.
• Agriculture growth is 2% per annum where as GDP growth was around 7%.
• In 1960's agriculture has done commendable job [Green Revolution] of feeding country's large populace.
• Little has changed in the past 50 years of agriculture, since 1960's.
• Every variable of agriculture namely land holding, soil, water, farming technology, and markets is in crisis, today.
• An estimated 3.18 lakh farmers committed suicide between 1995-2015.
• 55% of agriculture is monsoon dependent. Only 45% of cultivable land is irrigated.
• Droughts often leads to small farmer suicides.
• 60% of irrigated land is ground water dependent and its water efficiency abysmal. Shift from flood irrigation to micro irrigation systems will be helpful for conserving water and saving on irrigation costs.
• With free irrigation and electricity, maintenance of these systems deteriorated effecting farming. Maintenance fee should be revived for making these irrigation systems sustainable. Solar powered pump sets will be helpful.
• Average land holding have halved from 2.5 hectares in 1970 to 1.2 hectares today. Majority of the holdings are less than one acre. Almost 70% of farmers hold 30% of cultivable land. Small holdings make them good only for subsistence agriculture.
• Half of the land holdings are ravaged by erosion and alkalinity. Excessive usage of urea and pesticides has compromised soil fertility. Organic farming should be promoted for soil conservation.
• Labor component is 40% of total cost of inputs. Farm mechanization will reduce this expense and dependence on manual labour.
• Meager cold storage facilities in case of excess produced.
• While input prices are steadily increasing, output prices are falling, making farming risky and unviable proposition in India.
• Agriculture loan waivers by states makes them compete with each other  and pull down national economy. About Rs.3 lakh crores is needed if all farmer loans are to be waived in the entire country.
• Modi has promised for doubling of farmer income by 2022. Nothing much has been done in the past three years. To achieve this, an investment of Rs.3 lakh crores is needed. Reduce costs by farm mechanization and reduce dependence on manual labour. 
• Food processing industry is at its nascent stage.
• The country desperately needs another revolution in agriculture for the farmer to breakout of his vicious cycle of misery and for us to become a modern economy.

What ever can go wrong, has gone wrong with rural India

My View:
On one hand centre and RBI warns states to be cautious of their own finances before announcing populist measures, it is Modi who announced farm loan waiver for UP farmers during election campaign, few days before start of polling, without which BJP wouldn't have won UP elections 2017. Modi opened Pandora's box and farmers in all states are pressurizing state governments to waive their loans and till then they are reluctant or refusing to pay up outstanding loans. Only left parties argued that if banks can have NPA's and black money continues to be stashed abroad, why can't farmer loans waived. Unless land reforms are implemented to pool lands to holdings of viable size of 20-50 acres with easy lease enforcement, agriculture may not become viable. Quality inputs, easy credit, warehousing & cold storage and effective marketing must be organized for higher farm productivity and income enhancement. If government is serious about well being of farmers, correction of policy distortions, promotion of organic farming for sustainable agriculture etc. the vicious cycle of farmer indebtedness and suicides will never end.