Suicide points up farmers’ plight

NEW DELHI — The mustard seed, sunflower and wheat crops had all failed because of unseasonable rain. So Gajendra Singh Rajput’s father pushed him away from the farm, urging him to go find other work to feed their family.

Instead, the father of three came to a farmers’ rally in India’s capital on Wednesday, climbed a tree and hanged himself — in full view of thousands of horrified onlookers, as well as a large contingent of Delhi police, who witnesses said seemed to be frozen in place.

The public tragedy that unfolded on television focused nationwide attention on the plight of India’s farmers, who have suffered mightily from recent unseasonable rain and hailstorms, which damaged more than 24 million acres of crops over 14 states.

The government has increased compensation for affected farmers in recent weeks, but advocates say that both national and state- level help has been slow in coming and that more is needed.

Farmer suicides in India are on the rise, according to a December government report, with deaths attributed to crop losses because of bad weather and low prices, as well as to unpaid debts. Pilot said Singh was the 42nd farmer from his home state to commit suicide in the past two months.

Climate experts say India is increasingly at risk for such extreme weather events because of climate change.