A southern crisis knocks at Delhi’s doors

Drought-hit farmers from Tamil Na du have been camping in the capital for central intervention but Kerala and Karnataka areas badly off. There’ s no early succour insight

A garland of three skulls hangs from his neck. His torso is bare. A green dhoti saves his dignity and a like towel is tied to the head as cover from the beating March sun.

R Rajendran, a Tamil farmer, has been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for three weeks. A paddy farmer in his 60s from Anbil Ariyalur in Tiruchirappalli district, he has been trying to tide over the dry spell with water from a borewell. He and other elderly cultivators from 10 districts in Tamil Nadu have come here under the banner of National South Indian River Linking Farmers Association. Led by P Ayyakannu, a lawyer and its state president, they have declared a 100-day hunger strike.

Their demands are numerous and ambitious. From a ~40,000-crore drought relief package to a monthly pension of ~5,000 for every farmer over the age of 60. With vague demands like “preventing Tamil Nadu turning into a desert”, eternal dreams like networking of all rivers, and more reasonable ones such as better pricing discovery for agricultural products and formation of a Cauvery management committee.

Among the more articulate of the around three dozen men and women camping here, Rajendran talks at length about the economics of small farmers, their troubles with moneylenders and a meagre livelihood, further threatened a drying river and relentless drought. The skulls he and the others have used to grab attention are, they say, of farmers who took their lives, unable to bear the prospect of losing their land to moneylenders.

Rajendran says: “It is almost impossible to get loans from banks, given the number of formalities. Most people borrow from outsiders. The lending rates are about three per cent a month, with an eye on the land holding. They feel the farmer would not be able to pay and, therefore, they can at some point grab the land.”

Landless labourers are better off. “At least they get work. When we (land holders) get people for agriculture, we have to arrange for tiffin and even a ‘quarter’ (bottle of liquor).”

Chinnammal, an elderly lady from Musiri, says her crops are dying without water. The borewell gave up smoke after digging 800 metres. She is here with her husband, whose eyesight in failing and is in a frail condition. A group of students has arranged for blood pressure checks and other basic medical equipment, anticipating emergencies. Uma Shankar, a student from Neyveli and preparing for the civil services entrance exam, says he’s there for moral support. If the government gives farmers a fraction of sops enjoyed by the corporate sector, he says, their lives

The protest by Tamil Nadu farmers at Delhi's Jantar Mantar entered its third week

would be much better.

A dozen TV cameras, mostly regional channels, are stationed at the protest site. The reporters are busy Tweeting. Politicians of all walks have come and had their mandatory TV byte and the photo opportunity. Some among the protesters have become such experts at explaining the situation that they want the others to shut up.

Chinnachami, a farmer from the Thanjavur area, says they had come in the hope that they would be able to hold on for about 10 days. “The first few days were difficult. As news spread, students here started bringing us food and supplies. A shelter has been put up. We now hear that students who participated in the jallikattu protests are joining. Yesterday, 15-20 students had come. We hear more people are joining us. We are hopeful.”

He is upset with politicians. Such as Union minister P Radhakrishnan, who has questioned on Twitter if the protests were motivated and how come no detailed reports have come from the state government if 400 farmers have indeed committed. “If not, should these protests be in Tamil Nadu or Delhi?”

“The prime minister cannot play oru kannil vennai, oru kannil sunnambu (butter for one eye, lime on the other),” says Rajendran on the recent poll promises in Uttar Pradesh. “He cannot say he would help only those who voted for him. When you are waiving off debts of UP farmers, why can't you do the same to Tamil farmers?”