More than 350 people crowded into Wardlaw Hartridge School in Edison, New Jersey, Nov. 16, to enjoy a music concert but also learn about the tragedy facing farmers in India and how they could help. Hosted by Save Indian Farmers, a nonprofit formed 3 years ago, the event highlighted the high suicide rate among Indian farmers.
According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau of India, 1 farmer commits suicide every 41 minutes in India and a majority of these tragedies occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, organizers said.
The immediate goal of the concert by the Edison musical group Gandhar, was to raise about $22,000 to repair a water canal in Pathari village in Maharashtra so that farmers can depend less on the weather to grow their crops.
“The Pathari project is meant to provide water to 1,300 people. These people have seen 242 suicides in just the last two years,” Mahesh Wani, one of SIF’s executive team members told News India Times. “We believe we will be able to meet our target of $22,000 with the pledges and cash that we gathered at the event. We are still tallying the numbers,” Wani said.
The chief guest at the Nov. 16 even was Dr. Sudhir Parikh, editor and publisher of News India Times and recipient of India’s Padma Shri award. Parikh encouraged SIF to continue its good work.
“Since 1995, the first year the government began keeping detailed records, about 300,000 farmers have taken their lives,” Parikh said, some because they could not meet a measly debt of 300 rupees. “When Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri coined the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”, he was saying farmers are as important to India’s national security as Indian military is. So saving the farmers is a national security issue,” Parikh added.
The SIF presented several generous contributors and youth with trophies handed to them by Dr. Parikh during a break in the Gandhar concert. Dr. Parikh and Hemant Joshi, secretary of SIF were recognized for their outstanding contribution.
Others recognized were Hardeep Singh Amantel for his outstanding support and guidance; Col. Virendra Tavathia and Seema Jagtiani from Farmers Insurance for their outstanding mentorship, support and guidance; Gandhar, the band that performed at the event; Yugandhara Lad-More and Yuvraj More for producing the short film “Tears of Rain” highlighting farmers issues; Deepa Foods for donating food for selling at the event; Indrajeet Naik, a 12 year old for his poetic contributions; Pradnya Jadhav for the participation of her music school kids at the event; Apurva Chaudhari a 7 year old for donating all the proceeds from her birthday to SIF; and Nishi Joshi, a 12 year old who baked cup cakes and sold them at the event and donated all proceeds to the cause.
Organizers told News India Times SIF’s long-term goals were to spread awareness about the India’s farmer suicide problem in the U.S. and move toward preventative measures such as working with several state governments; starting a farmers’ hotline so that those contemplating suicide could seek psychological help, shelter, and financial support; and working with a university in Maharashtra to develop mobile help services that could go to distressed farmers and offer support.
The SIF believes the plight of Indian farmers is a human rights crisis of epic proportion and affects the right to life, to water, food and adequate standard of living.
So far SIF has helped 11 widows whose husbands committed suicide to start their own small business such as a grocery shop, selling vegetables, goat farming or other economic activity that would bring in an income. It hopes those moved by this crisis would contribute at a website by the same name.