Five farmers committed suicide in different parts of Madhya Pradesh due to debt and other financial problems since 25 June as reported by IANS. This has taken the total number of similar farmer suicides to around 27 in the past fortnight.

70-year-old Ghisiya Khan of Harsud, 42-year-old Chandra Lilhare, 20-year-old Pawan, Jahu and 50-year-old Manohar Singh have reportedly committed suicides on account of their massive debts.

Ghisiya had recently bought a tractor and was currently in debt because of that. Pawan had incurred huge losses on account of sharecropping. Jahu’s land was mortgaged and Singh too had a loan of around Rs 5 lakhs on him.

The police, however, is not ready to attribute the suicides to that of the outstanding debts of the farmers.

The financial crisis has been on the rise for the farmers in India for quite some time now. The last few months have seen a growing furor among the peasants. They have been resisting against the government, demanding loan waivers and remunerative prices.

Soon after the farmers’ protest, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. The aim was to discuss the issue of raising procurement of pulses, coarse cereals and onions as market prices have fallen below MSP (Minimum Support Price) on bumper crop production, as reported by The Financial Express.

According to reports, the Madhya Pradesh state government has come up with the idea of Kisan Sandesh Yatra which is aimed to benefit the farmers and the agricultural labours of MP who have been facing immense financial problems.

Madhya BJP general secretary, V D Sharma, reportedly told the PTI, “We are going to hear their grievances and apprise them about the welfare schemes being run by the state and central governments and are going to dispel misconceptions spread among farmers by vested interest.”

This Yatra intends to connect with the farmers at a large-scale and to make them aware of the government policies in this context.

The Logical Indian community is in strong condemnation of the current situation in which Indian farmers are living. In spite of various protests and resistances, their conditions hardly seem to improve. The ruling parties continue to make new arrangements for the farmers to fortify their electoral interests; the interests of the have-nots are rarely taken care of by them.

We urges the concerned authorities to look into the grim situation of farmer suicides and take the necessary steps required for the same.

Also Read: Agrarian Crisis In India: P. Sainath Talks About The Root Causes And What We Should Really Worry About