07.06.2007 | permalink
”Gujarat’s farmers are not like those in other States. Our farmers drive Maruti cars,” Chief Minister Narendra Modi declares in his speeches at public meetings. However, the widows of farmers have a different story to tell. [...] Gujarat was considered the rare cotton-growing State that was immune to farmers’ suicides. Now inflation and the unsustainable commercial mode of cultivation have affected them too. ”Earlier, farmers only had to pay for seeds. Now, they pay for everything - tractor, power, water and labour. Farming has become more cost-intensive and less viable,” says Sudarshan Iyengar, Vice-Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith.